[Mike Bontoft]

When checking the wheel bearing play always check it with hands placed at 9 o'clock and 3, So as to not get U joint play added in. Even at 9 and 3 you may still be getting play from the lower pivot bearing.
The most common problem I found with loose wheel bearings was when the inner bearing (closest to the UJ) loses it grip on the inner part of the wheel flange and spins, the bearing will now start to hog itself into the inner seal race. Not a very good design really, it provided plenty of work over the years. Better would have been a spacer tube with shims between the bearings. This would clamp all the bearings in place when the outer nut is tightened.