I just replaced the front inner and outer bearings (and races) this weekend. Getting the old races out sure was fun.
The car still vibrates at ~70mph.

Question #1) What's up?...
-I bought new 17" rims and had them balanced once and checked a week later (though not balanced while on the car).
-New rubber.
-There's no visible play in the ball joint with the car jacked up and me yanking on the tires in and out.
-There IS a rubbing spot when the front right rotor and pads hit one another each rotation. Is it possible or LIKELY that this is my culprit? (I thought that if this was the problem, I would have felt the vibration ALL of the time, not just at 70mph.)

Question #2:
I tightened the retaining bolt (right name?) - it has an allen head embedded in it to tighten around the bolt - that holds the bearings / wheel on as much as I could (it's TIGHT), for now. What's the correct way to tighten these? I can't get a socket on it since it's not round or octagon, or anything normal.
As tight as it is now, it requires some muscle to rotate the tires once re-assembled. I feel like it's too tight???

Thanks!

 

That's too tight. The factory specs for that are to tighten until you can just move the bearings with the tip of a screwdriver. Precise and scientfic, eh? I usually tighten and then back off until you can do as the factory specs say.

 

Well I'm not sure the brake rubbing is the source of your vibrations but it sounds like you might have a rotor that is warped. I have one too and it gets worse when it is hot, causes a slight shudder when braking.
I think you're right to look at ball joints but not sure your test will reveal a bad one. I'm not a front-end guy but I think to test them its best to have the weight of the car on the wheels and then somehow pry against the the control arm (near the ball joint) and watch for slight lateral movement of the ball joint. Any movement is Bad. Tie rods also should be put to a similar test and they have joints that can become sloppy both at the rack and at the hub.
And as 951 says, your wheel bearings are way too tight. Don't drive it this way, they can overheat. Once you get your bearings loosened a bit, might consider getting a good front-end guy to give you and estimate. Change the parts that he suggests and then bring it back to him for an alignment.

 

There are a few areas to look at here for the vibration - there's quite an extensive bit of info in the archives from not too long ago.

Some other hardware areas to look at:
- your wheel bearings being so tight could be a problem - fix that first!
- tie-rods (inners and outers - attached to the steering rack)
- upper strut mounts (rubber and bearing can cause play leading to vibrations)
- control arm bushings (front and rear/caster)

Also, how's the alignment? Too much toe will cause girations, etc. And, what about the tires? Inflation and wear okay? Underinflated tires can vibrate. Crowned tires will vibrate also.

Have a look in the archives for "vibration" or "shimmy".

Good Luck!

 

I searched and read up before posting, but still had the specific questions about the rotor and that locking nut.
I purchased the strut mounting brackets from good ol' Paragon months ago, bearings more recently. If it weren't for Paragon I'd be in trouble!
Jake