rear wheel bearing question..

[TONYCASH]

I had my mechanic of 12 yrs put in my rear bearings for me.I bought them and he installed them.Anywya,no torque.He just put them in (everything new including races).He put it all on ,tightened it all to "seat" the bearing and backed it off and re tightened it ,put nut cober on over and cotter pin it.What should I expect.? He has always worked on my cars and says torque in this case was not needed .He has never failed me in the past,but......

[Unco]

that's the correct procedure.

front bearings are torqued.

rear bearings are seated and tightened. if you do them up too tight you'll wreck the bearings.

[SoCalZ28]

He has never failed me in the past,but......

But what?

[Unco]

But what?

what his post said.

if you're not aware that the rear wheel bearings don't have to be torqued, i can see how he would feel uneasy about driving the car when you're used to seeing almost every other part torqued up to spec.

[cubstiva1]

fyi passenger side is left hand thread...... and they are $7 at napa. i should know.

[88FestivaLX]

This still worries me and I haven't done it yet, ha. And I don't have cotter pin holes. So I just tighten it down a good bit to seat them, back it off and then just barely tighten it? I need a big punch to make sure that nut doesn't come off, ha

[Levitan]

Hey smc,
The procedure he used is somewhat correct. Some ppl have the "touch" for doing it that way. I think elcamino1 has the "gift". I do or did on older Chevys and whatnot, but not on Festys. I had miserable failure coming back from Ohiostiva. Ended up having to replace the spindle and everything. I used a torque wrench and my own little procedure using the specs from the manual and have gotten great results.

If you know how to check for bearing looseness, jack the car up every 200 miles and wiggle the tire. You'll know if they are coming loose, within 600 miles (the distance from Iowa to Ohiostiva and back..lol). Then take a torque wrench, while spinnining the wheel, tighten to 16 ft lbs, then 18 ft lbs, then 20 ft lbs, then 21 ft lbs, then back then nut off 1/4 of a turn, then tighten 3-7 ft lbs. Your torque wrench will not even go that low so it is just a smidge, or as I like to say, most people can fart more torque than 3-7 ft lbs...LOL!

Anyways, I'm not telling you what to do, I am just saying that is what I would do if I were concerned

[jglutz]

(everything new including races)

That comment scars me....races are always changed....If he had left you with the idea that cages can be changed without changing the races....I would have grave concern.

There are many mechanics that do have the skill to tighten bearings without a torque wrench.

To all....remember this...many states that have annual safety inspection that requires one front wheel and one rear wheel be removed for inspection of the linings and harrdware.....this being said....think about how many inspections are done...with out the service manual and without incident.

[sam.1956]

You can drill a hole for a cotter pin in the rear spindle with a sharp bit, a good drill, a steady hand and some patience. Or use a drill press if the spindle is off the car. To match the spindles that have holes already, my machinist buddy at work measured it then had me use a 0.116" bit centered 0.241" behind (toward the center of the car) the outside face of the spindle. I had no problem drilling the holes.

I agree with other folks' advice, which is make sure the "crush nut" isn't split when you beat it into the groove of the spindle. It needs to be deformed down into the groove enough to keep the nut from working loose. Shop manual sez use a "cape chisel" (which has 2 different angles on the tip) to stake the nut in the groove. We dulled the edge of a regular chisel a tad with a hammer so it wouldn't cut the metal in the nut.

[88FestivaLX]

Don't try to reuse the old nut on ones that don't have a cotter pin......I got home yesterday and my wheel was about to fall off, ha....I REALLY need to get all the parts together and get this stupid thing done.

[Mike McKown]

I have never seen an application where tapered roller bearings were set to a pre-load or zero end play. There has to be clearance or you'll burn them up.

[rowdy roddy piper]

I have never seen an application where tapered roller bearings were set to a pre-load or zero end play. There has to be clearance or you'll burn them up.

right.


at least he didnt tighten then clockwise! if he hasnt failed you yet, why doubt him now?

[Mike McKown]

I have never seen an application where tapered roller bearings were set to a pre-load or zero end play. There has to be clearance or you'll burn them up.

Well, an exception might be a pinion and carrier bearings in a rear axle as used in RWD.