Pissed off wheel bearing dealie

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I just torque the axel nut and back it off till it doesn't drag. :p

[nitrofarm]

Movin: I wonder about that technique because when I replaced my bearings and torqued the axle nut the wheel was really stiff until I put the tire back on a drove up and down the driveway. Seems the weight of the car seats the bearings? How would I compensate for that in the test?

I just thought of someting else Wm. When you do the setup per the manual-
You are required to torque the nut to 145 ft lbs. Then when you install the assembly on the vehicle and install the axle. You then torque the nut to 116-174 ft lbs. You will notice that setup torque is exactly in the middle of final install range!
Yep,there is quite a few details to this assembly that we dont always adhere to.I've pointed out this wide "Range" before.Hoping that someone could give me a definitive answer as to why....But understandably know one has really nailed it down.
PS WmWatt-We'll be doing an Aspire swap on my sons Festy this summer. You're welcome to his knuckles/spacers/hubs.When we complete it. Peace-

[CharlieZ]

I just torque the axel nut and back it off till it doesn't drag. :p

You may be on to something here!!!

Not in any way meaning to discount the technical processes and the mechanics who use them but these cars are all over the 'Third World' where the only torque wrench may be in the head despot's palace.

Great thread.

[nitrofarm]

You may be on to something here!!!

Not in any way meaning to discount the technical processes and the mechanics who use them but these cars are all over the 'Third World' where the only torque wrench may be in the head despot's palace.

Great thread.

I have an Aspire that I've put 47k since I titled it. Last July-
So what might work in a 3rd world car prolly wont sufice to my abuse. I have the Festy Tranny in it. So I drive 75-80 mph on the highway.Unless I get stuck behind the Highway Patrol

[zoom zoom]

I'd be willing to bet the assembly torque is just to ensure the bearings are fully pressed, then when it's on your car you torque it back down to get a fresh squish on the bearings.

The first time I replaced a front bearing, I didn't replace the races or anything, I just pulled the inner bearing off, the bearing actually fell out, punched the new one on, and couldn't figure out what "seal" they were talking about, so the new "race" ended up going on in the seals place. The car ran like that for 30-35k miles/2 years including trips from ohio to tennesse and maine without an issue. I replaced the axel later and realized my mistake, after I had time to learn a little more about the car, so fresh bearings and seals were put in.

Pretorquing fresh bearings is pretty much a MUST, imo, after that you just want to torque it a little more than you did the last time to get a fresh crush on them, then back it off.

[runner406]

New spindle , everything is rock n roll now

[nitrofarm]

Pretorquing fresh bearings is pretty much a MUST, imo, after that you just want to torque it a little more than you did the last time to get a fresh crush on them, then back it off.

That sounds pretty logical IMO.

[WmWatt]

My torque wrench only goes up to 150 and that's about as much as I can manage with all 150 lb of me bearing down on a 3' length of pipe on the socket driver. Mathematically I should be able to get more with that arrangement.