BlueBlazer62 said:
The procedure you use is incorrect and a manual outlines the correct procedure. The way you are doing it now puts WAY too much preload on the bearings. Like Russ said, too much preload can cause bearing failure and subsequently cause an accident. Not admitting that you are doing it wrong doesn't help at all and that is part of the reason I gave you a smartass response.
I dont know what manual you are looking at but according to my manual I AM doing it the right way. The manual I have is a factory GM service manual I got from a friend at my local chevy dealership. According to the manual, you tighten the inner nut to 35 ft lbs. At 35 ft lbs, the hub will NOT spin freely. However, according to the manual, the next step is to back the nut off appx 3/8 of a turn to ensure free hub rotation. Although I do not own a torque wrench, I did do it properly. I can tell you this because I Tightened the inner nut just to the point that the hub began to "snag." After that, I backed the nut off just barely until the hub began to spin freely again. Even though I dont have a torque wrench, there is no real torque spec for this nut. It says 35 ft lbs, but it also says that 35 will just barely make the hub snag and you will have to back it off some (therefore it is no longer at 35 ft lbs). So when I tightened it and the hub just barely began to snag, I was at that point. There is no real torque spec because it varies on how much you have to turn the nut to loesn the hub back up. The manual says until the hub begins to spin freely, which is exactly what I did.
The next step the manual states is obvious. It says "assemble lockring (with tab in keyway) against bearing nut." Then it says to tighten the outer nut to 183 ft lbs. With a 1/2" ratchet, 183 ft lbs is more force than your arm can exert, so I put a short cheater bar over the end of the wratchet and cranked it down a little more.
I have put together many hubs and the only one that I have had come apart is this one. The only reason it came apart was that the nipple on the inner nut broke off. When I put it back together the 1st time I didnt realize this, so it came apart in 3 days. I realized that it should not do this, so I gave it a closer inspection. That revealed the broken off nipple. Not once have I ever had a wheel bearing burn up from torquing the inner nut too much, because the procedure I use to do it, like I stated above, is correct. Its easy for you to say "your doing it wrong look at a manual" but it is apparent that you are the one who needs to look at a manual. You said "the procedure you use is incorrect and a manual outlines the procedure" but you didnt bother to tell me the proper procedure according to your manual because you never looked at one. You assumed that because it came apart, I was doing it wrong, and I needed to look at a manual to do it right. You still dont get the fact that I AM doing it right even after I told you that the hub didnt come apart from me tightening the inner nut incorrectly, but from the nipple being broken off. I put a new nut on, and have driven over 200 miles since then and everything is smooth as silk. I think you need to admit that you were wrong.
BTW- If I post another question up about anything, I DO want your input as to the cause of the problem. But please, try not to give smartass responses because it does nothing bu piss people off. Especially when your smartass response was wrong.
-Harrison
