did i over torque rear wheel bearings?

[rc51kid]

As with everything i am over thinking this. I redid the rear axle seals and repacked the rear wheel bearing. When i removed them they "Lock ring" was only HAND TIGHT! To me this is way to loose. But i didnt feel any play in the rear wheels. When i reinstalled a the new stuff i spun it by hand when the bearings were just hand tight. Then i torqued it to 43 and spun it a few times. It didnt feel any harder to turn at all. then i torqued it again to 43ft/lb and spun it few more times. Then i just turned it forward to line up the holes. using my torque wrench to turn it a little further i was seeing over 60ft/lb in order to line up holes. When i spin it it still feels the same as it did hand tight. Too tight or fine?

 

[Funner]

Did you do 60lbs and then back off and snug it up or did you do 60 lbs and leave it that way and button it up?

 

[BILT4ME]

I like the procedure in the FSM using the fish scale to check pull on the rotation. that said, I then followed what Funner said and tightened the bearings WHILE SPINNING, then loosened it, retorqued it, then SPUN it more, double checked the fish scale multiple times, and I think I ended up at 48 Lb-Ft when done. Fit the lock ring in, and called it good. I regularly check my wheel bearings with an IR gun. They run about 90°F in the winter. i need to check them now that we have warmer weather. All WB are within 3°F of each other. That tells me they are adjusted properly. Also, if they are too COLD, they are too loose. If they are approaching 180°F or above, I would loosen them.

 

[rc51kid]

torqued to 43 then tight to the next hole. About 60ft/lb. They felt just as easy to turn as they did hand tight.

 

[guzzla]

Once I've made sure they are bedded in properly by doing them up tight and spinning a few times, I just back them off then tighten them up until there is no play then tighten it a bit more until the first pair of notches line up. Install screws and your done. 15yrs, never had an issue. Much the same deal with the front WBs. Remember, bearing play in the rear is really only detectable by moving the wheel in and out. Not side to side as the front is.

 

[rc51kid]

it sounds like i might have mine a little to tight. the thing is i bet they still fall in the range of acceptable with a fish scale. It turned just the same as it did hand tight.
Crazy thing is that when i removed them once the screws came out the lock nut came out with just the factory tool. no wrench at all on it. The bearing looked OK considering how loose they were. But i hear that tight is better than too loose with wheel bearings.

 

[Funner]

I agree a little tight is better than loose but I think 60 ft lbs is probably too tight

 

[scottryana]

How did the spindle look? If there is spindle wear, you can get to a point where you can't properly preload the bearing no matter how tight you tighten the nut.

 

[rc51kid]

everything looked good to me. No discoloration or anything obvious. I felt the spindle and axle for groves where the seals run. Just slight groves starting. Might be a problem at around 400,000 miles or so. But mostly i looked for obvious problems. Anyone know what color OEM grease is? I had some nice thick yellow grease packed into the center of the hubs. The bearings pretty much had grease/oil mix. That is why i replaced the seals.

 

[rc51kid]

Guys i guess i could jack up one wheel, remove the cone washers and a axle and redoe the locking nut. I could remove the screws and turn it back to the next set of holes. But wouldnt that be 90 degrees? I think that would make things really loose.

 

[scottryana]

It is kind of one of those things we can't tell you over the internet. Bearings are a total feel thing. You get them snug and a little tighter, or you go tight, go loose, and then use the fish scale. If you are worried and haven't done a lot of tapered wheel bearings, I would get the fish scale and just do the preload to spec so you know it is right.

 

[Tapage]

if you use that bearing and you go back to check pre load to the very same point it's probably lower than 43lbs now ..

 

[scrowley]

I'm sure your good. Mine are tightened to next hole after preloading. Just take a cruise then check the temp if the hub. If it's hot then its too tight. Mine have been good for 10k plus miles tightened like this.

 

[rc51kid]

I would assume that if i threw a fish scale on them and they are withing spec all should be good. Does this sound right?

 

[scottryana]

Yes you would be fine.

When you are putting torque into a tapered bearing you and essentially pushing the bearing into the race. The more you push that bearing into the race the less easy it is to spin. If you can get the right pull from the fish scale, it means your bearings for whatever reason required that much torque to achieve the proper preload. Above when I mentioned that with a bad spindle you can not tighten play out of the bearings I did not mean preload but actual wiggle in the wheel.