Inner Nut Torque Front Wheel Bearing Preload?

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landtoy80

landtoy80

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I have read anywhere from 10 ft/lbs to 25+ ft/lbs for the preload of front inner wheel bearing nut.

Is there a correct setting or are people just doing different torque setting for personal preferences?
 
I thought inner was 43 ft. lbs. twice rotating back and forth 2 to 3 times In between. loosen until It can be turned by hand then retorque to 6.4 to 12.6 lbf with fish scale pull method and outer was 47 ft. lbs.with lock nut, then check preload again to be sure Its 6,4 to 12.6 lbf. but I have to look in FSM to be sure. I had to reset mine twice before but when I used new nuts and washers It was correct 1st time. The nuts were boogered up cause last mechanic shop before I owned used a chisel to tighten them .

Check manual but this Is what I have done several times and what I'm reading with my GLASSES..! LOL Good Luck..! :cheers:

Hay congrats on your miles..! I have seen only one Cruiser with more. I think It was a 40th on sale through E-bay with 476,000 mi. asking 3900.00 It looked worth It too, with a mountian of service records on carfax. Keep up the good work !! :) !
 
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This was not for the FSM method.

This method was torque to 10 ft/lbs and turn wheel, torque to 10 ft/lbs, keep doing this till you no longer turn the inner nut when torquing to 10 ft/lbs. Then torque outer nut to 47 ft/lbs.

Now some say torque 15 ft/lbs to 25 or more ft/lbs and set outer to 47 ft/lbs for larger tires.
 
Everyone seems to have their own way of doing this, the wheel bearing are huge and seem to tolerate all of it just fine. I personally like to torque the inner nut to 4 ft lbs.
 

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landtoy80 said:
This was not for the FSM method.

This method was torque to 10 ft/lbs and turn wheel, torque to 10 ft/lbs, keep doing this till you no longer turn the inner nut when torquing to 10 ft/lbs. Then torque outer nut to 47 ft/lbs.

Now some say torque 15 ft/lbs to 25 or more ft/lbs and set outer to 47 ft/lbs for larger tires.
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The 10 lb should work great as a final on Inner..! I checked the torque a couple months later and It had stayed In place. I think thats the Important thing, check at a later date to confirm there has been no movement. I would keep It close to 10 on the Inner preload though. 25 for wheeling may be fine as there Is very little If any hi speed driving that a high bearing preload would be affected by. Sounds like a winner to me, your good for another 100K maybe ? :)
 
I tighten the inner to 45 to set everything up, spin the rotor, back it off, set it to 15, spin, check again, set to 15, on w/the star washer, outer on and torqued to 45. Sometimes with new bearings I go to 20 on the inner as I know things will break in a bit and loosen.
 
Here is the FSM method with the Mud method in bold italics:

After installing hub/rotor onto spindle and ensuring it is pushed all the way in:

1) install thrust washer then the adjusting (inner) nut
2) torque adjusting (inner) nut to 43 ft lbs
4) turn rotor a few times
5) torque adjusting (inner) nut again to 43 ft lbs
6) back off adjusting (inner) nut until it can be turned by hand then torque it again to 48 in lbs (4 ft lbs) This is where some people torque the adjusting (inner) nut to 10, 15, or 20+ ft lbs.
7) check preload with fish scale (6.4 to 12.6 lb ft needed to get the rotor/hub to turn) Many people skip this step as being inaccurate and just go ahead and use the higher torque settings in step 6
8) install tabbed lock washer and lock (outer) nut
9) torque lock (outer) nut to 47 ft lbs.
10) bend lock washer tabs, at least one back onto adjusting nut and one forward onto lock nut

The main deviations from the FSM method are at step 6 using 10, 15, or 20+ ft lbs and skipping step 7 (fish scale). I run 265-75-16 tires and set the adjusting spindle nuts to 15 ft lbs. on all new bearings, 40,000 miles later no problems. FWIW.
 
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Rwhat said:
Let’s us know how it goes. This is one thing that not torquing properly will cause problems that can get expensive.
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I’ve never done any of that mess. Never had anything bad happen either.
 
I followed the FSM and had to do it over again. Had wobble in the steering wheel at higher speed turns. Guess more paranoid after initially replacing wrecked spindles due to the PO having Midas do a brake job. Maybe it’s just me, but I never had this problem on mini truck solid axles.
 
well s*** i tq inner nut to 45 and out nut to 45 on new bearings lol.... rotor spun easily by hand after thou
 
In my experience the FSM specs work fine for 31" tires and all new parts. The fish scale is a joke IMHO. I've increased torque as my tires size has gone up. I done it all by feel since. Never an issue over 200K that can be blamed on too much preload.
 
It's great if you are an experienced wrench, or just have a feel for things and can get it right on that basis.

On the other hand, the Toyota FSM procedure makes sense (even if you don't agree with the specific torque values) in terms of repeatability and training a large workforce of technicians with variable rates of experience that may or may not do this repair often.

In my opinion, for the typical shade tree mechanic, we're better off following the FSM procedures to get accurate and reliable results despite our lack of experience or "feel".
 
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