Loose Wheel Bearing. Reuse it??

[landtoy80]

I found that the pass side wheel has a little play in it. The bearing nut was not tight as it should be.
I cleaned the bearings that have 30k mi on them and they look ok.
Can I reuse them or do I need to replace them?
They are Timken bearings.

The grease in the hub black too. Could this be from the loose beaings?

 

[PHAEDRUS]

black grease = heat,
$30 is worth the peace of mind just replace them.
then again I Have no plans to repack mine ever, as inexpensive as they are and as much headache as they are to clean and reuse I would rather just replace.
Dave

 

[Doc]

You do not NEED to replace a wheel bearing just because the adjusting nut was loose.

If you do see wear marks don't just buy a new bearing and slap it in there, you need to get the old bearing race out too, replace bearings and races at the same time, always.

 

[GXO]

doc is spot on. Check the bearing for pitting or other signs of damage. Anything means replacement. If they look out of the box new, repack and reuse.

 

[landtoy80]

I will put them back in and order a pair of bearings and replace them with the race when they come in.

 

[Doc]

I will put them back in and order a pair of bearings and replace them with the race when they come in.

If you're going to pull the hub and replace the front bearing, you might as well replace the rear while you're in there (If $$ allows..).

Frankly, if you're going to pull the hub you might as well pull the birf too.... Just another hour or so woth of work.

If you're pulling the birf you need to replace the knuckle bearings as they see more load than the wheel bearings I've been told.

And, all of a sudden, swapping a single bearing has become a full axle service!

 

[scottm]

Mine were pitted, and the spindle looked like the inner race had spun on it. I peeled a hair of steel shaving from around the step the inner race stops against. The steel was faintly brown but not badly discolored. Brown to blue would mean significant heat. Was that M1 red grease that turned black? I pieced together the set of bearings and races at two Autozones, using the Timken #s in the archives (keyword = Timken). I'm just leaving work if you can't find the #s, I need to get another set just in case for the rears and for the second truck whenever I get to it. I'll get a set from Autozone every time I open the axles after this, they're easy to return if I don't need them.

 

[GXO]

Don't forget the Marlin Crawler route...Koyo bearings for cheap.

 

[landtoy80]

I used Sta-lube New Generation Wheel Bearing grease.
The bearings are not blue and the races are good.
The rear bearing were new less than 30k mi and the Newfields are new again.

What brand are OEM bearings?
Does it mater what brand wheel bearings we use?

The out side side lug is worn a lot more than the inside side lug of the tire. I thought the wear was from not rotating the tires as I should of. Could the loose bearings cause more wear on the outside lug than the inside lug?
I was thinking of having the tires turned around on the rim. Will this cause any problem problems?

 

[landtank]

I have BFG ATs with 80k miles now and never intentionally rotated with no adverse wear on them. I'd say you have/had some issues. Have you replaced the trunion bearings yet?

 

[landtoy80]

Trunion??? You mean the knuckle bearings? Then yes they are new 30k ago.

 

[landtank]

The FSM just calls them bearings. I always thought that Trunion was the proper name of them.

 

[cruiserdan]

"Trunion bearing" is the most correct reference. They are also commonly refered to as "knuckle bearings" or "steering bearings" or "kingpin bearings".


D-

 

[landtoy80]

My FSM calls them Upper and Lower , LH RH bearings for the knuckle.

 

[landtoy80]

When I did my preload on the wheel bearings I did it per the FSM.
It said:
c) torque the adjusting nut, 43 ft-lbs
d) loosen the nut untill it can be turned by hand.
e) using a spring tension guage, measure the preload. 6.4 to 12.6

Per http://www.ih8mud.com/tech/birf-repack.php
*To set the bearing pre-load:
Torque inner nut to 43 ft/lbs
Turn rotor 5 times, left & right
Torque inner nut to 43 ft/lbs
Loosen inner nut until it can be turned by hand
Torque inner nut 3 ft/lbs (48 in/lbs!)
Check that bearing has no play


Was the "Torque inner nut 3 ft/lbs (48 in/lbs!)" added by someone very helpful or was it left out of my FSM? Does the newer FSM have this tip?
Had I done this tip I think I wouldn't of had a loose wheel bearing.

I added it to my FSM. I am finishing up my Newfield replacment today and see if the tip works.

Is there any thing else that could of caused my wheel bearing to be loose other than operator error and not doing the 48 in/lb tip?

I found that just checking the preload with a scale and having it in spec, that there can be play if you grab hold of the rotor and really try and move it. Don't just give it a tug, shake it, up down sid to side.

 

[landtank]

The whole spring scale idea is bull**** as far as I'm concerned. Everybody is using different grease and in different enviroments so the results will be different. There was a thread a while back that the inner nut ended up fingure tight only. I had similar issues with my FJ60 when following the FSM. It was fine out of the garage but soon I'd have a lot of wheel slop and the bearings were loose. Since then I torque the nuts to 20 ftlbs, rotate the hub several times and then recheck the torque. I repeat this until I can maintain at least 18 ftlbs after spinning the wheel. It worked on the 60 and seems to work on the 80.

 

[landtoy80]

You torque both nuts or the inner nut to 20?

 

[scottm]

The hub nut was finger tight, but there was no play because I first torqued and spun it several times. Adding the locknut and tightening it certainly moved the hub nut tighter against the bearings, it increased the resistance to turning measured on the spring scale. I pulled it apart and repeated it the next day after some driving, no change. I actually loosened one side because I left it slightly tight assuming it'd loosen. It didn't. I'll check it again when I tend to the bad rod ends.

 

[landtank]

I torque both the inner and outer nuts to 20. I was originally showed how to repack wheel bearings over 20 years ago. Back then an old timer showed me by using a set of channel locks and going by feel. Boy times have changed. You would think with all the improvements in manufacturing with tighter tollerances and better materials that tightening a fastener would be more forgiving. But I guess not, especially after the 75 or so posts on how to torque a lug nut .

 

[landtoy80]

I think I know what could make the rotor feel like there is no play. With all the new grease between the thrust nut and bearing and the rear bearing and the spindle, the grease could hydro lock and the play will feel tight. Then when the grease gets hot and flows out,you have play.
So after driving you should check the play.

I didn't read how to torque a lug nut. How do you torque a lug nut?