Build The Clustertruck Rides Again - Refurbishing a 1975 Chevota

[RWBeringer4x4]

Alright, need a gut check before I bend the tabs on this star washer.

The FSM says to torque down the inner wheel nut to 43 ft lb, spin the hub a few times, then loosen the nut and retorque to 4 ft lb. They then say to check the resistance with a fish scale, which should read between 6.4 and 12.6lbs to start the hub moving.

I’ve got the inner nut torqued to 10 ft lbs (technically too tight), but the fish scale read in the 3-5lb of pull range.

These are used wheel bearings so I’m not sure if any of these specs apply. Mud seems divided on the appropriate amount of torque and the accuracy of the fish scale. Everyone seems to do it by “feel” but it has been 5+ years since I did this.

The hub spins by hand with some resistance - if I try to “fling it” I might get 1/4 turn or a bit more. I can’t feel any discernible play in the hub. There are plenty of folks who seem to run 10+ ft lbs of torque on the inner nut so I’m guessing I won’t burn up the bearing, but figured I’d ask the peanut gallery before I proceed.

 

[rkymtnflyfisher]

I'd slowly add some torque to the nut until you get into the 6-7lb range on the fish scale, then stake it down.


Give it a good shakedown run and check for any play in the bearings afterwards.

 

[Cdaniel]

I can't say that I've ever used the fish scale in the process (maybe once). Generally just pre torque, back off, then snug and bend the tab.

 

[Pin_Head]

Check how hot the hub is after driving at high speed for 10 miles or more. It should not be much hotter than ambient temperature. If it is hot, it it too tight.

 

[RWBeringer4x4]

I'd slowly add some torque to the nut until you get into the 6-7lb range on the fish scale, then stake it down.


Give it a good shakedown run and check for any play in the bearings afterwards.

That was my instinct as well but I was up over 25ft lb of torque on the inner nut (which should have 4 ft lb) and I was still only pulling about 5lb in the fish scale so I started getting nervous.

 

[bikersmurf]

Check how hot the hub is after driving at high speed for 10 miles or more. It should not be much hotter than ambient temperature. If it is hot, it it too tight.

What’s high speed in a 40? 40 mph? 95 mph?

 

[Pin_Head]

What’s high speed in a 40? 40 mph? 95 mph?

Yes. The speed depends on how tight your blastopore is.

 

[bikersmurf]

That was my instinct as well but I was up over 25ft lb of torque on the inner nut (which should have 4 ft lb) and I was still only pulling about 5lb in the fish scale so I started getting nervous.

I never learned to do them with a scale. I’ve always made them tight till they hub was difficult to turn, back them off, and snugged them down till there was a small amount of resistance but it turned freely.

The same bearings were in there for 20 years without any problems or maintenance… although one inner race was cracked when I pulled it off. I’d guess I should have serviced them a couple years sooner.


Edit: or 10.
When I started out I serviced my hubs every year or so… then I prioritized other maintenance and upgrades and before you know it, 20 years had gone by.

 

[bikersmurf]

Yes. The speed depends on how tight your blastopore is.

You made me google blastopore… my gut feeling was correct. Although I have cruised along in my 40 at 95+ mph many moons ago, traffic in these parts isn’t like traffic coming out of LA… it seldom sees 55… and more rarely 60.

Although, it’s happier now at those speeds than back when I kept up with the traffic leaving LA. With current gas prices being 1.66/litre ($6.25/gal) I won’t likely be driving that quick again any time soon… seeing 2/3 of a tank burn up in an hour is a bit of a downer. If I didn’t know better, I’d think there was a leak in the tank.

 

[RWBeringer4x4]

If I do 70mph in my 40 I can actually watch the gas gauge move.

There is some resistance to spinning the rotor but I’m not sure how much there should be. I can’t pull on it hard and get a full rotation. There’s also no play in and out so I’m guessing I should just lock up the washer, put it back together and see what happens…

If I torque to the point I get 6lbs on a fish scale I feel like I’ll be way too tight. (Like 30ftlbs).

I’m curious if there’s a “used bearing” (ie: broken in) spec somewhere but I haven’t found one…

 

[mrboatman]

Lock it down and drive it. Get out and put the back of your hand on the hub if it's hot it's too tight if you can hold your back hand on comfortably your okay

 

[ToyotaMatt]

Alright, need a gut check before I bend the tabs on this star washer.

The FSM says to torque down the inner wheel nut to 43 ft lb, spin the hub a few times, then loosen the nut and retorque to 4 ft lb. They then say to check the resistance with a fish scale, which should read between 6.4 and 12.6lbs to start the hub moving.

I’ve got the inner nut torqued to 10 ft lbs (technically too tight), but the fish scale read in the 3-5lb of pull range.

These are used wheel bearings so I’m not sure if any of these specs apply. Mud seems divided on the appropriate amount of torque and the accuracy of the fish scale. Everyone seems to do it by “feel” but it has been 5+ years since I did this.

The hub spins by hand with some resistance - if I try to “fling it” I might get 1/4 turn or a bit more. I can’t feel any discernible play in the hub. There are plenty of folks who seem to run 10+ ft lbs of torque on the inner nut so I’m guessing I won’t burn up the bearing, but figured I’d ask the peanut gallery before I proceed.

View attachment 2915090

- how are you tightening down the 2 hex nuts ?

- how come the re-use of the old bearings ?


- i crank down to a death grip level to seat all the parts bearings and races etc , then loosen and then re-torque to fsm spec. / pre load spec.

- i only use FULL synthetic products , like wheel bearings grease , the viscosity's are much different , so the phish scale topic , i don't rely on


plus its balls cold here in Maryland today , grease thicker and more resistance etc


all factors at play here

 

[rkymtnflyfisher]

They're used wheel bearings, you're already money ahead!

 

[brian]

a bit tighter is better than loose....they are large bearings and can take some heat.

 

[Pin_Head]

With current gas prices being 1.66/litre ($6.25/gal) I won’t likely be driving that quick again any time soon…

$6.25 Cdn is like $4.87 USD, so it is pretty much the same price as in CA.

When I worked in a high volume department store shop, we took the wheels off of every car and truck that came in the shop for any reason so that we could sell them brake jobs. For cars with front drum brakes, that meant taking off the outer bearing nut and when we put it back, we didn’t have time to check for torque. You just tightened the nut down hard with channel lock pliers, backed it off and then just tightened it just enough to remove play and then put the cotter pin in. I probably did a thousand of them in a year and never had one fail. It’s not rocket science or biology like blastopores.

 

[RWBeringer4x4]

- how are you tightening down the 2 hex nuts ?

- how come the re-use of the old bearings ?


- i crank down to a death grip level to seat all the parts bearings and races etc , then loosen and then re-torque to fsm spec. / pre load spec.

- i only use FULL synthetic products , like wheel bearings grease , the viscosity's are much different , so the phish scale topic , i don't rely on


plus its balls cold here in Maryland today , grease thicker and more resistance etc


all factors at play here

The “used” wheel bearings are 5 years old and only have a couple thousand miles on them. Definitely not due for replacement. If I was doing a whole knuckle job I’d replace them but this was a “surprise” repair when my brake caliper’s bolt stripped and the caliper ate itself.

They're used wheel bearings, you're already money ahead!

They’re not THAT used

 

[ToyotaMatt]

The “used” wheel bearings are 5 years old and only have a couple thousand miles on them. Definitely not due for replacement. If I was doing a whole knuckle job I’d replace them but this was a “surprise” repair when my brake caliper’s bolt stripped and the caliper ate itself.



They’re not THAT used

The FSM simply steps by step inspect for excessive wear so there reusable for sure

 

[bikersmurf]

$6.25 Cdn is like $4.87 USD, so it is pretty much the same price as in CA.

When I worked in a high volume department store shop, we took the wheels off of every car and truck that came in the shop for any reason so that we could sell them brake jobs. For cars with front drum brakes, that meant taking off the outer bearing nut and when we put it back, we didn’t have time to check for torque. You just tightened the nut down hard with channel lock pliers, backed it off and then just tightened it just enough to remove play and then put the cotter pin in. I probably did a thousand of them in a year and never had one fail. It’s not rocket science or biology like blastopores.

Last time I was in CA it was about $3. Made it from Phoenix Arizona to the Peace arch crossing on about $140 worth of fuel in a 40 series. To this day I don’t know how quite how I managed it. Google says it’s 1500 miles… which doesn’t seem possible. Although I did drive 25 of 27 hours and nursed the heck out of it.

 

[RWBeringer4x4]

The FSM simply steps by step inspect for excessive wear so there reusable for sure

I inspected for wear - everything looked brand new. Even the grease looked brand new. If these has been in there 20 years I’d have been a lot more worried.

 

[shmukster]

$6.25 Cdn is like $4.87 USD, so it is pretty much the same price as in CA.

When I worked in a high volume department store shop, we took the wheels off of every car and truck that came in the shop for any reason so that we could sell them brake jobs. For cars with front drum brakes, that meant taking off the outer bearing nut and when we put it back, we didn’t have time to check for torque. You just tightened the nut down hard with channel lock pliers, backed it off and then just tightened it just enough to remove play and then put the cotter pin in. I probably did a thousand of them in a year and never had one fail. It’s not rocket science or biology like blastopores.

My thoughts exactly. I must have taken thousands of wheel bearings out and replaced them and adjusted by feel. Never burned one up and never had one too loose that it caused concern. Yeah, way back when I started, disc brakes had just started to come into general use.