↓ Advertise on Defender2 ↓

Home > Technical > Re torque after new bearings
Post Reply  Down to end
Page 1 of 1
Print this entire topic · 
Leviathan



Member Since: 24 Oct 2015
Location: Staffs
Posts: 247

United Kingdom 
Re torque after new bearings
I fitted new front wheel bearings (along with other bits in that area) last year. Ive done about 6000 miles since.

Anyway I have the single staked nut spacer arrangement on my puma so when I replaced the bearings I reused the same spacer and torqued up the nut to the specified 150 ft lb, and bent over the nut. All felt good.

I'd noticed a slight wheel vibration at about 60mph over the last month but it was not until today that I jacked the front up and noticed quite a lot of play on the wheel top to bottom. On investigation it turns out there was about a third of a turn more play in the bearing.

I've now re-torqued the nut and it seems to rotate fine and the play is gone. I took it for a drive and couldnt decide whether there was more drag than before. After a few miles test drive I immediately felt the front hubs and they felt stone cold.

So......would I feel heat from the bearings if they overtightened after only a few miles?

Would I be able to easily turn the hubs by hand if they were overdone?

Would they be noisey from the off?

Do new bearings normally require retorquing after a few thousand miles?

Ta

Nick
Post #618414 21st Apr 2017 2:33pm
View user's profile Send private message View poster's gallery Reply with quote
X4SKP



Member Since: 29 Nov 2013
Location: Berkshire
Posts: 2284

United Kingdom 2010 Defender 90 Puma 2.4 SW Stornoway Grey
Hello Leviathan

Well I may not add anything (much) here, but I'll tell you what I think to be true...

I recently had to replace my front near side wheel bearing (30K) so early, turned out that the inner seal
had split and let water in compromising the bearings, so good to have found the problem.

I replaced one wheel bearing but took off the remaining 3, repacked the Bearings, New Seals and New Locking Nuts.

I did probably what you did, used the Standard Sized Replacement Wheel Bearing Kit and as you, I decided to retain the Spacer and Nut System, the advice I got was that the Spacer is sized / matched to the Hubs, and using Standard Sized replacement Wheel Bearings (manufactured to a much greater tolerance) will be OK.

Change the Hubs...change the Spacers (I think they are colour coded when supplied)

Tightening up to 150ft lbs (205 NM) is tight...really tight... (you know this when you come to undo these Nuts,
for those doing the same get a good quality 52mm Socket....not a Box Spanner Type if you have the Single Nut System)

On reassembly the arrangement of the Bearings means that the rollers remain free to move, you will not tighten them up against the running surface. The Spacer will not collapse under pressure, so in effect really (really) tight is good enough.

May be your issue (possibly) was a Bearing Ring not seated (drifted in) quite fully home into the hub, as to find when checking that you could get a further 1/3 of a turn, on a previously tight (really tight) Nut seams to me more than just the bearings 'bedding in', I wouldn't expect that the bearings bed in more than a fraction (un-scientific but a very small amount). I did notice when I did mine that there is a definite change in the sound when drifting the new Bearing Rings into the Hub...you can tell when it has 'mated' at the the base of the Hub.

The previous Twin Nut / Locking Tab method, which some revert to (abandoning the Spacer and Single Nut) advises that the whole assembly is tightened up to a point that the hub is just not turning and then backed off just enough to get free movement / rotation of the hub, but not any (noticeable) lateral / up down movement of the road wheel.

The Single Nut System even when tight (really tight) will not cause the Hub to lock up, unless (I suspect) that the Spacer (matched to the Hub from which it came) has been mixed up (do one Hub at a time).

So No over tightening is really possible (dangerous I know to claim that, someone may advise otherwise)
No Locking up of Bearings (unless Spacer / Hub changes have been made)
and No running Hot if all is OK (Obviously)
and I would say if all replacement parts are seated home correctly, and the whole assembly is tightened up also correctly there should be no need to check again so soon....but I will check mine and let you know...I'm 100 miles post Repacking All Bearings.

There is a method of checking end float of the whole Hub Assembly with a dial gauge to ensure the Spacer / Hub / Assembly is correct and within Tolerance, with the aim of achieving no end float, prior to fattening the side of the Single Nut to prevent it from undoing. I did't do this, I just checked the feel and play of the replaced Wheel Bearings and Road Wheel when assembled.



Single Nut (14) System and Spacer (15) between Wheel Bearings (10)


Click image to enlarge

Replacement Wheel Bearings and Spacer


Click image to enlarge

Inner Bearing Rings


Click image to enlarge

Bearings Prior to Packing (these are machine matched to the Rings so keep Inner and Outer marked / positioned clearly


Click image to enlarge

Single Nut Inner Spacer and Large Washer


Click image to enlarge

52mm Socket...Initial Tightening Prior to 150ft lbs / 205NM (tight... Exclamation )

Hope your now fixed... SKIP
https://www.defender2.net/forum/topic83242.html
Post #618436 21st Apr 2017 3:47pm
View user's profile Send private message View poster's gallery Reply with quote
Leviathan



Member Since: 24 Oct 2015
Location: Staffs
Posts: 247

United Kingdom 
Wow.....thanks for your comprehensive reply. You have reassured me that I havent got another problem.

I was thinking myself that maybe I hadnt seated the bearing races totally. If this was the case then maybe it should be a strong recommendation that people recheck this after a few thousand miles? Unless its only me?

Ta

Nick
Post #618472 21st Apr 2017 5:35pm
View user's profile Send private message View poster's gallery Reply with quote
dorsetsmith



Member Since: 30 Oct 2011
Location: South West
Posts: 4554

Not just you

cared out two year hub bearings inspection and fond NSR driver flange rusted badly new stub axle, bearing X2 and two haft shaft


Last edited by dorsetsmith on 10th Jun 2021 2:23pm. Edited 1 time in total
Post #618483 21st Apr 2017 6:20pm
View user's profile Send private message View poster's gallery Reply with quote
Cheshire110



Member Since: 26 Jul 2013
Location: Cheshire/London
Posts: 2718

United Kingdom 
Useful thread, thanks all!

Quick question - most of the guides I’ve read seem to involve some complicated measuring device to set up the bearings upon re-fitting. Is that necessary or can you just use a torque wrench?

(2016 2.2) Cheers, David
Land Rovers of all shapes S3 onwards… Daily is a 110 V8.
Post #907235 10th Jun 2021 1:38pm
View user's profile Send private message View poster's gallery Reply with quote
blackwolf



Member Since: 03 Nov 2009
Location: South West England
Posts: 16812

United Kingdom 2007 Defender 110 Puma 2.4 DCPU Stornoway Grey
Cheshire110 wrote:
...some complicated measuring device...


It's a dial gauge (or DTI - Dial Test Indicator) so hardly complicated!

If you are replacing the wheel-bearings and retaining the spacer/stake nut arrangement, although the manual tells you that you need to do this in practice you almost certainly don't, just keep the original spacer. Taper roller bearing are manufactured to such precise tolerances that the new bearings should be, in practical terms, dimensionally identical to the originals. it is however probably worth checking as you tighten the hub nut that at no time does the hub actually lock up. if it does, stop what you are doing and change to a different plan.

If you are changing the hub itself there is a greater chance that the original spacer will not longer be appropriate, but the same procedure as above can be used. Again, stop if the hub locks, and change your plan.

If you are using the no spacer/twin nuts arrangement, then tighten the first nut until all end-float is eliminated. Although again the manual say you should use a DTI, you don't need to. At this point there should be no perceptible play in the bearing at all in any direction (rocking the wheel), but similarly there should be no resistance to spinning the wheel. Then back off the nut between half and one full flat of the nut, fit the locking washer, then the second nut and tighten the second nut firmly (but don't go mad, it is only a lock nut or jam nut). Check again that there is zero end-float, zero play, but the wheel spins freely. If it does, you can bend the lock washer over one flat of the inner nut and one flat of the outer nut. If the bearing has become too tight, remove the outer nut and lock washer, slacken the inner nut very slightly, and repeat. If the bearing is too loose, tighten the inner nut slightly and release.

The reason why it is usually necessary to slacken the inner nut about half a flat or so before fitting the jam nut is because the jam nut will take up any slop in the inner nut and push it into the bearing by a very small amount.

Whichever method you use, the end result should be a hub which spins freely with zero end float and no discernible play in any direction.

The heat test can be unreliable. Generally I would not expect the hub bearing to get hot in use but they will get warm, sometimes considerably so. The rear hubs of my 110 are both adjusted correctly but are always warm/hot to the touch after a long run (ie you can put your hand on them but they are hot water hot), whilst the fronts run cool. I have never been quite sure why this is, but it has been the case for over 10 years without fail. I do usually run at around 3t gross, so it is probably the result of the weight on the axle, possibly combined with poorer heat dissipation from the (unventilated) rear disks.
Post #907275 10th Jun 2021 5:18pm
View user's profile Send private message View poster's gallery Reply with quote
Cheshire110



Member Since: 26 Jul 2013
Location: Cheshire/London
Posts: 2718

United Kingdom 
Blackwolf…. Thanks ever so much for the explanation! All makes perfect sense to me!

As for the complexity or otherwise of the DTI, I regard any tool that wouldn’t be found in a 50-piece set from Halfords as unnecessarily complicated! Rolling with laughter Cheers, David
Land Rovers of all shapes S3 onwards… Daily is a 110 V8.
Post #907276 10th Jun 2021 5:22pm
View user's profile Send private message View poster's gallery Reply with quote
blackwolf



Member Since: 03 Nov 2009
Location: South West England
Posts: 16812

United Kingdom 2007 Defender 110 Puma 2.4 DCPU Stornoway Grey
Cheshire110 wrote:
... I regard any tool that wouldn’t be found in a 50-piece set from Halfords as unnecessarily complicated!


Shocked Laughing
Post #907281 10th Jun 2021 5:27pm
View user's profile Send private message View poster's gallery Post Reply
Post Reply  Back to top
Page 1 of 1
All times are GMT

Jump to  
Previous Topic | Next Topic >
Posting Rules
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum



Site Copyright © 2006-2024 Futuranet Ltd & Martin Lewis
DEFENDER2.NET RSS Feed - All Forums