I had an '87 Mk4 Escort van, they were never sold in NZ, and when looking for a front wheel brg I found they were the same as Sierra rear wheel brgs. I'm pretty sure even though they are separate bearings the inner races set the preload...they go up tight.
Tapered Bearing torque
- Thread starter FCD
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Yes
If they are the normal old style spindles with castle nuts and use a cotter pin, or like VW older bug, or a 2002 Mercedes CLK 430, the bearings are NOT preloaded. They are suppose to have about .001 of play. Tighten the nut too tight and the races can lock and wear out the spindles.
If there is a calibrated spacer then on some models they are tightened fairly tight, because the spacer determines the proper loading or no loading.
If there is a calibrated spacer then on some models they are tightened fairly tight, because the spacer determines the proper loading or no loading.
If you look at a bearing manufacturers life expectancy graph for taper rollers, they achieve maximum life with slight pre-load but life diminishes rapidly with excessive pre-load.
Setting the optimum pre-load is not at all easy although there are some applications such as older BMW motorcycle wheels where pre-load is specified. That begs the question why automotive applications usually specify a small amount of end play. I think it's just the easy and by far the safer option because end play is readily measurable where as pre-load is not so easy to do consistently.
Setting the optimum pre-load is not at all easy although there are some applications such as older BMW motorcycle wheels where pre-load is specified. That begs the question why automotive applications usually specify a small amount of end play. I think it's just the easy and by far the safer option because end play is readily measurable where as pre-load is not so easy to do consistently.
end play can get smaller if the bearings heat up more than the spindle aswell
