Wheel Bearing Adjust Advice

[doitmyself]

On my son's Ford Ranger, the rotor and bearing hub are one piece.

What are the rules for adjusting the wheel bearings correctly. Some talk of pre-load, etc.. I need "cook book" procedures because I am bad at doing things by feel.

Thanks so much.

 

[oilboy123]

Should be the same whether or not rotor and hub are one piece. I will let others chime in. If need be I will give an opinion later.

 

[XCELERATIONRULES]

Just need to torque the nut to seat the bearing,back it off and re torque.

 

[doitmyself]

Originally Posted By: XCELERATIONRULES
Just need to torque the nut to seat the bearing,back it off and re torque.


It's the "re torque" adjustment I wish to master correctly.

 

[Kestas]

First crank down on the center nut while turning the rotor until the rotor is difficult to turn. This is an important step to seat the components, otherwise any remaining slack will result in too much axial play after you're finished. Don't be afraid of using a lot of force, the bearings can take it. Back off the nut, then tighten finger tight.

The "finger tight" will be the most arbitrary step to get right. Some of this depends on how much friction there is just before it tightens. It doesn't have to be gorilla tight either... just turn until it stops, then stake it into place.

Of course, this procedure is superceded by any specific procedure written for the vehicle.

 

[oilboy123]

I usually try to put the wheel on and tighten nut until there is a tiny bit of play left in the wheel. Then I install cotter pin.

The thing that is confusing is they say you are supposed to have a slight amount of play. But when ever I do them finger tight I have a lot more play than what is required. I can only get the play in the "ball park" when I give a little extra.

I have done the finger tight thing over the years and am always horrified at how much play there is when am doing other work and I test the play again. I try for the requird end play specs.

 

[onion]

For greased wheel bearings, I generally tighten the nut firmly while turning the nub, then back it off, then tighten the nut 'finger tight'.

Some applications have very coarse threads for the retaining nut and/or widely spaced cotter pin slots. In those cases, you may be required to choose between two adjacent slots: 'too tight' or 'too loose'. When dealing with greased bearings, I err to the 'too loose' side. With oil-bath hubs (on heavy trucks), I err to the 'too tight' side. Tapered roller bearings are relatively forgiving with both end play and preload.

 

[Buffman]

I always rotate the rotor/hub and tighten the spindle nut until rotor doesn't turn to ensure proper seating. I then back of nut and follow FSM recommendations for torquing. GM calls for 14 ftlbs on my RMS. For the ranger, Haynes didn't mention anything in my book, and neither did anyone really on the ranger forum, so I just used 14 ftlbs. I back off to the nearest cotter pin hole.

 

[alreadygone]

Lets see, Kestas WORKS for a company building automotive bearings, Onion has installed more of them than your Ranger could haul. They're telling you the same thing with slightly different wording. I've been doin' them over 30 years just as they describe. Probably won't get much more understandable than that.

Bob

 

[oilboy123]

Just to be clear we are talking 2 wheel drive hub? Or non 4x4 types hubs. They are a different beast. I am 99% sure that is what we are talking about, but not 100%

Maybe I have a weak grip, but when I try the finger tight way it always seems loose. This is after firmly seating the bearings. I put the wheel on and test for play at the wheel and I have a lot. It does not seem to minimize until I snug up the wheel nut tighter than by hand. I always shoot for just a very small amount of play at the wheel/tire. It always takes more than hand tight to get there.

What would you say the free play at the tire or at the rotor/drum should be? Just trying to clarify.

 

[thrace]

I do it like many of the guys above. "First crank down on the center nut while turning the rotor until the rotor is difficult to turn. Back off the nut, then tighten finger tight."
Tight enough is so I can barely feel play in the bearing when I try to wiggle the brake drum or disk. Then I install the castle nut and cotter pin. Long ago, I tightened to no play and a bit tighter but always wore out bearings that way.

 

[mechtech2]

Like the guys said, first tighten the nut decently while you spin the assembly.
Loosening it is subjective. Usually not more than one flat of the hex nut.

 

[doitmyself]

Thanks guys. This is a 2 wd. I've done maybe only two or three wheel bearings in my lifetime and this is one of those things that book learning just doesn't quite work......one hands on lesson would be "priceless".

I am curious what the FSM says about adjustment.

It doesn't seem that many do buffman's technique I have read about where you use a torque wrench, then back off to the nearest nut slot. Is this what "preload" means?

Seems like a "hair" loose is preferred over a hair tight.

I assume that a wrench is needed to do the first tightening to seat the bearings?

If perfection is sought (within the range of the castle nut holes), after finger tightening, should there be just the SLIGHTEST perceptible amount of freeplay felt with the tire on and trying to wiggle it?

Thanks for your patience.

 

[Kestas]

Yes, a wrench is used for seating the bearings.
For perfection, take up any perceptible play until it has just disappeared (and no more).

 

[mechtech2]

Well, yes. You need a wrench to initially tighten the hex nut that tightens the bearings. But channel locks will work as well as an exact sized wrench.

 

[1 FMF]

while it's true tapered rolling bearings are forgiving in terms of end play, you don't want end play. Think of what's happening when you have end play.

- use the correct socket on the wheel nut to adequately tighten the bearing assembly to seat the components.

- you can spin the hub as you first tighten down but as it starts to hang up from friction don't spin anymore, just tighten the nut and seat the components. Really tighten it to make sure the races seat themselves in the hub.

- back the nut off slowly and be mindful gravity doesn't slide the hub out, keep hand pressure against the hub keeping it on the axle and back the nut off then go finger tight as much as possible.

- if the cotter pin or bend tab thingy line up, then you're at best at zero preload (you're fingers are not that strong). If you have to turn the nut a slight bit with a wrench then it's probably optimal as it's a slight amount of preload.

- when you mount the rim and tire, there should be no wobble and it should turn smooth but shouldn't stop from a free spin in 1 or 2 rotations then you have too much preload resulting in a lot of drag.

- you may need to sand the washer or add a shim to get the lock nut assembly to line up to give the correct preload, it'll depend on what fraction of a turn the cotter pin

- i would say a hair tight is better than a hair loose because to me that means optimal preload but everybody's feel for hair tight is what it all really comes down to. If you can wobble the wheel, it's definitely too loose and will get worse as wear sets in at an accelerated rate.

http://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/billavista/PDFs/Timkin bearing pre-load.pdf

http://www.timken.com/en-us/solutions/automotive/aftermarket/heavyduty/techtips/Pages/default.aspx

 

[grcmptrnrd]

Somewhere I round for my '00 ranger was 5 ft lb of torque, but I can't remember where I saw that. Never had a torque wrench that could go that low, so I just did finger tight after seating the bearings.