Rear axle bearing nut torque

Topic: Rear axle bearing nut torque (Read 1590 times) previous topic - next topic

Rear axle bearing nut torque

June 16, 2014, 11:39:57 pm

Well, torque probably isn't the right word. Talking about the large nut that goes against the outer hub bearing. In the olden days we snugged it up and then backed it off enough so the wheel turned freely. Is there a more precise method nowdays? I ended up having to remove the hub to get the broken wheel studs out. Now to find a new inter seal and an axle gasket.

Re: Rear axle bearing nut torque

Reply #1 – June 17, 2014, 12:54:36 am

Find an arbor & save yourself the grief of having to deal with the studs (get a full set btw).
Also looks like the race(s) is showing wear which indicates it would be a good time to replace them too.
As for adjusting bearing loads, find a MERITOR manual (should be available on-line.)

When was the last time the diff oil was changed? pc

Re: Rear axle bearing nut torque

Reply #2 – June 17, 2014, 09:05:05 am

"find an arbor & save yourself the grief of having to deal with the studs"

Don't know what you mean by that, can you explain please.

I'll take a closer look at the races, they appeared fine to the casual observation. Oil was changed 10,000 miles ago.

Re: Rear axle bearing nut torque

Reply #3 – June 17, 2014, 10:52:24 am

Gayland, I did the bearings in my Gv that we had and I did the tightening then backing off and that worked fine. I must admit I did that a few times till I was sure all was going to be ok as it was the first time for me. I replaced the brgs just for the heck of it as it was apart. Did not need them but for a few extra bucks now was the time.
No problems with this method.
JohnH

Re: Rear axle bearing nut torque

Reply #4 – June 17, 2014, 11:33:28 am

Gayland,

Here is a torque chart from Timken that has helped out on both steer and drive axle bearing settings. http://www.timken.com/en-us/solutions/automotive/aftermarket/heavyduty/techtips/Documents/Vol1No5.pdf
There is another chart in the file section somewhere but just can't find it at present.
Pamela & Mike

Re: Rear axle bearing nut torque

Reply #5 – June 17, 2014, 08:50:35 pm

My Timken chart shows tapered axle bearing clearance .001-.005, I use .002-.004 and run the Hub Oil, no issues in 20 years with that practice.

Getting the correct free play can be a time consuming event the first time, you will have to torque it up, use dial indicator, check, undo and readjust, re-torque, re check. It will finally hit the correct setting, When you torque the lock nut, it changes the setting, why it will take a few tries to get the final result you need.

Re: Rear axle bearing nut torque

Reply #6 – June 17, 2014, 10:54:29 pm

There's a couple of u tube video's about it also. Seems pretty standard, torque to 200, back off a turn, torque to 50, back off a bit, check for the .001-.005 end play. Then as Dave says, check and recheck until the stars all align. I've got to find a neighbor with the socket and big torque wrench. They're beginning to refuse to take my calls.....

Re: Rear axle bearing nut torque

Reply #7 – June 18, 2014, 10:24:19 am

Dave, when I had the coach in the shop for new airbags, there was an old timer working on a city fire truck replacing the front seals, I asked him why he had 2 dial indicator's on the front hub,1 in front of the hub,1 in the rear,he said watch,he would push on the hub and you could see the dial move, he would adjust the nuts until he had a setting of 3 to 5 thousand's, he told me that is how he learned to do it in the early seventy's.

Re: Rear axle bearing nut torque

Reply #8 – June 19, 2014, 07:39:02 pm

Quote from: Gayland Baasch – June 17, 2014, 09:05:05 am

"find an arbor & save yourself the grief of having to deal with the studs"

Don't know what you mean by that, can you explain please.

I'll take a closer look at the races, they appeared fine to the casual observation. Oil was changed 10,000 miles ago.

Manually operated press. Excellent for bearing races, studs and a bunch of other items.
Your picture of the bearing race indicates (to me) the it is very well worn. Get a new race and you will see the difference (it's only money.) pc

Re: Rear axle bearing nut torque

Reply #9 – July 09, 2014, 10:16:23 pm

Gayland,

Did you get a part number for the axle gasket when you did all this work? I'd like to replace mine while it is all apart.

Also a good video for setting Meritor rear axle bearings

How to adjust Wheel Bearings on a Rear Drive Axle - YouTube

Re: Rear axle bearing nut torque

Reply #10 – July 10, 2014, 02:04:37 pm

I just asked for a hub gasket and they gave me what he called a generic one. The original one either had o rings embedded in the gasket, or were added separately and had stuck to the gasket when I took it apart. I haven't driven it yet to verify that it doesn't leak. They gave me the wrong length inner cap nuts so I need to replace them first.

Re: Rear axle bearing nut torque

Reply #11 – July 10, 2014, 02:49:44 pm

Thanks Gayland.

I just got back from the local FleetPride to get gaskets and the big ol' spindle locknut socket needed to remove the hub and then the rotor.

They have their hub gaskets sitting out on the sales floor with 2 different sizes, based on the size of the bolts. I ended up buying both sizes since they were only $2 a piece and I didn't know which size I needed. It turns out that my 98 uses the smaller bolt hole size which is stamped AG0111 onto the gasket and cross references over to this-

Gasket 8 Hole Flange, 330-3111, Stemco - Ryder Fleet Products

Maybe it'll be of use to someone.

Re: Rear axle bearing nut torque

Reply #12 – July 10, 2014, 07:13:01 pm

Robert - if you don't have it apart yet, here is the sequence, pull axle, bend back the tabs that hold the outer nut (they bend easily), then there is a washer type device, has holes all around it and a spline that fits in to a groove in the axle. There should be a dowel pin on the inner nut that fits into one of those holes. That's what's suppose to keep the inner nut from turning. (There was no dowel pin on mine, don't know what happened to it.) Remove that and then the inner nut. When re-assembling, that washer can be put on either way to better align the holes with the dowel pin so you don't have to do a lot of adjusting with the inner nut once you have it torqued properly. Getting the axle back in required a bit of patience getting stuff lined up.

Re: Rear axle bearing nut torque

Reply #13 – July 10, 2014, 08:39:30 pm

Thanks for the tips.

I have taken out the axle shaft (and lost most of the differential oil that I changed last year

) but won't start removing everything else until tomorrow.

You only removed the hubs, correct, and you didn't have to take off the rotor since you were only replacing the stripped lug nuts?

Re: Rear axle bearing nut torque

Reply #14 – July 11, 2014, 12:07:46 am

I had to change my right rear rotor 2 weeks ago. 4" socket required for the nut...the outer nut was pretty tight. I put a new inner seal on (pretty easy) and bearings all looked good. I just tighten by feel, but my feel is not your normal shadetree experience lol.

Gasket was just a common one carried by NAPA that stocked lots of truck parts. One was wider than the other, but both would work. Previous monkey that worked on it used RTV on both front and rear right side and no gaskets....was annoying to clean off.

Re: Rear axle bearing nut torque

Reply #15 – July 11, 2014, 09:05:57 am

Correct, I didn't remove the rotor, but of course it has to be unbolted from the hub. Pretty easy to do but if I recall correctly, the brake needs to be released so you can rotate it to get at the nuts. Either build up air pressure or use the t bolt to disengage the spring brake. If you lost a lot of oil either you must have been over full, or mine is under full. I only lost a couple cups. I'd better recheck mine, but it seemed full.

Re: Rear axle bearing nut torque

Reply #16 – July 11, 2014, 12:23:00 pm

I had filled my differential up to the fill hole last year.

When I pulled the axle shaft, lots of gear oil came out. At least 5 quarts based on how much was in the plastic tub I had put down. I'd definitely check.

Re: Rear axle bearing nut torque

Reply #17 – July 11, 2014, 08:10:21 pm

Which hole did you use for the fill as if you used the one on the rear of the rear end, you should not have gotten much oil by removing the axle.

Re: Rear axle bearing nut torque

Reply #18 – July 13, 2014, 08:24:43 pm

Whoopsie.

After further inspection, I used the axle vent on top of the passenger rear side. This much higher point would clearly explain the much higher level of gear oil coming out when pulling the axle shaft.

Won't make that mistake again.

Re: Rear axle bearing nut torque

Reply #19 – July 17, 2014, 04:12:51 pm

Update.

What I stated in the last post is incorrect regarding me filling the pumpkin all the way to the vent port. My original statement about the amount of gear oil that came out when the axle was removed was correct.

I have just finished up putting in 4 quarts of gear oil into the differential and based on how far I can stick my finger into the fill level port on the side of the differential, it is going to take at least another 4 quarts (and a trip to the store to buy more) which also looks pretty close to the amount of oil that filled up about 1/4 of my 10 gallon drain pan.

Unless your axle is significantly different from mine, you must have been low if you only got a few cups of gear oil coming out. With the correct fill up to the fill level port on the side of the diff, as noted above, you will end up with about 2 gallons of gear oil coming out when you remove an axle.

Re: Rear axle bearing nut torque

Reply #20 – July 17, 2014, 05:07:36 pm

I'd say I lost 2-4 quarts when I had mine all apart to replace the rotor. It was also tilted away from the side I was working on because it was on blocks to get the tires off.

Re: Rear axle bearing nut torque

Reply #21 – July 17, 2014, 10:57:54 pm

You do not use the side fill on the diff, but the fill plug on the rear of the pumpkin

Re: Rear axle bearing nut torque

Reply #22 – July 17, 2014, 11:49:24 pm

Quote from: red tractor – July 17, 2014, 10:57:54 pm

You do not use the side fill on the diff, but the fill plug on the rear of the pumpkin

This is what I used. The top one is a vent...and it's stuck in there anyway and probably will never come out!

Re: Rear axle bearing nut torque

Reply #23 – July 18, 2014, 10:42:09 am

Quote from: red tractor – July 17, 2014, 10:57:54 pm

You do not use the side fill on the diff, but the fill plug on the rear of the pumpkin

There are only two other plugs, top for the vent and bottom for the drain, so side fill is the rear plug. Happy?

BTW, it took exactly 7 quarts.

Re: Rear axle bearing nut torque

Reply #24 – July 19, 2014, 09:36:50 am

I get the feeling that we all have different setups. My fill plug is on the front, takes a 1/2" drive ratchet to remove. It took 1 quart to top it off. I don't have any leaks so have no reason to think it's been low.

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