Dana 35 wheel bearing setup

[Evan]

Alright, I did a search and didn't find anything. Can someone give me the proper steps for setting up the bearings on a D35, i.e the torque of the inner nut and how hard it should be to turn the rotor when everything is done.

Thanks.

 

[MAKG]

I don't think I've ever seen a preload spec on a brake rotor.

For manual hubs, inner nut to 30 ft-lbs, rotate rotor, retorque 30 ft-lbs, repeat until no change. Back off 1/4 turn. Tighten to hand-tight (I think the spec is 16 INCH-lbs). Install washer without turning inner nut. Install outer nut to 150-250 ft-lbs.

 

[4x4junkie]

The way I do mine (not a whole lot different from what MAKG posted):

• Pack liberally with a good quality lithium-base wheelbearing grease (I use Castrol Wheelbearing Grease)
• Assemble it and tighten the nut to 35 ft-lbs while spinning the rotor back & forth.
• Back it off a half-turn, then retighten to 15 INCH-lbs (about what you'll get by tightening it until snug by hand with the socket)
• Install locking washer (flipping it over if the hole doesn't line up, don't move the nut)
• Tighten the outer nut to 250ft-lbs, making sure the washer tab doesn't slip out of the spindle groove.
  

 

[Evan]

I bought a universal bearing packer today. It connects to a grease gun. Is does a MUCH better job than hand packing.

 

[Will]

I've packed a lot of bearings. Back in the artillery, anytime we crossed a stream or did a beach landing we pulled the wheels off and repacked the bearings. We repacked them 4 times a year for grins. On holidays we used different colored grease--red and green for Christmas, pink and blue for Easter and orange for Halloween. From the 8" diameter bearings in a 155 to the little thimble sized bearings in a 2wd car I've never seen one fail because hand packing was inadequate. I've never seen a tool that did it, actually. I've seen them fail because people people didn't understand 2 basic ideas--One) you need the grease squeezed out for it to seat all the way. And Two) you want zero clearance and zero preload--impossible to achieve, but I've seen them fail in a mile because the knuckleheads thought torquing the nut with your size elevens on a 3' pumphandle was crucial in keeping the wheel from falling off.

 

[Evan]

I've packed a lot of bearings. Back in the artillery, anytime we crossed a stream or did a beach landing we pulled the wheels off and repacked the bearings. We repacked them 4 times a year for grins. On holidays we used different colored grease--red and green for Christmas, pink and blue for Easter and orange for Halloween. From the 8" diameter bearings in a 155 to the little thimble sized bearings in a 2wd car I've never seen one fail because hand packing was inadequate. I've never seen a tool that did it, actually. I've seen them fail because people people didn't understand 2 basic ideas--One) you need the grease squeezed out for it to seat all the way. And Two) you want zero clearance and zero preload--impossible to achieve, but I've seen them fail in a mile because the knuckleheads thought torquing the nut with your size elevens on a 3' pumphandle was crucial in keeping the wheel from falling off.

Will, hand packing is definitely adequate, but the bearing will run out of grease sooner than with a machine packer. I know I got way more grease into the bearing than I ever could by rubbing it over the surface by hand.

So you're saying the best setup is one that's seated all the way and has NO preload?

 

[MAKG]

Yup, that's right.

If you read instructions for a 2WD (especially an older one like my Chevy), you'll find they tell you to set it up loose.

A loose bearing will survive indefinitely, but will "flop around" on turns (loose steering). A tight bearing will burn up, but will steer considerably better. You have to trade these off; a perfect setup has no play, but no preload either. Though there is some resistance from the grease and the seal.

I've packed both ways. They are both very messy and both work well, but the grease-gun packer seems to get grease between every bearing, just so.

 

[Will]

You don't pack by wiping it over the surface. You put a wlanut sized lump in your palm and use the bottom edge of the bearing to take bites out of the lump. You keep biting in the same spot until it comes out the top, don't spin the bearing during this. Then you turn it a little and start biting again. When you get to the start, you go around again to check that it's full. You pack a bearing completely full like this. I wasn't joking about how many I've done. It's the number one maintenance thing in field artillery and 7 of my 10 years were in towed artillery. A bearing for an M198 is about 8" across and weighs 5# and you do it the same way you do a little Dana 60 bearing--one bite at a time.

 

[Evan]

Yup, that's right.

If you read instructions for a 2WD (especially an older one like my Chevy), you'll find they tell you to set it up loose.

A loose bearing will survive indefinitely, but will "flop around" on turns (loose steering). A tight bearing will burn up, but will steer considerably better. You have to trade these off; a perfect setup has no play, but no preload either. Though there is some resistance from the grease and the seal.

I've packed both ways. They are both very messy and both work well, but the grease-gun packer seems to get grease between every bearing, just so.

Ok, I'm going to loosen my bearings up then, as I have them on the tight side, as in too tight. I was under the impression that they should be a little tight, but you've given a pretty good explanation of why they should be close to "neutral".

And Will, I guess I never knew how to correctly pack a bearing. That probably explains why my passenger side ran low on grease yesterday and failed while driving. That and too much preload, combined with 35" tires on 10" rims with 4.5" BS.

I'll stick to the auto-packer as it seems easier and more fool-proof.

 

[4x4junkie]

You don't want the bearings completely loose, otherwise the races will spin on the spindle, causing increased spindle wear.

The small preload you get with 15 inch-lbs is enough to keep this from happening, but is nowhere near enough to cause any heat buildup or added wear.

 

[Evan]

You don't want the bearings completely loose, otherwise the races will spin on the spindle, causing increased spindle wear.

The small preload you get with 15 inch-lbs is enough to keep this from happening, but is nowhere near enough to cause any heat buildup or added wear.

I have them with a small amount of preload. I can spin the rotors easily (without brakes on) when done, but nothing is "loose", and there is a small amout of resistance.

I welded some more steel onto the locknut washer tab so it's more hesitant to spin out of the notch in the spindle.

 

[Will]

With the size of the bearings on a 4x4 (compared to a 4x2) the 16"# of preload isn't really preload--it's just taking up the slack. On a trailer or 2wd you often have to choose between loose enough to rock the hub and see the bearing move and tight because the castlated nut has very few positions. Loose is the right answer. Our guns had a huge 4-notch spanner nut and a washer with probably 30 tits on it so there was always an exact match. A 4x4 Ranger front has quite a few choices with it's washers. A 2wd and trailer sux, but it isn't critical. An auto hub Ranger is pretty bad too.

 

[Capt Jay]

To reiterate what was stated earlier. Make sure the outer locked nut is tight. They are notorious for backing off, not that it happened to me on the trail. OK, it did. Just listen to what they others said. They are spot on, and you'll never have any problems.

 

[motohead771]

+ ONE on the info WILL! I do my bearings by hand as well.

 

[Hahnsb2]

I believe according to a study I've heard about, .001" preload is the absolute best setup for bearings, of course it's almost impossible to measure that for most people. As said in here I hand tighten tighten the inner with the socket and crank the outer as hard as I can.