front end binding up

[black_demon69]

could also be calipers

 

[ab_slack]

It looks like I was wrong on the torque, it says 35 - 45 ft-lbs;

http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/Dana28Rebuild.shtml

I've always done the 35 - 45 ft-lbs but have also loosened the nut and brought it back to finger tight [without moving the wheel or rotor] to allow just a little heat expansion room. Its been awhile and my memory aint great, make sure to check my figures.

Richard

Setting spindle nuts to 35-45 ft-lbs sounds incorrect. My shop manual (for D28) specifies a procedure similar to what you describe at the end. Torque the inner spindle inner lock nut to some number of ft-lbs (40 ft-lbs sounds reasonable), rotate the wheel a couple times. This is to seat the bearing. Movement is stiff torqued like that. Then without rotating the wheel back it off and re-torque it to something ridiculously light like 18 in-lbs (like 1.5 ft-lbs). Then the lock washer with the pin goes on to keep the inner nut from moving and finally put the outer lock nut to keep it all from coming apart. That outer one gets torqued significantly. I am thinking like 150 ft-lbs. That pushes against the inner nut. Since inner nut is so lightly torqued it isn't compressing the bearing the wheel turns freely. All that force on the outer nut goes against the inner one rather than the bearing.

 

[Andy D]

Take it for a 5 mile drive at moderate speeds. Park it safely and immediately start checking for heat and smell. That is how I found the seized e-brake cables on the Rat.

 

[Haywire6000]

Also! IF you do find out the wheel bearings where tight to the point that the wheels locked up I would replace the bearings and races.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

I did some searching and found this by 4x4junkie [a very knowledgeable long time member ];

Yeah, as Wicked said the book spec is 150ft-lbs on the outer nut, but it's nowhere near enough.

I run the inner nut down to 35 ft-lbs, spin the rotor a few times, back it off a half-turn, retighten it to 15 INCH-lbs (hand-tighten it with the socket), put the locking washer on, then tighten the outer nut down to 225-250 or so ft-lbs. Never had one come loose on me (running 35s).