Wheel bearing pre tension question?

[I support common sense]

Bit of back story here. On my 99 ranger every time I go over 63 miles per hour it starts to vibrate violently, I assumed a wheel bearing and sure enough I checked the play and it was very loose. I went to get a hub when I found out those were only for the 4x4 versions, and I found out the front wheels have regular hubs on them. I opened it up and tightened the nut, incorrectly setting the castle nut locker, so it backed off later. I retightened them so that they have a small amount of pretension this time correctly placing the castle but so it was tight against the cotter pin, but sure enough it continued to vibrate. I’ve been told you shouldn’t have pretension on your wheel bearings, but I think it needs some, how much is too much?


Not sure if this is the correct sub-forum, but I’m sure someone will see it.

 

[2011Supercab]

On tapered wheel bearings, a hair loose is better than a hair tight.

If the castle nut doesn't line up for the cotter pin, it's better to back it off than to tighten it.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

I've always tightened the nut with a wrench or socket while rotating the wheel, then back off and bring the nut back to finger tight. Using my fingers!

Its been a very long time since I looked at torque specs, but iirc the initial torque is about 35 ftlb, and the final is in inchlbs.

 

[broncc]

Official spec is 2ft-lbs as far as I can recall. Or was it 0.6?

What I actually end up doing is this:
1 assemble bearings on spindle
2 tighten castle nut with wrench firmly (wheel should not turn)
3 loosen castle nut
4 tighten castle nut with fingers only
5 back off nut until you can slide cotter pin in

 

[pjtoledo]

first off, check the bottom of the axle stub for wear.
if the inner race of either bearing has been spinning the stub may be worn enough that the bearing will wobble no matter how tight the nut is.


from a 2005 factory manual:
while rotating the disk/hub tighten nut to 21 ftlbs
loosen nut 175 degrees, a half turn
while rotating tighten nut to 17 INCH lbs

no mention of adjusting the castle for the cotter pin.
I always make sure the castle can't loosen, tighten it if necessary.
IMHO, the bearing always has a lot of pressure on it, a couple more inch pounds won't matter.

 

[pjtoledo]

62-65 is about the speed out of balance issues begin with normal size tires.
brakes, disks & drums, can also contribute to balance issues.

 

[I support common sense]

Thank you for the responses. I had some pre load on the bearings, no play in the wheel, and the castles locker was jammed up against the cotter pin with no chance of backing off. Now all that play came back in the wheel, so I guess I’m going to go tighter. One thing I didn’t do was overtighten then back off and torque it, so I’ll give that a shot.

I had the tires changed a few thousand miles ago and they were balanced, so I don’t think it was the tires, but I haven’t ruled it out yet. I will be returning for an alignment, once I replace the leaf spring, and I’ll have them check the balance.

 

[Roert42]

I’ve had this same issue with my’11.

Following thr procedure correctly per the factory service manual the wheel bearing would always be loose when I went to shake the wheel.

I ended up repeating the process and increasing the final torque a couple in lbs at a time until I got it to the point where there was no play. I think it ended up around 30 in/lbs.

This may have been due to the type of grease used or something like that. Can’t say for use. I’ve had this issue since I bought the truck.

 

[SenorNoob]

I always set my bearings by feel of the drag on the rotor. As long as I can turn it by the studs and it doesn't stop in less than a seconds after letting go it's fine. When I tried to mine by the book with a 1/4 drive torque wrench, I put everything back together and the wheel moved in-out a 1/4 inch or so... Not OK.

 

[Rick W]

One little thought: you mentioned you tightened it up and let it backed off and you had to tighten it again. Did you possibly damage the bearings when it loosened up? Bearings are relatively cheap. They’re durable if installed right, but they’re fragile if you over tight them or under tighten them. You might want to start with a new set, and always change the races as well. I buy the inexpensive ones on rock auto, but I always buy a few extras and a few extra seals.

As always, my two cents, hope it helps

 

[I support common sense]

One little thought: you mentioned you tightened it up and let it backed off and you had to tighten it again. Did you possibly damage the bearings when it loosened up? Bearings are relatively cheap. They’re durable if installed right, but they’re fragile if you over tight them or under tighten them. You might want to start with a new set, and always change the races as well. I buy the inexpensive ones on rock auto, but I always buy a few extras and a few extra seals.

As always, my two cents, hope it helps

If once I’ve corrected the tension on my bearings it des not fix it then I will consider getting new bearings. As for the races, they are built into the rotors, so unless I pressed them out it would be difficult to change the outer races cheaply.

 

[Roert42]

The bearing and race should be changed as a pair regardless of how difficult.

If the race is damaged and you replace the rest of the bearing, then you will simply damage the new bearing during the installation.

 

[Rick W]

If once I’ve corrected the tension on my bearings it des not fix it then I will consider getting new bearings. As for the races, they are built into the rotors, so unless I pressed them out it would be difficult to change the outer races cheaply.

Yes, the race is pressed in to the rotor, but it’s not hard to change.

It usually has an exposed lip on the back side. You can use a long screwdriver, or even just a little piece of steel, like a piece of rebar or a little flat stock, to catch that lip and start tapping it out. You can’t just hit it from one spot and work it all the way out, you have to work around it at three points, because the second it starts to move it will wedge. If you move around three points around the circle, you can usually knock it out in less than 60 seconds

You don’t have to be worried about making a mark where the bearing rests. When the new race is put in there, it will cover anything you might nip or chip. You do have to be careful on the rotor surfaces.

The back bearing race comes out the same way.

Do not use a screwdriver or a piece of steel to put the race back in!!!

My personal favorite is just a little 3/8 inch or half inch wooden dowel about 6 inches long. First, you can put a flat whatever, 2 x 4? Little piece of plywood? On top of the race on top of the rotor, all anligned and level, and gently but firmly tap it so the race starts to seat. Then, using the dowel, work around three points as before, and you can seat it all the way down. Just go slow, but when it hits the bottom, you can give it a half dozen firm raps to make sure it’s bottomed out.

My only other advice to do it on some kind of firm surface, and don’t be wiggling it around in your lap or something like that. It really just takes a few minutes, and the races come with the bearings.

My two cents, hope it helps.

 

[Rick W]

I just did a quick look on rock auto, and bearings with race start at $2.50, and there are a bunch under four dollars. The rotors start at $11.50, and there are a bunch under 30.

Other afterthoughts. The bearing by itself should have almost no wiggle room. If you insert two fingers into the center of the bearing, you should not be able to wiggle the outside gizmo that holds all the rollers to any noticeable degree. You can spin it obviously, but you should not be able to wiggle it side to side to side in any direction

If you clean all of the grease off the bearing and the race, and you insert the bearing in the race and just turn it with two fingers inserted in the middle, it should be absolutely as smooth as glass. You shouldn’t feel anything as it rotates.

hope it helps

 

[I support common sense]

Thank you for the responses. I should have mentioned that at least the bearings were done at a local “Midas” shop about 12,000miles ago. I don’t know about the races, but a good mechanic would do all that at the same time. I assumed they didn’t tighten it up correctly, but I still haven’t gotten a chance to tighten it again.