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Date:         Wed, 12 Apr 2017 14:38:55 -0400
Reply-To:     David Beierl <dbeierl@ATTGLOBAL.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         David Beierl <dbeierl@ATTGLOBAL.NET>
Subject:      Re: Rear wheel bearings - repeated nut tightening required?
Comments: To: Steve Williams <steve@williamsitconsulting.com>
In-Reply-To:  <248d61bb-a0af-314b-041d-1be1474d879b@williamsitconsulting.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8

My first thought is axle nut ruined by overheating on a previous removal. All that nut does is compress the stack of bearing inner races and spacers to an immovable solid. It does not preload the bearings themselves in any way.

Yrs, d

On Wed, Apr 12, 2017 at 12:39 PM, Steve Williams < steve@williamsitconsulting.com> wrote:

> Hi, > > I have a 1991 Westfalia. On a recent road trip my passenger side rear > wheel started making a bit of a noise. I have a handy tool to tighten > the huge nut so pulled the cotter pin and was able to get about 1/2 of a > turn on the nut. I figure I put close (if not more) to the 350 foot lbs > of torque, a 2 foot breaker bar with 185 lbs standing on it to torque > it, then a gentle bounce to get the nut to the next spot a cotter pin > would fit in.. > > That made the noise go away. I left the hub cap off and checked the hub > for excessive heat periodically (15 min, 30 min, 1 hr, then hourly) for > the rest of my drive to my destination and all was good. It never got > warmer than one would expect with braking. > > I got to my destination with no further incidents. > > On the way home, about 1000 km later, it started making the noise > again. I was a bit confused as there was no heat build up... but I > figured what the heck & re-checked the torque on the axle nut. It needed > maybe 1/3 of a turn. > > *** NOTE *** There is a cotter pin in the nut, so it's not like the nut > backed off. > > I am getting ready to tear into the hub, but I'm curious what I might be > expecting to see once I get in there... > > There must be something wearing for the nut to need tightening again. > But from my understanding of how the rear bearings are set up, with the > bearing being torqued down onto the sleeve,etc I don't see how it could > loosen. > > Thoughts? > > Thanks, > Steve Williams >


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