[DeTomaso] Wheel bearing check

[jderyke at aol.com]

The time-honored way to check rear wheel bearings is to remove the tub, and with a knowlegable person helping you, throw a haunch into the rear fender approximately above the center of the rear wheel cutout area, in line with the wheel center. Don't do this with such vigor that you dent the fender! Watch the halfshaft carefully: if it moves perceptibly UPWARD, either the bearings are bad or the outer stub axle shaft surface is worn. Repeat for the other side. On wide body cars, this may be less definitive as they used a wider, less flexible straight roller bearing at the inner position & a std. ball bearing on the outer surface. 

In rare cases, a 300+ ft-lb-torqued axle nut is loose and will fail the above test. Some of this can come from weld-repaired stock axles where the splines were filled with weld near their inner end. The inner bearing hangs over the end of the splines as-stock. If combined with a worn (shortened) internal axle spacer, the result can allow the nut to bottom in the splines instead of tightening against the bearing stack. If you have this condition, no matter how much torque you use on the nut or the quality of the bearings, the assembly will be loose in the upright and the wheel will wobble.

A third possible condition: after pressing apart an upright, the outer bearing retainer can be distorted into a shallow cone shape from the hydraulic press's force, so the outer bearing race is not firmly held against a machined step inside the upright. There is no inner bearing step so this small front clearance can allow the axle and both bearings to move back & forth in an upright a tiny bit under power, which translates to a noticable wheel wobble. The fix is simple: pound the steel 4-screw retainer flat BEFORE reassembling. It simply cannot be done (or even verified) with a fully assembled upright. Note that all 3 problems above do NOT depend on the halfshafts used.
 
 
 
-----Original Message-----
From: Robert Stroj <npdrs at maui.net>
To: detomaso <detomaso at server.detomasolist.com>
Sent: Thu, Jun 27, 2019 7:30 am
Subject: [DeTomaso] Wheel bearing check

I will be installing SAC CV joint kit tomorrow and wanted to check wheel
bearings for play at the same time.
Could someone please let me know the correct procedure to check the
bearings?
I understand the rear bearings are non-adjustable, but front ones can be
tightened; is this correct and what is the correct spec on tightening the
front ones?
Would it make sense  to try and re-pack the wheel bearings with fresh grease
at the same time?

As well, what is the correct torque for tightening the CV adapters to the
wheel flange and ZF flanges?
Should I use any Locktight here?

Thanks a lot,

Robert

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-------------- next part --------------
   The time-honored way to check rear wheel bearings is to remove the tub,
   and with a knowlegable person helping you, throw a haunch into the rear
   fender approximately above the center of the rear wheel cutout area, in
   line with the wheel center. Don't do this with such vigor that you dent
   the fender! Watch the halfshaft carefully: if it moves perceptibly
   UPWARD, either the bearings are bad or the outer stub axle shaft
   surface is worn. Repeat for the other side. On wide body cars, this may
   be less definitive as they used a wider, less flexible straight roller
   bearing at the inner position & a std. ball bearing on the outer
   surface.
   In rare cases, a 300+ ft-lb-torqued axle nut is loose and will fail the
   above test. Some of this can come from weld-repaired stock axles where
   the splines were filled with weld near their inner end. The inner
   bearing hangs over the end of the splines as-stock. If combined with a
   worn (shortened) internal axle spacer, the result can allow the nut to
   bottom in the splines instead of tightening against the bearing stack.
   If you have this condition, no matter how much torque you use on the
   nut or the quality of the bearings, the assembly will be loose in the
   upright and the wheel will wobble.
   A third possible condition: after pressing apart an upright, the outer
   bearing retainer can be distorted into a shallow cone shape from the
   hydraulic press's force, so the outer bearing race is not firmly held
   against a machined step inside the upright. There is no inner bearing
   step so this small front clearance can allow the axle and both bearings
   to move back & forth in an upright a tiny bit under power, which
   translates to a noticable wheel wobble. The fix is simple: pound the
   steel 4-screw retainer flat BEFORE reassembling. It simply cannot be
   done (or even verified) with a fully assembled upright. Note that all 3
   problems above do NOT depend on the halfshafts used.
   -----Original Message-----
   From: Robert Stroj <npdrs at maui.net>
   To: detomaso <detomaso at server.detomasolist.com>
   Sent: Thu, Jun 27, 2019 7:30 am
   Subject: [DeTomaso] Wheel bearing check
   I will be installing SAC CV joint kit tomorrow and wanted to check
   wheel
   bearings for play at the same time.
   Could someone please let me know the correct procedure to check the
   bearings?
   I understand the rear bearings are non-adjustable, but front ones can
   be
   tightened; is this correct and what is the correct spec on tightening
   the
   front ones?
   Would it make sense  to try and re-pack the wheel bearings with fresh
   grease
   at the same time?
   As well, what is the correct torque for tightening the CV adapters to
   the
   wheel flange and ZF flanges?
   Should I use any Locktight here?
   Thanks a lot,
   Robert
   _______________________________________________
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   To manage your subscription (change email address, unsubscribe, etc.)
   use the links above.
   Members who post to this list grant license to the list to forward any
   message posted here to all past, current, or future members of the
   list. They also grant the list owner permission to maintain an archive
   or approve the archiving of list messages.

References

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