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Old 04-26-2005, 03:26 PM   #1
pchaas
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M.O.C. #634
Tires, wheel bearings and axels?

Had the wheel brgs cleaned checked and repacked the other day. The nuts seemed unusually loose but the cotter keys were still in place. The rig is 5 yrs old this year and this has never been done, although I do add grease about every 500 miles. We didn't replace any bearings and only one wheel showed slight leakage. Question: Should those nuts be a little looser than normal or as tight as say a wheel brg on a car or truck? The tires on one side did show some wear like the axels were out of line. I wish now I would have stayed in Goshen awhile longer last year at the rally and had them checked. Comments please.
 
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Old 04-26-2005, 03:36 PM   #2
CountryGuy
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Paul,

You talking lug nuts?? If so, Al puts his on with a torque wrench. You would need to verify what the setting should be for your tires, your rig, your rims. I know when he changes a tire, takes one off for some reason, he checks those lug nuts a LOT, every 50 miles, for a couple hundred, then every 100 till we have 500 on. Even then, he checks them a lot.

If you are talking something else, my apologies.

Carol
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Old 04-26-2005, 03:50 PM   #3
pchaas
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Carol, No it would be the nut that holds the lugs in place. I agree with tourqueing the lug nuts though. I have seen a wheel come off before and its not a pretty sight. Paul
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Old 04-26-2005, 04:01 PM   #4
azstar
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pchaas,

I have always done my own, and treat them like any other axle nut. After packing 2/3 of the Bearing cavity with greese, install , tighten nuts snug and then back off to the first castle alignment hole.

In your case I believe you are seeing the results of the bearings seating some over time and some possible wear.

Happy Camping
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Old 04-26-2005, 04:23 PM   #5
pchaas
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Thank you Azstar, thats exactly what I thought also. I did tighten them up some but then I got to worrying about them being too tight. Haven't had it out on the road for a long trip but I surely don't want to burn up a bearing when I do.
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Old 04-26-2005, 05:57 PM   #6
Searchers
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Here's links for Dexter Axle (www.dexteraxle.com) and Alko (www.al-kousa.com/)and both contain service advice and other useful information.
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Old 04-27-2005, 03:24 AM   #7
tweir
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I just checked the links posted by Don & Claudia----looks like the "service manual" section from Alko is not up & running & the Dexter link would not load. Anyways, if you are talking about the spindle nut there are several ways of setting these up. Some bearing/axle assemblies require "pre-loading" the bearing by torquing or tightning the nut until the hub does not spin freely then backing off either a castlelation notch or a fraction of a whole revolution; i.e. "back off 1/4 turn". Other set-ups require that only the end-play (the in & out movement of the hub in relation to the fixed axle) be removed. Either method is dependent upon they type of bearing used in the assembly. Too much tightning can cause the cage holding the rollers in the race assembly of the bearing to distort thus throwing the rollers for a lack of a better term, "out of alignment" and your cup assembly will "spall"---a heating condition caused by the tapered rollers not running true in the cup. Major problem...! But not to worry; look in your owner's manual (such that it is) and get the axle manufacturer and part number of the axle and usually a call to the "800" number for the tech support folks will tell you which method to use. I would write this down in the manual for future reference. I would wager that the method used by both axle manuafatuerers is the "pre-load" method---while turning the hub, tighten down the spindle nut until its fairly hard to turn, then back it off "one flat" or 1 castlelation groove. Once you've "pre-set" the assembly and inserted the NEW cotter pin, check for ease of rotation. I use a spring-type fish scale at work with a cord affixed to the hook end and set up axles to 5 pounds of pull (rolling resistance) to make it spin---this way I get a consistent set-up. Don't forget, once the bearing a packed & the assembly set-up, a few miles of travel will "squish" (a technical term I learned in mechanic's school) some of the grease out of the race thus causing the race to run deeper in the cup and hence, the "feel" that the spindle nut has loosened up. This is why in most cases, the bearnings are "pre-loaded"---to make the grease "squish" so you get a real accurate bearing-to-cup set up.
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Old 04-27-2005, 07:15 AM   #8
Searchers
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Hmmm, Both links worked when I just tried it again and the service manual info was accessible. Thomas has you on the right track anyway Paul.
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