Replacing Bearings - How tight for the nut?

[gerry]

Installing some new bearings in my boat trailer I was wondering what kind of "rules of thumb" are out there with respect to how tight one should put the nut on before inserting the cotter pin?

Hand tighten and back of a quarter turn has been the rule I have been following....any others?

[AquaMan]

I use that rule as well. You will want to periodically check the wheel hub for wobble during the re-seating period. .01" variance can make a big difference in terms of proper travel. Also check for over heating in the event you got it too tight. Retighten as needed.

AquaMan~~~~~~~~~~~~~

.·´¯° --- "It all begins and ends at the water's edge"

Eric@crowncomputerinc.com

[PRO]

Seat the bearing with the nut, then back off a little and spin the hub. Should spin with no interf. slight wobble only. Put the cotter pin in and bend it over good. Check for heat the first 10 -20 miles. Then check every fillup on long trips. If you did it right no heat at all. Check tire pressures also.

[REW]

I agree with the previous posting.
I use a socket wrench to seat the bearings with about 50 ft lbs of torque. Then I back the nut off completely, then tighten - finger tight. After doing that, I back it off one castellation (i.e. one slot in the axle nut.)

If you have done it correctly, you should have just a bit of perceptable rocking of the hub when everything is completly cold. This means, that as the bearings heat with running, they will tighten, so that all of the play will be gone, and yet they will be running free.

It is many times better to be running just a smidge loose, rather than a smidge tight. Too tight, the bearings will overheat and break. No damage will be done, if the bearings are just a smidge loose.

Take care
REW

[Starfish]

I'm not sure I agree that being a little loose is good. I had repeated problems with losing bearing buddies on one side of my trailer after trailering on a rough road. I checked and found that I had just a little play on that side, and the extra rattling on bumps was enough to rock the bearing buddy out. I started running it a little tighter and have had no more problems. I guess the message is that you don't want to overtighten, but don't go too loose either.

[GORD]

The trick is to run them in a bit then jack up the trailer and check them. There should be no play. If there is play... say good bye to your bearing buddies. I learned this the hard way.

[MarkG]

Just another tip here also as you put it back together,,Make sure you bend your cotter pin over sufficiantly to clear the inner surface of the hubcap or bearing buddy.Otherwise it will scrape
on it.It helps to not use one thats too long.