That looks correct, and by the way it moves, I'd say the preload is low.

Is that the way it moves when torqued to 18ft/lbs.

What you should find is that there is a "break-away" force then a slightly lower force to keep it moving

Is it possible that your torque wrench measures in/lbs? If this were the case 18in/lbs = 1.5ft/lbs and would result in the results you are seeing.

18ft/lbs is the same as applying 18lbs of force on a 12" long lever. Do you feel like you are putting that much force on it to arrive at this torque?

 

You definitely need to get that tighter. I know the guys that like to use the "correct tools" and "FSM procedure" will probably disagree with me for life but when I do it by feel I spin it around after I do my initial tightening, tighten it even harder, back if off and snug it up. Like I said I put the wheel/tire on and it will not spin very easily, but one good drive getting the bearings warm and it will loosen up a bit and be ok? I guess you could call my method ghetto but a 40 year mechanic showed me how to do it on a variety of solid axles and Ind. suspension systems, anything without a sealed bearing etc. and I've never had a wheel bearing fail that I maintained.

P.S. when you get it right the first time, it will literally "feel" like it is way too tight, but thats because you don't have the entire weight of the vehicle with the power of an engine pushing ON the wheel bearing. First time I did it I wasn't getting it nearly tight enough and when my boss showed me how tight it needed to actually be, I wondered if truck would even roll.

 

OK then, I've got two people saying its too lose, so I'll go with that. I'll somewhat ignore the torque specs and attempt to make it tighter.
And no, my torque wrench is ft lbs, same one I use on my wheels . . . good thought though. Thanks!

 

...And the first way you are measuring is correct, with a slow, even pull. The quick tug on the spring scale is not the correct way of doing it.

 

Just curious. Are you having the same problem with both wheels or just 1?

I recently did mine and had a similar problem with the right side, the preload on the left side was within spec. I decided to leave it with a slightly low preload and check it in the spring.

 

THANK YOU!!! This is exactly what I have been wanting to know. The more I mess with it, the more I realize that results vary depending on how that scale is used.

I've only done the left side so far. I'm doing one side at a time, since this is my first time doing it, just in case I need an in tact one to look at for reference putting it back together. I've had it together and apart so many times in the last couple of days thats really not an issue anymore, but I still want to get one completed before I start another one.

You say you decided to leave the preload a bit low. How low was it? But also, did you leave it low because you were not able to achieve a higher preload even with a higher torque or were you concerned about torquing it too high???

Thanks!!!

 

I think it was about 3 lb's. I increased the torque slightly but it didn't increase the preload. I decided to recheck it in the spring and perhaps replace the bearings at that time.

 

Hmmm, sounds like what I've got going on. But also inexperience as well. I plan on getting this done today so I'll post up what finally happens.

 

when i did mine a week ago, i didn't have the right sized socket for the tightening nut so i tightened both sides as much as i could with a pair of goose necks and haven't had any problems yet..

 

What is the range on your torque wrench? Micrometer (click) style Torque wrench is only accurate in the top 75% of it's range. If it is a 250ft/lb torque wrench and you are trying to torque something to 18ft/lbs, there is no telling what torque is actually being applied.

 

I've never heard that, good to know though. I don't know off hand what the top end is. It does go pretty high though, so that might be part of the problem. But even when going to 43lbs, the wheels still weren't very tight.


I did get it done tonight and hopefully all works out well. I started with the left side and thats the side I was having problems with. I kept on torquing the adjusting nut until I got what I thought was decent preload. I stopped when I got the preload to 9lbs total. But, to achieve this, I had to torque the adjusting nut to 50lbs (manual calls for 18lbs).

I had the same issue on the right side. Using the same method, I had to torque the adjusting nut to 55lbs and that achieved 9lbs as well. 50lbs of torque is a long way from 18lbs, so I hope this works out.

But after the last few days of playing around with it and searching on here and other places for information and learning as much as I can about it, I do feel confident that this will work out ok.

Thanks for the info everyone, I appreciate it!!!

 

Hi guys.. reviving old thread here.. pretty much same question but want more concrete answers.

I took my front end apart to put in a bunch of new components, of course in doing so I had to remove, clean and repack wheel bearings. I did, and even bought the spring gauge and 54mm socket to do it right. I followed the FSM, although it is a bit vague in the one area that I am having trouble with.

It says to torque to 43, good, done, undue, spin, torque to 18. DOne, however I am supposed to get 6.4 lbs min force on the spring scale. My avg force was coming up about 3.5lb. Slow steady pull, 90-deg to radius line etc.. So, the FSM says to tighten until you get min 6.4 lb... I tightened and tightened, eventually at 32ft-lb force on the adjusting nut I got 6lbs, and decided to stop there. I checked to make sure everything is set correctly and i am confident it is.

So, what should I do moving forward? Should I tighten more to get 6+ lbs on the spring scale? Should I loosen the adjusting nut because 32 ft-lbs is too much? I am trying to see what peoples' experience says.

Thanks.

 

I tighten mine until I get the factory recommended preload. That always occurs with more than 18 ft/lbs for my truck. Somewhere about 30-40 ft/lbs sounds like about what I tighten mine to. I have 197,000 miles on my original bearings.

 

Interesting. I can't confirm if the bearings on my car are original (they are OEM part for sure though) because that would mean they have 219k miles on them. But, they are in excellent condition and I want to keep it that way.

Thanks for your input, this puts my mind at a little more ease...

 

When i rebuilt mine back in december i think it was I ignored the spring scale.
Do the whole torque it down back it off 4 or 5 times to get the grease compacted, then torque it down to the recommended spec,i went a little tighter as my bearing weren't new, and make sure it spins about a rotation and a half when you spin it. Drive it around for a few days and check it hasn't come loose(grease compacting). Should be good, I have put a few thousand miles on mine since rebuilding with this method and they are still rock solid.

 

Well, I finished installing both sides yesterday and took it for a couple of test drives, came back to driveway and inspected for any un-warranted movement.

My method was just as the FSM listed minus the 18ft-lb torque. I torqued to 32-ft lbs before I got 6-lb force on the spring scale (both sides were very similar).

I will keep an eye on it, I've never done this kind of work before so I was a bit nervous driving on the freeway yesterday No issues though.

So, short of removing tire and hub flange and locking nut, what else is a good way to check the bearings? I put the front end on jacks and wiggled the wheel to detect looseness...

 

As far as I can recall it is only Toyota that goes through all this stuff.

I have been putting front axles back together from cars to semi trucks .

Put the adjusting nut on tighten till it feels good rotating several times..

put the lock on tighten the lock nut. bend the tabs done.

In fact I have been unable to find a spring scale that low or a torque wrench in inch pounds..

I do think this was before the internet though.

I think I might just ask The Service Manger at my Toyota dealer about this any excuse to talk to her she is Hot!!