Torque specs for front wheel bearing replacement

[elcruzmissle]

I dont ever honestly post but i research a lot on here. Everyone has a good hub replacement walkthru but few have the torque specs which are needed to finish the job. Heres what chilton says for the 2004 (02-05 gen);

To install:

Installation is the reverse of the removal procedure.

Observe the following torques:

Upper ball joint-to-wheel knuckle nut: 38 ft. lbs. (52 Nm)
Lower ball joint-to-knuckle nut: 129 ft. lbs. (175 Nm)
Tie-rod end-to-knuckle nut: 52 ft. lbs. (70 Nm)
Hub-to-wheel knuckle bolts: 83 ft. lbs. (112 Nm)
Anchor plate bolts: 83 ft. lbs. (112 Nm)
Axle retainer nut: 184 ft. lbs. (250 Nm)

Check and, if necessary, align the front end.

Always install new:

Wheel hub-to-wheel knuckle bolts.
Cotter pins.
Castellated nuts.
Upper ball joint-to-wheel knuckle nut.
Axle retainer nut.

Hopefully that helps everyone since i had to take the knuckle off and go to a shop with a press to get mine out.

 

[elcruzmissle]

Also if you removed the Sway Bar end link on either side to replace the CV axle then the torque is 18 lb-ft

 

[Andrew D. Fallon]

This is a great resource for all those key torque specs relating to the hub etc. Thanks for posting this ! I used it today.

 

[Argentimage]

your terminology is confusing.

What is the torque for the nut that goes on the half shaft spindle that tightens to the front hub and bearing asy on a gen 3 4x4?


and if it is 184 ft-lbs, where do you find a torque wrench with that rating?

 

[MrPulldown]

your terminology is confusing.

What is the torque for the nut that goes on the half shaft spindle that tightens to the front hub and bearing asy on a gen 3 4x4?


and if it is 184 ft-lbs, where do you find a torque wrench with that rating?

Yes it is 184. I found that number to be an issue as my wrench only goes up to 150. So go 150 and then a little more with a bigger breaker bar.
3/4" drive torque wrench get to that range.

 

[fordysenior]

O'reillys Auto Parts "rents" torque wrenches that go that high.

 

[Argentimage]

What issue NVH noise vibration or??? Is there if it's only torqued to 150?

 

[Andrew D. Fallon]

I bought this torque wrench a while back for $53 and am very happy with it. Cheap and works well. Especially considering it goes to 250 ft lbs for things like axle nut. It's a nice upgrade over my old Craftsman one that went to 250 and was a pita to adjust.

<a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B...68-20&linkId=f6dc3444476461af169b65d41932e948">TEKTON 24340 1/2-Inch Drive Click Torque Wrench (25-250 ft.-lb./33.9-338.9 Nm)</a><img src="//ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=adfallon1968-20&l=am2&o=1&a=B00C5ZL1NS" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" />

 

[Argentimage]

Nice, looks the same as the Craftsman that goes to 150 all the way down to the red box.


Still interested to know what symptom if torqued at 150 versus 184, just a little more crush, it doesn't come off even after thousands of miles but does it lead to noise vibration etc?

 

[fordysenior]

Still interested to know what symptom if torqued at 150 versus 184, just a little more crush, it doesn't come off even after thousands of miles but does it lead to noise vibration etc?

I'm voting "yes" on that -- I borrowed my neighbors torque wrench not aware it was only a 150. Less than a year later, I'm hearing noise. The same type noise that made me want to change it out. ouch

 

[lincolnshibuya]

the 50-300 ft/lb torque wrench is quite pricey even in Harbor Freight but if you're working on multiple vehicles it's worth the price. You still need a 3/4" to 1/2" adapter for the axle nuts. It's larger than my breaker bar.

https://www.harborfreight.com/catal...Featured+Weight,f,Sale+Rank,f&q=torque+wrench

 

[apenland01]

The specs on those bearings require a fairly exact amount of force, so hit it with 184. I had to go to autozone and get their large torque wrench to finish my job. As for the sway bar end links, don't torque it down. Depending on the brand, you'll never hit 18 ftlbs until you've over torqued it. Just snug up the nuts so that the bushings flare slightly on the edges.

 

[MrPulldown]

The specs on those bearings require a fairly exact amount of force, so hit it with 184. I had to go to autozone and get their large torque wrench to finish my job. As for the sway bar end links, don't torque it down. Depending on the brand, you'll never hit 18 ftlbs until you've over torqued it. Just snug up the nuts so that the bushings flare slightly on the edges.

Should have thought of that. I had to "rent" their slide hammer already.

 

[imp]

Someone mentioned awhile back that 184 Ft-lbs can destroy the new bearings. Also, that overtorquing can destroy the bearings. After my thorough digging into all this, I come to the following : Unless the two bearings are separated by a "crush washer", or solid spacer, 184 Ft. Lbs. will EXTREMELY rapidly destroy the bearings. No different situation than that of a differential pinion bearing preload, which has been puked over more times than any other.

The 184 figure stems from the desire that the joint between axle spline and hub remain absolutely intact. After all, that assembly not
only provides driving force, but also supports it's share of the vehicle weight, as well as resisting the pounding forces of road harshness.

I tightened mine to 200 Ft. Lbs. Long time ago, ~ 60,000 miles, they're still fine. imp

 

[Argentimage]

the OE nut has a flange on it that spreads out the load, after market half shafts and the hubs come with a non flanged nut. the later might be your error element as the flanged nuts go over 200ftlb depending on application

 

[Joe in NY]

I find that good 'un tight and the good ol' built in "click" works for everything I work on

 

[imp]

the OE nut has a flange on it that spreads out the load, after market half shafts and the hubs come with a non flanged nut. the later might be your error element as the flanged nuts go over 200ftlb depending on application

@Argentimage
Please explain if I understand you correctly: do you say the actual torque applied to the tightening nut affects it's loading on the threaded shaft upon which it is tightened? As though a flanged nut behaves differently than a non-flanged nut? imp

 

[Argentimage]

Pure Physics, surface area of load distribution of the OEM nut much greater that the auto part store cheap part so the load being equal has same load applied over a much smaller surface area

 

[imp]

Pure Physics, surface area of load distribution of the OEM nut much greater that the auto part store cheap part so the load being equal has same load applied over a much smaller surface area

@Argentimage

Which simply means that the stress imposed upon both nut and tightened part is higher with the cheap part. Higher stress may be either a good thing or bad, depending on circumstances present. imp