wheel bearing on a silverado

scirilo

Original poster
Member
Jun 20, 2012
5
Just replaced a passenger side wheel bearing and put everything back together, and the tire won't spin. Any ideas?
 
Feb 24, 2012
133
what did you torque the axle nut to?
 

jimmyjam

Member
Nov 18, 2011
1,634
deekster_caddy said:
what did you torque the axle nut to?

you're supposed to torque to something light (12 ft lbs maybe) to seat the bearings then back off and hand-snug down, if the cotter pin doesn't line up, loosen to get it to fit.
 

McGMT

Member
Jun 17, 2012
621
scirilo said:
I just tightened the axle nut as tight as I could with an impact wrench.

That might last 15k miles or so, 20k if your lucky.... :nono: You just ran the inner and outter races together and now it is going to wear like mad...

Its usually somewhere around 100lb ft or so, 103 on a TB so its about the same on a Silver...
 

scirilo

Original poster
Member
Jun 20, 2012
5
McGMT said:
That might last 15k miles or so, 20k if your lucky.... :nono: You just ran the inner and outter races together and now it is going to wear like mad...

Its usually somewhere around 100lb ft or so, 103 on a TB so its about the same on a Silver...

So what should I do?
 

McGMT

Member
Jun 17, 2012
621
scirilo said:
So what should I do?

Return that one and get another one. If your lucky the parts guy wont realize you destroyed it...
 

McGMT

Member
Jun 17, 2012
621
scirilo said:
return the wheel bearing?


Yea, return it defective and hope that the guy behind the counter doesn't realize that you destroyed it or your gonna have to buy another one...
 

scirilo

Original poster
Member
Jun 20, 2012
5
McGMT said:
Yea, return it defective and hope that the guy behind the counter doesn't realize that you destroyed it or your gonna have to buy another one...

ok just found out that there is a heavy half ton, which this truck isn't the heavy, and so that bearing is the wrong one. Thanks for your help and input.
 

McGMT

Member
Jun 17, 2012
621
scirilo said:
ok just found out that there is a heavy half ton, which this truck isn't the heavy, and so that bearing is the wrong one. Thanks for your help and input.

No problem, next time don't crush it with the impact....
 

jimmyjam

Member
Nov 18, 2011
1,634
McGMT said:
That might last 15k miles or so, 20k if your lucky.... :nono: You just ran the inner and outter races together and now it is going to wear like mad...

Its usually somewhere around 100lb ft or so, 103 on a TB so its about the same on a Silver...

woah... are we talking about sealed bolt on hubs like the trailblazer
sealed_wheel_bearing_parts.jpg


or the spindle style
24d2e15.png


if its a sealed unit, then just torque the shit out of it

but if it is the spindle style, then you only torque to 12ftlbs, loosen it and then hand tighten. DO NOT torque to 100ftlbs
 

McGMT

Member
Jun 17, 2012
621
jimmyjam said:
woah... are we talking about sealed bolt on hubs like the trailblazer
sealed_wheel_bearing_parts.jpg


or the spindle style
24d2e15.png


if its a sealed unit, then just torque the shit out of it

Don't ever ever "torque the shit" out of a sealed unit... ever... You pinch the inner and outer races together against the bearing and ruin them, that's why some people wonder why every single one they put on is garbage after 20k miles... And yes, its true if it is a spindle not to torque it down... Just ffs don't tell someone to torque the shit outta a sealed unit because that is false information and a worst case scenario.
 

Sparky

Member
Dec 4, 2011
12,927
My driver side bearing quit 30k miles after being torqued way down to something like 250+ ft lbs, although it was the original bearing and died at 150k... I broke my breaker bar trying to get that axle nut loose :crazy:

New one is torqued at 100 ft lbs
 

jimmyjam

Member
Nov 18, 2011
1,634
fair enough. never torque the shit out of anything

however i don't see how it would damage the bearing. you're just clamping both sides of the inner race. you're not pushing the bearings together unless you're crushing the race itself. that would be impressive
 

McGMT

Member
Jun 17, 2012
621
jimmyjam said:
fair enough. never torque the shit out of anything

however i don't see how it would damage the bearing. you're just clamping both sides of the inner race. you're not pushing the bearings together unless you're crushing the race itself. that would be impressive

First, who cares, anyone who is a real mechanic knows theres a reason they come up with torque specs, its not just cuz someone gets bored and starts making up numbers.

Second, not every bearing you buy is going to have a one piece inner race, some are a split race with two ends.

Either way, there are torque specs for just about everything on a vehicle and they are there for a reason, people come here for help and information to get and keep these vehicles on the road the cheapest way and the most reliable, The head is one piece your clamping onto the block, no way your going to crush the head, are you going to torque the shit outta that?
 

Sparky

Member
Dec 4, 2011
12,927
I'll admit I primarily use the German torque spec gootentite for most things. I didn't have a torque wrench for years. I have done brakes, suspension, and entire rear axle swaps without any torque wrench :lipsrsealed: I think for some things like brake caliper brackets the torque spec is like the minimum torque to keep it on there. Other things, yeah, you don't dare go over the spec as you'll smash things, or warp stuff.
 

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