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Mon Oct 24, 2016 6:47 pm

Hey, I just replaced and repacked the rear wheel bearings on my 1970 bus. There is still play in the wheel if I try to move it laterally (As in the kind of play it shouldn't have.) Do I just need a new stub axle? could my bearings be out of spec from new? Do I need to put a thrust shim in it? If i drive it a few miles and re-torque it, do you think that may fix it?

Mon Oct 24, 2016 8:44 pm

Robbie (Asiab3) just returned to your neck of the woods. Why not ask him to take a look. Play is not something you want to mess with. The question is does your wheel play feel normal or is it excessive? Did you torque the nut correctly to 253 ft lbs or than and the next cotter pin hole?

Mon Oct 24, 2016 8:46 pm

I'm guessing you didn't notice any odd wear or marks on the stub axle while cleaning it off?
Do you know how old the bearings are and where they were sourced originally?

Mon Oct 24, 2016 9:02 pm

I had the same problem. Splines were worn on my drum. New drum and all was good.

Tue Oct 25, 2016 6:48 am

RocketSurgeon wrote: I had the same problem. Splines were worn on my drum. New drum and all was good.

It isn't a rotational play though. It moves up/down/side-to-side.

See around 1:25 of this video. I have very similar play: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NTX1-NctEg

Busdaddy wrote: I'm guessing you didn't notice any odd wear or marks on the stub axle while cleaning it off?
Do you know how old the bearings are and where they were sourced originally?

No, it looked pretty clean. A little bit of wear marks but no groves and didn't seem to indent in like there was metal worn off. I took a few pictures while doing this project. I'll post what I have in just a few minutes.
Admittedly, the bearings aren't the best. I re-used the outer roller bearing (it still looked perfect) and I put in a National brand inner ball bearing. It fit nice and snug. The stub axle seemed to have a little play in it when I was figuring out how to remove it. I had the outer roller bearing out and it would move up/down/side-to-side.

I torqued the nut as tight as I could with a mallet and my axle nut wrench (the short black one that uses a 1/2" driver. (I'm not driving it! so it's ok to sit with improper torqueing!) I didn't have time to properly torque that nut or my CV bolts yet. I'll be doing that the next day that isn't raining and I can get out there. Probably Friday? or maybe I'll do it Wednesday out in the rain anyways. This is the tightest I have ever had the axle nut though. When I got the bus, it was just hand tight and had the cotter pin (Nail) in it. Yay PO's

Tue Oct 25, 2016 6:51 am

Tue Oct 25, 2016 7:18 am

Spike0180 wrote: I torqued the nut as tight as I could with a mallet and my axle nut wrench (the short black one that uses a 1/2" driver. (I'm not driving it! so it's ok to sit with improper torqueing!) I didn't have time to properly torque that nut or my CV bolts yet. I'll be doing that the next day that isn't raining and I can get out there. Probably Friday? or maybe I'll do it Wednesday out in the rain anyways. This is the tightest I have ever had the axle nut though. When I got the bus, it was just hand tight and had the cotter pin (Nail) in it. Yay PO's
So, torque up that puppy and see how it feels. There is no way a mallet is going to get you to proper spec.

Tue Oct 25, 2016 10:12 am

I have a torque wrench that will work if you want me to swing by one day. Just PM me. Are you in Detroit proper or a Burb?

Tue Oct 25, 2016 10:40 am

Replace the other bearing

Tue Oct 25, 2016 11:16 am

Alright, I'll report back when I have done so. I have a 1/2" drive and a long cheater. I can do math and get it really close to torque. If that doesn't work, I may have to get a new outer bearing.

Tue Oct 25, 2016 11:16 am

ToolBox wrote: I have a torque wrench that will work if you want me to swing by one day. Just PM me. Are you in Detroit proper or a Burb?

I just moved to Grosse Pointe Park. Where are you?

Tue Oct 25, 2016 2:22 pm

When I did my rear wheel bearings inspection and repack, the bearings checked out fine. They were quality German or European name brand ones. When I reassembled everything and torqued the nut down to the right torque, I still had a bit of play when I pushed in at the top and pulled in from the bottom. It's not much but you can certainly feel a slight amount.

Ask me how much I'm worried about it. :lol:

Wed Oct 26, 2016 9:22 am

Spike0180 wrote: ToolBox wrote: I have a torque wrench that will work if you want me to swing by one day. Just PM me. Are you in Detroit proper or a Burb?

I just moved to Grosse Pointe Park. Where are you?

Southfield near the mixing bowl. Just a quick drive out to GPP from my place.

Sun Oct 30, 2016 7:38 pm

Alright, so I got back under the bus the other day. Found the replacement bolts for my CV were junk. So i ordered some better ones. As well as a speedo cable, some break line rubber, and the other wheel axle seals I need.

I did find that I had rotational play as well. So I think the drum being stripped a little could be a good lead. I didn't take it back off because I wanted to drive it. Sue me. I'll follow up on this when I fix the issue (idk when that will be.)

Mon Oct 31, 2016 1:50 pm

Your rotational play on the splines is a sign it was not torqued up enough.

Over here, standing on extended breaker bars is the norm...

When I first got my castle nuts undone, the 3/4 inch drive breaker bar started to twist with my weight on 6 feet of tubing. Say somewhere up in the 1200+ ft lb of torque to undo it.

Fri Nov 18, 2016 7:48 am

hmmm... Well I guess im getting a breaker bar... lol My 1/2 ratchet was so crappy it lost to EMPI. (it was super old and crappy when I got it. I had bent it before)

Fri Nov 18, 2016 8:51 am

Buy a cheap set of 3/4" drive tools and get the job done. I wouldn't dream of using my good quality 1/2" ratchet for this job as I see no reason to intentionally destroy it, I would not want to use a my 1/2" drive breaker bar either for the same reasons.

Fri Nov 18, 2016 9:01 am

You have to hit the flat part of the EMPI tool with a BFH to loosen the nut. The ratchet is there just to hold the tool in place.

Fri Nov 18, 2016 2:00 pm

richparker wrote: You have to hit the flat part of the EMPI tool with a BFH to loosen the nut. The ratchet is there just to hold the tool in place.

I had already wailed on it with a hammer (maybe I need a bigger one). I was standing on about 3' of cheater bar (iron gas pipeline. industrial stuff with 1/4" walls) when it broke.