Quote:
Originally Posted by Stealthee
I doubt the nut was too tight, or that being "too tight" caused it to fail. I know some guys tighten theirs to 140 ft lbs and don't have premature failure.
Was it a cheap bearing? If so, that's why it failed.
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You think so? Some people have told me (mechanics) that (at least on this car) having it too tight can cause the hub to wear out faster.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave B.
X2 on what Stealthee said. I've seen them so tight that I had to use a floor jack handle as a cheater on a breaker bar to get them loose. I think yours torques to about 118 ft. lbs. - now figure that it's been heat cycled multi-thousands of times and throw in a little rust. So, it's probably REALLY tight!!
As to having a shop break it loose, re-tighten it and drive it a short distance - I can't imagine that would have any noticeable effect. Just be glad that it's a GM hub that bolts to the spindle. Most of the others are pressed in. In those cases, you either have to pull the spindle to have the old one pressed out and the new one installed... or have access to a Bearing Shark!
In any case - good luck with your repair!
DB
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Yeah it's 118.
Interestingly, the other side loosened up easily, and was at about the right ft-lb. I used a long breaker bar + cheater pipe with a jack as a support stand under a 1/2 inch drive extender, and
snapped the extender. Tried lube spray. It is nearly welded in there, somehow.
And yeah, I can give this car props for making things easy to change. The struts and suspension is designed in a way that (usually) causes little grief when installing new parts.