Imprezor

OK so here's the problem.

Lately I had a bad bearing sound on my front right corner (Civic CX 93 with LS VTEC), the usual humming when running and specially when turning left (thus loading more that side), I knew it was a bad bearing so I took the knuckle out and replaced the bearing.
As I thought, the old bearing was bad, there was a surface failure that cause the ***** to rotate always in the same place (not travelling through the bearing) and then, of course, each ball dug a slot were they rested because of always spinning in the same place of the races. So I was right and the bearing was BAD.

I did this my self (the pressing bearing thing) and found very strange and unexpected (at least for me) that there was play in the hub vs. the knuckle after the new bearing was pressed in. If you did the 6 o' clock test you could easily feel play there, I'm talking about grabbing the hub and checking for play against the knuckle, with everything off the car.
At the moment I thought, well, maybe sometimes that happens and you just need the axle nut to cancel that play, 'cause it takes care of it by pressing the two inner races together and against the ***** and then the outer races, is you think about it, the bearing design goes that way. So I mounted the knuckle back on the car and torqued the axle nut to the torque specified. In fact, it seemed as if I was right and there was no play at all so I was happy, the wheel spun great and with no play at all. After I took the racemachine for a quickdrive, there was no sound neither, so I thought "OK problem solved".

For the next week I kept on checking the axle nut (which I marked vs the hub to see if it loosened) and the problem I have is that the nut tries to come loose, no matter how I do the notch on the axle nut, it breaks/bends up the notch and comes loose. I have spent like 3 axle nuts on it and have notched it in many different ways and it always comes loose, and after loosening I get play in that hub (because of not being tight enough for the play to disappear). I don't know if I'm an idiot or what, but I'm starting to think that there is, for some reason, something not normal going on there and that I might have a bad hub or something, that causes too much vibration or whatever and tries to loose out the nut.

Anyone has any advice on it?

angrysmileyface

The axle nut should have a cotter key in it to prevent it from coming off.

grumblemarc

iTrader: (4)

What? If we're talking about the same thing these need to be staked to keep them from backing themselves out.

Imprezor

The axle nut does not have a cotter pin, you do a notch in a lip the nut has, and that notch goes into a slot the axle has, and that prevents it from coming loose.

What is happening is that lip bends back up, or breaks, and the nut comes loose.

Imprezor

up?

kyden

there shouldn't be any play with the hub even with the axle out. either you have a bad hub, or you got a bad wheel bearing.

Imprezor

But then, why do the play disappears when I tighten the axle nut?

Imprezor

up

stmotorsports

bump for answers, I been having the same trouble

op, did you ever figure this out?

b20c5eg

I had a toyota once that the axle nut kept coming loose. It was a bad bearing for sure, it would shear off the cotter key. Sounds like you did everything right so I have 2 possible causes. 1st, my question to you is how did the hub look? Im talking where you have to press it into the races. was there any damage or any marks of any kind? did the hub press in really easy. If any of those questions are yes then I think you have a bad hub. You'll probably have to replace the bearing again if you need a new hub. My other possible cause would be a defective bearing. (I'm still thinking hub) thats my 2 cents, good luck either way