The car is a '90 Accord DX and what has been happening is the inner races on my wheel bearing's are spinning on the rear passenger side spindle because they dont fit on tightly enough. Ive gone through about 3-4 different bearing/hub assemblies and I even replaced the actual spindle from a junked accord. Ive tried torquing the spindle nut down to the 150 ft. lbs. listed, as well as tightening it as much as I can with a breaker bar this last time. The driver side is fine, the inner race is nice and snug and I actually had some trouble sliding it on last time, where as the passenger side just slides right on and off with barely any resistance. I usually stick to Moog for stuff like this just because of the warranty, but I even tried a Beck and Arnley this last time and it didnt fair any better. So what do I have to do to get ride of this? Are any of the bearing/hubs model specific?

 

Looking at the parts diagrams it appears the rear knuckles (spindles) from 1990-1993 are the same regardless of trim level or coupe/sedan.

Might be a pain but have you considered swapping the good fitting bearing to the other side? Could eliminate the cause.

Also consider an OEM bearing. Moot seems to be hit or miss on quality these days

 

I don't know the specs of the spindles, but I would remove both rear wheel bearings and get a micrometer to measure the spindle diameters. If the side you're having trouble with is off by as little as a few thousanths of an inch, I'd get another spindle. If they're the same, then I don't know what to tell you.


Out of curiosity, but are you putting a dent into the spindle nut after torquing it down or are you just leaving it as is?

 

Are you installing the washer with the tang that fits into the slot in the spindle?

 

Ive already replaced the spindle thats been causing trouble, and it didnt seems to really have any damage on the bearing surface when I installed it. I usually like to go ahead and replace the spindle nut after I spike it, a couple bucks here just to put my mind at ease that no threads could get boogered up, and yes, Ive been installing the washer correctly. I think im going to try a cheaper brand hub soon, maybe the possible sloppier tolerances will be in my favor?

 

What I don't understand is A) How is the spindle's diameter smaller (Guess it was worn from the inner race slipping on it?) and B) Why the bearing's race started slipping in the first place (Guess the bearing began to freeze?)

This is a weird problem, replacing the spindle is the right fix and will work (unless for some freaking crazy reason the spindle you get has had the same odd malfunction) but here is a solution, I would take a hack saw blade or ideally a die-grinder and cut like a 1/4" by 1 or 2mm deep cut into the inner race (essentially making a key-way) then take a small piece of metal(the key) and tack weld it onto the spindle, if you can't weld it, maybe epoxy it into place

 

Im still not sure what the exact issue is.

 

Agreed.

Br/Bea
Can you post some pictures of your issue?

 

My wheel bearing's inner race is too big for my spindle, so it spins instead of operating as a ball bearing...

Things I have replaced ->
-Wheel bearing/ hub assembly (3-4 time Ive lost count, both Moog as well as Beck and Arnley brands)
-Spindle nut (3-4 times)
-Spindle nut washer (3-4 times)
-Spindle assembly (Once so far)

 

How the hell did replacing the spindle assembly not fix the problem?

 

On the upright the spindle is not a race.
The wheel bearing assembly has the race.
When the rear wheel bearing nut is torqued down the inner and outer race of the wheel bearing assembly will be clamped.

I'm wondering if the 'tight fit' you have mistaken for the 'good' side is that the inner wheel bearing race is still stuck to the 'good' upright(common enough problem), and you have mistaken the 'good' upright as good, when it is the faulty one.

Pictures and measurements would be best in us helping you.
We do not have the car in front of us.

 

Because the universe plays cruel jokes on us sometimes, and apparently someone, somewhere has it out for me and my accord

 

Maybe you should just go to the salvage yard and pull the entire rear knuckle and hub off another car and install it on yours.