On occasions where one has to remove the big wheel spindle nut to get access to the steering knuckle, ball joints, wheel bearings, rotor (such as on those pre-1998 accords), 2 issues always tickle my curiosity:

(1) How does the average weekend/backyard mechanic torque that big spindle nut to specifications: in some cases as high as 180 lb.ft. The majority of retail outfits do not carry such high-torque torque wrenches

So one will say just use an impact wrench, or approximate by adding a length of pipe to an regular torque wrench rated for may 100 ft-lb. Does that really shortens the life of the wheel bearing. Safety should not be an issue because the new replacement spindle nut will be staked at the nut shoulder to prevent it from slipping.

Here's my experience. On Issue (1), the first photo shows that the "BFTW".....torque wrench, next to the "BFH".....hammer. The BFTW is longer and almost as heavy aa the BFH. Mine is a beam type, made in USA by Sturtevent, never needs calibration. A new one now list for almost $800 !! Neiko makes a click type, sells as low as $80 (before shipping), and I really wonder how accurate it is at that price. I used Craftsman brand before (the smaller rating ones), the clicking type, and the spring mechanism failed in about 5 years. The dial readings starts to slip causing the settings to be totally off. Besides Craftsman does not offer life time guarantee on these. I only used it less that 4 times a year.... so only 20 times. And I kept it stored indoor ! So I stayed with good old beam type.


(2) Specification calls for using a new wheel spindle nut every time. How many out there just re-use the old one. My experience, I took off the front spindle nut at 60,000 miles on my Honda Accord to do some repair. Re-use the original ones instead of replacing them. Did not change the wheel bearings either. Recently I took them off again at 166,000 miles, 10 years later. This time one of the ball joints and one of the wheel bearings have some play in them. So they have to be replaced. ...Am I just lucky, or should I keep using those old spindle nuts.? .....


Thanks

 

Just about every single nut or bolt on a car has a specific torque rating. When you work as a mechanic for a living you do not get paid hourly you get paid by the job. So the more jobs you can complete the more hours you Accumulate. That being said we tend to learn which nut or bolt absolutey must be torqued and which we can get away with by just putting it on as tight as safely possible. With an axel nut it is an IR at number 3 setting ftw!!! Yeah you can continue to reuse the old spindle nuts if you wish. Or try your local autoparts store and purchase a new one for a few bucks.

 

I aggree with the last statement.

I just use the 1/2inch IR and slam the axle nut in the 4th setting...I have not experienced any wheel bearing failures on any of my cars and have replaced axles on just about all of them at one point or another...

 

I always torque wheel bearings. Certain makes, like hondas, its not as important because the torque is high. But others like ford, chevy, and many others are only 108 and lower. Volkswagons are a completely different beast which requires you to tighten the **** outta it, back it off, torque it to like 65, then another 75 degrees.

If your torque wrench doesnt go that high then get a 1/2 torque wrench. Mine goes to almost 300ftlbs.

Like the 2 previous posters said time is money....but if you have to redo a job, or even just pull it in, pop the hubcap or wheel and torque it properly because the bearing is growling ....then that is money lost by halfassing a job. Why not just torque it while its in the air. it takes less than a minute to walk to your box and set it

As far as reusing the nut who cares. I believe that stipulation is there because the nut is a type of lock nut and those should never be reused according to every manual ever made

 

I always torque wheels bearings as well. But he was asking about the axel nut. Different animal....

 

hehe. i do everything by hand (14's and smaller).
the only things i torque are: all engine internals, cam gear bolt (with loctite), and flywheel/pressure plate bolts. there is nothing else that isn't safe in (general repair) by feel once you know what you are doing.

axle nuts i pretty much tighten til they stop, stake it and move on. the nut is not a lock nut. if the steak area is too messed up to be worth a damn after multiple uses then yes, change it. otherwise no big deal. i have never seen an axle nut back off.

 

no, its not. It holds the wheel bearing together. It doesnt matter if it is a "hub" style bearing or a "press in" style bearing. Either way you are preloading the wheel bearing when you tighten down the axle nut. and too much preload causes issues like growling and premature wear.

Im not quite sure what you are talking about when you say "you torque wheel bearings", but the axle nut is the only thing I actually torque on a wheel bearing job.

*edit* unless of course you are referring to rear wheel drive vehicles like f150s and old cars

 

I meant wheel bearing nuts such as those found on many ,many trucks and SUV's also on many drum brake systems. An axel nut on a Honda does not hold the wheel bearing together. Thats just wrong. The axel nut uhhhh, holds the axel. Tighting down the axel will only press it harder against the hub in this case. But it will not press the hub any harder into the bearing. So it does not preload it in anyway.

 

next time you have an axle out on a honda shake the wheel up and down like your checking for bearing or ball joints. you will feel the movement. After you reinstall the axle and torque it, check it again. the movement will be gone. That is preload. This is also why you should not roll a vehicle with the axles out, unless you have installed axle hubs. The bearing can be damaged and if you did something as stupid as towing it without an axle in it, it would eventually fall apart. You can seperate a bearing by hand, please explain why you think that it is not holding the bearing together.

either way Im done here, the OPs question has been answered

 

This a 94-96 Accord. The hub will be there holding the bearing in place with or without the axel nut. Again axel nut is NOT holding the bearing in place.

Peace.

 

i'm on both sides here..

the bearings are held in by the hub end and a snap ring and that is not in anyway tight or you could not get the snap ring in. but that is irrelevant. it is the inner race that is in question, and if you have ever pulled a bearing apart that inner race can fall out or be easily popped out. if those inner race halves are not pulled together it will shoot apart.

now on the other hand i don't believe you can over tighten this type of bearing without the axle threads giving first. once you are at the minimum to hold it together, all else is the same result. i think preload is not for these. now the old packed/tapered bearings preload was very important.

 

visual aids are more fun..

you can see the bearing with the #1 pointer is a non-flange type ball bearing like you would find on a civic. the bearing labeled #2 is a flange type you would find on an accord.

notice in both cases the inner rings are making contact in the middle of the bore. this sets and limits the preload from the factory. if the axle nut is overtightened on installation, the inner rings contacting will keep the clearances in check.

keep in mind also that there is a splined hub shaft that is pressed into the middle... this is what you tighten the axle to. the flange of the hub shaft and the bell of the CV joint sandwich the bearing inbetween to keep it together, but they aren't putting heavy compression on it.