hey guys acouple months ago i changed my wheel bearings... i had never did it before so i wasnt quite sure on how to do everything but i got it back together the right way...

the thing is that i did NOT torque the wheel bearing onto the spindle... i just bearly turned it till it got alittle hard then put in the cotter pin


now the wheel bearings are squeaking somewhat when i start rolling.

should i take them out and repack them then torque?


or can i just torque them and put a new cotter pin? im pretty sure there is plenty enough wheel bearing grease already.

 

Check your wheel bearings for excessive play by jacking up the wheel, grasping it a 6 and 12 o'clock and checking for any movement in and out. It shouldn't.

Most likely the squeaking you're hearing is not the bearings. If they're bad enough to squeak you'd probably experience the next stage of bearing failure.

Could the squeaking be the brakes? Does the sound change if you apply them?

Once you've verified they're OK you can retorque them correctly. If you're certain you packed them well, drive on. You'll have to decide this one. I don't have time to come by and check them for you...

 

what i normally do is tighten the bolt till they are barely snug and then back it off a bit. spin the rotor to make sure they spin freely. if not back the bolt off a little at a time until they do. if they are too tight they will burn up.

 

I think that's the good old days. Check the instructions because I don't think this is the proper method these days.

 

well today's cars are all sealed units and the bearing comes with the entire hub assembly. I've always done it like i discribed above and i have never had a problem. we're talking about an 86 firebird here and that my friend was manufactured in the good old days.

 

tighten the nut til you've got about 15 ft lbs of torque while you're spinning the rotor then back it off to the first place you can get the cotter pin in.Otherwise you're too loose . There's actually a torque spec in the service manual .

 

yes but after you have done it enough you can generally do it by feel.

 

Well most times you can't go to lose or to tight as the holes wont line up good in either direction. Though a bearing dude said before that tight is better then lose. Something to do with how the loadin of them works. A bit tight won't do damage but to lose will.

But 99% of the time you just can't go to lose or tight.
The holes just wont line up and it will be stark dead obvious that it ain't right.
If in doubt dude who work in bearing industry said a bit tight is always better then a bit lose.

 

if they are too tight they will burn up.

I burned some up on my 74...WOW what a parking lot challenge that was. In the navy cpl hundred miles from the base and dirt poor.