I installed new rotors and bearings in my IROC yesterday and drove it about 100 miles this morning. When I got back home a healthy bit of play had worked itself back into the bearings so I retightened them and checked for play by putting the wheel back on and wiggling it around. Now I don't really know how tight the spindle nut is supposed to be. I know the bearings shouldn't bind. Somebody told me I should loosen and retighten each nut three times to seat the bearings properly. Is this true?

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'88 IROC 305 TPI
Crappy 700R4 slushbox
Gutted airboxes
180 degree T-stat
Advanced base TPS voltage
Relocated IAT sensor
Momo steering wheel (gotta luv it)
Ram-air setup coming soon
Flowmaster muffler (puke)
Taylor SpiroPro wires
Accel cap and rotor
Ported plenum
Kills: '94 Z28, Olds Aurora V8, bunch of Mustangs, T-birds, ricers, and others who assumed a 12 year-old car would be too slow.

 

ok well heres what every shop that I have worked at do.
You spin the rotor with wheel mounted(nut is on) and tighten it till it is snug but not overly restrictive. Its hard to tell, you just have to do it. You want to put the nut cap(the hex shaped cover) where the cotter pin can slide through. If it does not line to the hole(prongs) remember unless it is really close do not back off the nut, tighten it.

 

With freshly packed bearings tighten the nut hard enough to stop the wheel from spinning, then back the nut off. Then retighten the nut until you have a little drag(with new bearings), or no drag(with used bearings). The initial tightening spreads the grease out and fits the bearing into the race.


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350 with stealth intake, holley carb, 470 lift cam. 700r4 with .5 boost valve, vette servo, tci lock-up kit, B&M megashifter. Richmond 3.73 gears, powertrax locker, timkin bearings, synthetic lube. Custom 3 inch single into 2 2.5 pipes. 1 1/2 drop springs, 1 5/16 solid front sway bar, 1 inch rear bar, custom subframe connectors, custom LCA relocation brackets. Kobel ground FX, current red metallic paint. Lots of other stuff...
82camaro

 

I go by the book; spin the wheel forward, as it spins, torque the spindle nut to something small (12 ft/lbs? 18 ft/lbs?). I stop the tire, loosen the nut a turn, and go hand tight so the cotter pin slides thru. If the pin doesn't slide thru, I loosen the nut until it does.

And yeah, you're doing it right, re-check the wheel bearings after a couple days. Like you did; just a wiggle of the tire will tell you what's up. I didn't do it once after a few months; then I remembered ("Oh crap!"), and after doing it, my handling improved noticably.


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-Tom P (Hot rodded 1986 Firebird 2.8l) from http://www.f-body.net/mailbag/3rd/3rd_mailbag.html message boards
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