# Packing wheel bearings - question



## FishinLite (Jun 26, 2016)

I have viewed maybe 10 or 11 different bearing packing videos and have yet to find one that specifically defines how tight to tighten the castle nut.

I ran across a video for packing semi tractor front wheels that states that the castle nut should be torqued to 55 foot pounds.

Does anyone out there have a torque spec. for my Shorelander single axle boat trailer castle nuts. 

Being a retired engineer "til it just spins freely" doesn't do it for me. :mrgreen:


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## Johnny (Jun 26, 2016)

*" til it just spins freely " doesn't do it for me*

that right there is what is wrong with engineers and architects !!

are you installing new bearings or just simply cleaning up the hub??
how tight was the castle nut when you took it off ?????
are you going to use the old cotter pin or replace it with a new one ?
are you going to replace the seals as well ?



WELCOME ABOARD







.


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## overboard (Jun 26, 2016)

YUP! :lol: 
What if the 55 foot pound torque value places the castle nut at a point where the cotter pin can not be inserted into one of the slots, now what?
You either have to loosen or tighten the nut to be able to insert the cotter pin and thus lose the torque value! 
I would say the torque value is only used as a guide to initially seat the bearing, and the "til it just spins freely" comes into play after that.
I firmly snug up the nut, back the nut off a little, snug it up again, and then go from there as to tighten or loosen the nut to line up with the cotter pin hole using the "til it spins freely" method. 

Also---Welcome aboard, we are here to try to help!


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## Bigwrench (Jun 26, 2016)

FishinLite said:


> I have viewed maybe 10 or 11 different bearing packing videos and have yet to find one that specifically defines how tight to tighten the castle nut.
> 
> I ran across a video for packing semi tractor front wheels that states that the castle nut should be torqued to 55 foot pounds.
> 
> ...



Good question , most people don't realize exactly how little torque is supposed to be applied to their tapered roller bearings. The correct answer for any small trailer (1500#-5200#) is "Slightly More Than Finger Tight" 
Finger tight is around 6-9lb in
Slightly more for yours would be exactly 18-20lb in. 
Hope this helps. I have written several articles on trailer repair over the years and it's always best to refer to UFP's free online factory information when working on trailers.


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## Outlander (Jun 26, 2016)

In case I am not sure, I continuously check how freely the wheel spins before I bend the cotter pin


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## Bigwrench (Jun 26, 2016)

Yeah as I'm tightening I'm usually spinning the wheel in both directions , especially when you have replaced seals and or bearing/race sets it's important to make sure everything is seated properly. Too tight and you can burn a bearing up pretty fast. It's always hard to explain a "feel" type situation but nowadays that's more what it is to me . I tighten everything down real good to start out with , back the nut off fully and then tighten the nut to final inch pound torque. Been doing it the same way basically since I was 17 working on 155mm towed howitzers to Kenworth tractor trailers and anything imaginable in between. UFP has a ton of free information online (they built my original Ranger Trail D4600 axle setup, still have the original paperwork from Ranger) at this website 
https://www.ufpnet.com/axles/tabid/55/default.aspx
Here's a screenshot of just one procedure 





They describe how to periodically check for play (1/8" max).


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## FishinLite (Jun 27, 2016)

Thanks for the input. 

I bought a used bargain boat, motor, & trailer. (81 Lund Pike DLX, 85 Merc 60 - Tilt & Trim, 86 Shorelander Trrailer) for $800.

I intended for it to be a project, it suffered from many years of abuse and neglect. The hull was free of damage and straight.

The floor had soft spots and hole, the insulation on the motor wiring brittle and crumbling, 
the trailer had surface rust & wheels 13" passenger radial mounted on it. 

Being retired I have more time than money. 

I pulled one of the bearing caps and checked the grease just after I purchased it. 
Thinking if one side looked good the other would be the same (who would only pack one wheel of a two wheel trailer).
From the outside, it appeared fine. 

I pulled the rig home (150 miles) stopping and checking hub temperature with my hand every 50 miles for bearing failure.

After purchasing a battery, fixing the crumbling insulation, checking the compression, replacing the stator, and water pump impeller.
it was tough starting but once started it ran like a dream (still needs some carb work to be done). My biggest fear was that the motor was Junk.
Fear relieved. It pops up on plane and easily hit 30 mph.

So, it was time to do a little fishing before I attached the rest of the problems (being careful to not fall through the holes in the floor). 

Upon returning from my fourth fishing hop (average 75 mile round trip each), while putting the boat away, my fishing buddy notice a bad wobble in one of the wheels. 

Surprise, surprise - it was the wheel that I hadn't pulled the bearing cap on when I first purchased the rig. I was lucky the outer bearing came out in pieces. :shock: 

Now to bring this to a quick conclusion. 
I purchased two new galvanized hubs with new bearings and races, researched how to pack the new bearings, wasn't sure how tight to tighten the
castle nuts. And installed some nock-off bearing buddies.


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## Bigwrench (Jun 27, 2016)

FishinLite said:


> Thanks for the input.
> 
> I bought a used bargain boat, motor, & trailer. (81 Lund Pike DLX, 85 Merc 60 - Tilt & Trim, 86 Shorelander Trrailer) for $800.
> 
> ...


 Sending you a message ! Glad that worked for you !


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## GYPSY400 (Jul 24, 2016)

Basically the final tightening of the nut will be zero torque. . Tighten the nut to seat the bearings, then back off and re-tighten by hand.. if you tighten too much the rollers will be tight to the race, not allowing grease to get in between them. A little bit of end play is better than too tight.

GYPSY400


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## KMixson (Jul 24, 2016)

GYPSY400 said:


> Basically the final tightening of the nut will be zero torque. . Tighten the nut to seat the bearings, then back off and re-tighten by hand.. if you tighten too much the rollers will be tight to the race, not allowing grease to get in between them. A little bit of end play is better than too tight.
> 
> GYPSY400



Correct! When installing wheel bearings on a small boat trailers you want the wheel to spin freely with as little resistance as posible without too much endplay. When installing the races you want to preload the bearing to seat the races correctly by tightening the castle nut to the correct pre-load torque then backing off to the correct running torque. If the castle nut is too tight it will eat the bearing up because grease is not able to stay between the race and the rollers. If it is too loose it will wobble and cause pitting which will destroy the bearing also. On large vehicles the hub may be filled with oil instead of grease in which you can torque the castle nut down tighter because the oil will sling outward while in motion keeping oil on the races and rollers.


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## timsmcm (Jul 25, 2016)

Cone bearings need to be loose when the final adjustment is made. As heat develops while in use, tolerances get just right. When I tighten the castle nut I leave it to where I can grab the top and bottom of the tire and see if there is the very slightest amount t of play, and I mean very little. Running the same bearing sets in my harley for 40 years. Boat bearings for 30+ years. Good maintenance and you never need to replace them.


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