question about wheel bearings
On a 97 ford ranger, I just recently replaced the wheel bearings and packed them properly with grease, but I'm beginning to wonder if I may preloaded the bearing too much.
Its only been a couple days since I opened the bearing up and I replaced all the seals and both the inner and outer bearings when I did it. I tightened the main nut to ~ 20ft/ib and then backed it off a quarter turn while rotating the rotor then snugged it.
The lug nuts on my front wheels where I've replaced the wheel bearing are almost too hot to touch after driving 45 minutes, as are the metal parts of the wheel well/rim/caliper/rotor, but there isn't the telltale sound associated with a bearing going bad. I was sure to use enough grease on all metal to metal contacts. Any ideas?
Edit: After a thorough inspection last night, it did appear my wheel bearings were on a bit tight, but that isn't the main cause of the heat problem. It appears my brakes are in contact with the rotor during 2-3 quarters of a revolution, I'm betting this is the cause of the heat problem. As for how hot does it get?, well its hot enough to burn, push grease out, and pop one of the wheel hub caps off. So looks like I'll be doing some intense reading on how to adjust my brakes so they aren't in contact with the rotor.
Last edited by Lorek; 08-26-2010 at 02:28 PM.
Reason: Found out wheel bearings weren't responsible
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