Hub Extremely Hot and Wobbles

[Boone83K10]

Currently in the middle of putting 4.56 gears in a set of 10bolts from an 83 K5 that I got for practically free. They are in much better shape (not rusty) than mine and doing a total rebuild at the same time.

Yesterday it felt like the passenger auto hub currently on my truck had not unlocked. I took a peek after work and the retaining nut, lock ring and lock nut had come loose, destroying the spindle threads. The retaining ring had spun around on the spindle threads taking out 3 rows of them. It took out the spacer and snap ring that are between the auto hub and spindle as well.

Luckily, I had the parts from the disassembled axle laying on the bench. I took apart my passenger side all the way down to the knuckle. I put it all back together with a good spindle. I globbed some grease in the needle bearings, slid the hub back on. I torqued the retaining nut to 50 ft lbs while rotating hub, backed off then retorqued to 35 ft lb while spinning hub. Then backed it off 1/8 turn. Put the retaining ring on in the keyway with a pin lined up in a hole. Then I tried to torque the lock nut to 180 ft lbs. This allowed the retaining ring to move out of the keyway and destroy another spindle and break off the retaining pin on the retaining nut. So, I tore it down again and reassembled with the last spindle from swap axle. I did same torque to retaining nut but this time I only torqued the lock nut down to 70 ft lbs. The disassembled axle does not have the spacer between the spindle and snap ring, so I just reinstalled the snap ring and slid the auto hubs in and put on the cap.

When I turn left, it feel like the tire is wobbling or grabbing or too much endplay or something. When I got home ( 11 miles away at 55 mph) the hub was really hot on the side I was fixing and barely warm on the driver side (good side)

What did I do wrong? The knuckle is fine, ball joints are good. I torqued spindle nuts to 70 ft lbs. Brake caliper bolts to 25 ft lbs. Lug nuts to 105 ft lbs. GM manual was referenced but the 160-205 ft lbs for lock nut destroyed a spindle, retaining ring and retaining nut.

Thanks

 

[bucket]

I think something else caused it to get torn up beside the locknut torque. It could have been a number of things, but if the parts are all in good shape and it's properly assembled, there won't be any problems with it.

As for the current problem, have you jacked it up to see if the hub bearings are loose? And was it new bearings and races?

 

[Boone83K10]

Not new bearings, just trying to get by until I finish completely rebuilding 4.56 axles

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[Boone83K10]

I think something else caused it to get torn up beside the locknut torque. It could have been a number of things, but if the parts are all in good shape and it's properly assembled, there won't be any problems with it.

As for the current problem, have you jacked it up to see if the hub bearings are loose? And was it new bearings and races?

Trying to torque locknut most definitely messed up the lock washer and stripped the threads when it moved out of the keyway.

What would make it wobble?

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[kickdeez]

"Hub extremely hot and wobbles" is most like an issue with bearings.

Did you put new races in? I try not to mix and match bearings and races. They tend to wear together in the same manner. If you used old bearings from a different axle, but left the races in the hub, their wear patterns likely don't align. Also, if you left the races in the hub, it is possible that they sustained some sort of damage from the failure you initially described. That damage may not necessarily be readily apparent upon quick visual inspection.

Another possible scenario is improper bearing pre-load. I don't specifically recall the torque specs for bearing pre-load, but it sounds like you generally followed the sequence for setting bearing pre-load. Did you check for play in the hubs before buttoning it all back up? Sometimes bearings need a little extra love to get them seated/pre-loaded right. I always check for play after installing the lock nut. If it feels a little loose, I'll take the lock nut back off and reset the pre-load again as many times as it takes to get it so the hub spins freely, but not have any play.

 

[Boone83K10]

Thanks guys. I got this figured out this past Saturday. It turns out that the u joints rusted completely frozen. Too much salt here in the mountains of NC. When I turned it got bound up and wasn't even straight. Had a slight angle which caused wobble and death to the spindle and nuts.

As much as I hated to I put new u joints in the axle I am getting rid of. I picked the worst axles aka rusty, bad bearing surface. The swap front diff had bad inner axle but good outer and my axles had bad outer and good inner! So I will use the good halves in swap axle that is going in, in a couple weeks.

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[Boone83K10]

can someone explain to me the outer lock nut torque value?

I get it, service manual says to torque wheel bearing retainer nut to 50 ft lbs then back off then torque to 35 ft lbs then back off no more than 3/8 turn. Then torque outer lock nut to 160-205 ft lbs. That amount of torque moves the drag sleeve retainer around on the threads of the spindle from the keyway you aligned it on when you put it on to get the tang in a hole.

It messes up the threads! I did it once already, I do not want to mess up the ones I have now when I finish this swap axle. Somewhere in this service manual, it says if you have monroe locking hubs only torque nut to 75 ft lbs.

Can someone explain this? Is it suppose to spin the drag sleeve out of the keyway? A new spindle is way too much money for a trash/wood truck.

 

[crazy4offroad]

The 1st nut is supposed to have a small locating pin, most shear off. The washer is supposed to have holes all around it to align (close enough) with the locating pin. I think there is a different version of the washer that has tabs that bend over the nut to lock it in place. Neither in my opinion are good options. I just tighten the outer one till if feels right, never had a problem with the washer galling threads or the nut backing off.

 

[Boone83K10]

Mine still have locating pin. Telling me until it feels right is like when your grandma says a pinch of this and a dash of that in a recipe.

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