Low Capacity Torque Wrench Doing High Capcity Work

[jmgtp]

My dilemma is that I need to replace the front wheel bearings and I believe the spec is around 180 ft lbs for the axle nut, my 1/2" drive torque wrench maximum capacity is 150 ft lbs.

I had the wheel bearings out last year so I could pull the axles through the knuckles - on the reinstall things got interesting.... Not having a torque wrench suitable to the task, I got creative. I took a long piece of angle iron and welded an old socket on one end and a 1/2" drive on the other. With the help of my father (engineer/math wizard) on the math we came up with a formula to determine how much torque I needed to apply on the socket end to get X ft lbs of torque on the drive end - the stipulation was that the torque wrench had to run parallel to the angle iron. This meant I could use my lower capacity wrench to suitably torque the axle nut. Now a year later my wheel bearings are beginning to hum down the highway - sure this could be 18 yrs and 122k miles of wear, or it could be that, the math or physics behind my method or torquing was incorrect.

Assuming the math is correct, does the above theory seem sound? Do the physics of it seem right? If not, any recommendations for a high capacity ~250ft/lbs torque wrench that doesn't break the bank? I really only need it for this one thing (axle nut) which is why I don't want to drop a lot of coin - most every other fastener on the car is within my current wrenches capacity.

[SappySE107]

I have never torqued that nut to any spec other than "hella tight". Never had a problem.

[jmgtp]

I had initially used an impact gun to crank them down and they droned the very first time I drove it, thats why I went back and made the wrench extension to torque them. I think they may just be worn from age. I have the new ones in hand but have been putting it off while debating buying a higher capacity wrench or doing it with the lower one and extension.

[SappySE107]

Yeah, I used a long bar on a ratchet after the impact.

[alerored04]

"Hella tight" I like that. My dad and I always have used the monkey approach. Tighten it then ape it on there some more. Always worked for me. I guarantee that nothing ever comes loose.

[SofaKingWeToddDid]

Zip ties man, zip ties.

[asylummotorsports]

I have always done it old school!

Tighten it 'til it gets easy, then back it off a 1/4 turn.

[SofaKingWeToddDid]

tighten it till it gets easy?? that doesnt sound right, that sounds stripped!

[asylummotorsports]

tighten it till it gets easy?? that doesnt sound right, that sounds stripped!

You missed the sarcasm my friend!

But then I'm OLD!!

[60dgrzbelow0]

I was trying to visualize the "nut" you mentioned (wondering why ANYTHING on a GM car would ever requires so damned much torque) so... not being a GP owner and still curious... I was poking around looking for front axle images (unsuccessfully) but I ran across a site that might be useful to the owners of 2001 Pontiac GPs. This is a bit off topic perhaps, but maybe its something worth saving for reference when the time comes to do brake maintenance. Have you got images of this axle setup? Because it would interesting to see what the fastener looks like that prompted you and your father to work up the torque wrench solution. Thanks!

http://www.paulstravelpictures.com/GM-Pontiac-Grand-Prix-Brake-Lines-Bleeding-Guide/index.html

[Alxsmt]

i bet its just ur wheel bearings... ive replaced 3 or 4 with in the last 12k miles... thats with everything torqued correctly.. stock replacements just dont seem to last very long when you autocross.. or anything else!

in the past with factory wheel bearings on the same car i just tightned them as much as i could, never had a problem. that was before i raced every other weekend

[WrathOfSocrus]

I bought a couple of hubs from Advance and they were the worst quality bearing I have seen. The one made a loud drone from the start and when I took it off it fell open and there was a very uneven surface to the bearing race. The other started droning soon after. Later on I found Rock Auto has Timken hubs (for w-body's anyway) that seem to be of much higher quality. I can't vouch for their longevity at the moment but they are a better product and nearly 1/3 cheaper than Advance.

[Alxsmt]

the first time i replaced them i used some from rock auto, dont rember the brand. those went out a few months after i installed.. then i want to advanced.. on the 2nd set from them now

i suggest going to a parts store that way its easy to collect a warrenty replacement if one fails

[asylummotorsports]

So what the hell am I doing right or wrong??

277,xxx KMS ( 170,xxx miles)) and I have never replaced a bearing on my Beretta.

And I have owned it since new. Beat the crap out of it most weekends.

Hell this car might have 3,000+ 1/4 mile passes on it in several configurations.

Worst ever is I "twisted" an OEM 12 year old axle. It didn't break and was only found when I had the trans serviced.

New GM one is still in there.

[60dgrzbelow0]

About "The Howling".... and any other spooky noises coming from the wheels...

Unless your car came with "sealed" bearings from the factory with some sort of rubber or plastic grommet designed to keep grease in and dirt out, one of the problems with all roller and ball bearing sets is that they often come from the factory/parts store with a light coating of oil or grease and you might imagine this is all you need...other than to just lather them up with some more cup grease, slip the bearings over the axles and run the yoke down and up tight against the inner bearing cone to secure the inner bearing race and then throw a thrust washer over over the outside of the bearing housing, tighten down the castle nut tight enough to to keep away the wheel wobbles and after slipping in a new cotter key and bending one have over the middle of the axle and the other over the nut and snipping it off just above the thrust washer..and your done...right?

Nope. Nothing could be further from the truth. All non-sealed roller and ball bearings require a special method to ensure that the axle grease gets where it really needs to be... and stays in there for the life of the bearing under so much stress and rotational forces. They must be "Packed with Grease"...individually...and literally by hand. As a helicopter mechanic, I was taught that to do this right you have to "get your hands dirty"...but first you had to scrub your hands squeaky clean and then after drying them, place your bearing sets out on a clean work towel. Then you would take a large glob of axle grease in the center of your palm and while holding the bearing by the outer race, dip and drag the bearing into the grease in your palm repeatedly, pushing and compressing the grease in such a manner that you can see when enough has made it inside the vacant areas all the way up inside the smallest nooks and crannies that it cannot get into in any other way. You would do this until you could see the grease start to squeeze out between and around the roller/ball bearings. To get a visual sense of what this looks like, you would get the same effect if you placed a glob of peanut butter in your hand...and then squeezed it until it oozed out from between your fingers. That is exactly what the bearing should look like ...all the way around the outer and inner race when you are done . So ...once you can see this process happening, you simply have to rotate the bearing race around to a new, un-lubricated section or the next part and continue to use this technique until the the entire bearing races and bearing rolling segments are "Packed".

It was always a good rule of thumb to hold the completed bearing up and give it the "Shake Test". If you could hear any part of the bearing assembly rattling around...then the job was not complete. This may seem like a lot of nonsense, but trust me...if you have howling sounds coming from any areas of the wheel axles...especially when making hard turns...there is a real good chance that your roller/ball bearings are dry and worn out as a result of not having been properly "Packed with Grease" before being installed.

Here is a YouTube that shows how its done: (shown at the very end of the video)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvUIhxcoMvQ

Please... Don't be tempted to clean your old/new wheel bearings with brake cleaner and then use compressed air with a nozzle to blow them dry....people have been killed or seriously injured by spinning up roller and ball bearings to excessively high RPMs and when the bearing finally heats up enough due to a lack of any lubricant or exceeding its design standards...it can seize up suddenly and explode like a grenade right in your hand...and just when you are staring at it...