C1 Wheel bearing torque

[Dave Christensen]

I put in the replacement tapered roller bearings on the front wheels of my 56. The operations manual says to torque the wheel nuts to 33 ft-lbs. Of course this is not for the tapered bearings.

Any suggestions on how to tighten the tapered bearings? I am used to tightening them until they bind and then back off a little.

thanks
Dave Christensen

[Joe L.]

Re: C1 Wheel bearing torque

Dave------

I would tighten them to the same spec as later roller bearing equipped cars. Tighten to 12 lb/ft to set the bearing, then back off the nut 1 flat. Basically, what you're after is an end play of .001-.006". This is what both GM and Timken recommend for tapered roller bearings. I like to try to set them at .001-.002", IF POSSIBLE.