Another Wheel Bearing story (and a tip or two)
Hello everyone, I went to repack my bearings too at 52,000 miles (30,000 mile interval). It turns out the shop that packed them around 22,000 miles stripped 3 out of 6 screws on the hub nut(s) but put them back in anyways. The right side lock ring wasn't even aligned properly for the screws to go in. Those were stripped going in.
They also torqued the caliper mount bolts (to spindle assy.) over 250 ft. lbs. and stripped the threads. This bolt is supposed to be torqued to 115 ft. lbs. - love those airtools.
The seal on the right side was torn, worn and without lube inbetween the lips. The left was similar. Water had invaded both sides. Rust in the grease was evident. It almost looked like two types of grease were used. Old mixed with new?
There wasn't any evidence of ANY new sealant on the flanges or caps!!
This is a place that has been in business for many years! I know there are a lot of good shops around, but you could hit the jackpot like I did.
I used a cool tool for removing the stripped screws. It is called "Screw-Out" from Sears. Craftsman pn: 952154, 3 pc. You can use it with a handheld 1/4" hex type screwdriver or a Drill set on slow. It worked fantastic! It started to work in about 1/2 a revolution of the drill.
I used Loctite 515 as I have seen it in use at a Mine I used to work at. (It is also what Isuzu reccomends). It works better than the RTV silicone in flanges. Gas & petro oils do not bother it and it seals parts with a working pressure up to 300 psig.
I had to replace all bearings as both inner bearings had small vertical lines on the races that did not wipe off. I have seen something like this where I used to work, it was either false-brinelling or due to the water invasion. Since this was present only on the inner bearings, I believe the bad seals help cause this.
I never went through any creeks or deep water but it does rain quite a lot where I live.
The lines are something you would not see unless you really cleaned the races off well. What will happen if you leave them in is, they will wear more and more in that area only. These lines are actually lower than everywhere else on the bearing and can only worsen.
An analogy perhaps would be like a tire rolling over potholes in the road, the potholes get bigger every time the tire goes over them.
There was also some very small pitting in two of the races, due to the non-sealing of the flanges. The bearings also had spun (on the spindle). I don't think the Shop set the pre-load properly as this shouldn't normally happen in 30,000 miles.
Reading how everyone here did their own bearings made me think, why not, I can do it too? I was determined to do it, especially after I was able to see what so-called professionals did.
I also used tips & info from quite a few people here, this is a great place and of course you are all great folks! I love this place!
The only confusion I have is in the proper or inproper use of the "fish" scales used here. I tried hard to find a spring scale, there was none to be found. I ended up purchasing an electronic one, for $50 bucks!! I can see how a spring scale works, you pull and observe the spring compress and note the placement of the line on the scale at the moment the stud starts to move.
I am used to using a torque wrench for pre-loading bearings and have never used a spring scale before.
With the electronic scale, I pull the gadget from 12 'o' clock and try to read the numbers expressed at the instant the stud moves towards 1 'o' clock? The numbers change too much back in forth, such that I am worried at what the reading really is or if I am doing it right. I don't know if I am making this harder than it needs to be, sometimes the simplicity of a task eludes my comprehension.
I haven't finished up the rightside, in case I am using the scale or reading it wrong. Maybe someone can hit me over the head, so I can understand this part of the process.
