Trailer Castle Nut Tightness
Submitted by Jackfrost80 on Sun, 2015-01-25 10:45
What's the consensus on tightening the castle nut?
I usually tighten it to 'nut tight' and then back it off to the next notch but I just checked my bearing then and the sweet spot is right in between the two notches and I have a bit of play in the wheel when I back off the nut but I have to tighten the nut a bit to get it to the next notch.
I'm going to take the trailer for a short drive and redo it and hope that the bearing seat a bit better but failing that am I better to have some play or a tiny bit of tightness?
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OLD BANGA
Posts: 267
Date Joined: 02/04/10
Castle Nut Tightness
Well I will say it, from experience 'a little tightness' is always preferable, just not sure about the Castle Nut !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Cheers
OLD BANGA
Jackfrost80
Posts: 8050
Date Joined: 07/05/12
The username matches the man
The username matches the man haha
Officially off the Pies bandwagon
Starbug
Posts: 563
Date Joined: 27/08/09
Using a 12" spanner adjust
Using a 12" spanner adjust the nut until the hub starts to bind. Spinning the hub while you do this. This will seat the bearing components.
Now back the nut off until you have some axial play. Now tighten it up gently until you have just taken out any axial play and back it off to the nearest slot in the castle nut.
You are looking at about .000" to .010" of axial play in a trailer wheel bearing. The pitch between castle slots happens to be .010".
This was taken from a Timken wheel bearing maintenance guide.
Having the wheel on the hub will give you more leverage and a better feel for play in the bearing assembly.
Jackfrost80
Posts: 8050
Date Joined: 07/05/12
Cheers mate, yeah usually I
Cheers mate, yeah usually I seat it with the wheel on, dunno why I didn't this time and probably why it is a tad loose
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ranmar850
Posts: 2702
Date Joined: 12/08/12
Quote [just not sure about
Quote [just not sure about the Castle Nut !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!]unquote--He means castellated nut, term for the nut with the slots for lockpins
And what Starbug said above, sums it up perfectly. There was another thread recently, about bearing buddies, when someone suggested that your bearings were f***d when the grease was brown
. They are way beyond f***d by the time they get to that stage.
Rob H
Posts: 5745
Date Joined: 18/01/12
The taper roller bearing
The taper roller bearing should have some preload to work correctly, this ensures that all rollers contact the cones simultaneously.
if you can feel movement at the tyre it means that the rollers can "chatter" inside the cones causing those wear marks you sometimes see on the cones inside.
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Ol Tom
Posts: 331
Date Joined: 17/12/13
Unless you really lean on it
Unless you really lean on it you shouldnt have too much trouble. Best way is to stop after half hour and check the temp around the inner hub. If its warm to hot then pop the cap off and back the nut off one notch. I have to do it almost every annual trip I make because I usually bugger one of the hubs up. Tip: take some rag!!
NORUN NOFUN
Posts: 1019
Date Joined: 15/08/11
nut tight
I would love to know the meaning of nut tight !