Castle Nut on Front Wheel Hub

[Jim_Gruber]

Found a wheel stud in my junk pile this am so back to reassembly. Hub spins freely when torqued to 45 lbs on PS and cotter pin fits. On DS at 45 lbs bare hub will rotate but feels stiff. If I back it off 1 flat it will rotate freely but is not torqued tight. What is the opinion, back off one flat or leave hub turning with some stiffness felt in rotation. Bearings are fully seated as best I can tell.

 

[Jim_Gruber]

No responses in quick order. Backing off 1 flat so there is plenty of play.

 

[SilentUnicorn]

i would also back it off one flat, then recheck it in a bit.


mark

 

[bigjones]

Jim,

I wish I could offer some advice, as I have just been through this, but I'm having a problem with it that I have not fully resolved.

However, I can tell you this:
In my instance, with the caliper OFF the car, I could torque that castle nut to 46 ft-lbs and the hub would spin nice and freely. That's all I can offer. Previous posts have indicated that when torqued down, the hub should spin freely - if not there is a problem somewhere.

Cheers and good luck,
Adrian
PS The problem I have is that when the caliper is re-installed, the rotor does not rotate freely. I can turn the tire with my boot and the car drives fine but I have resolved myself into rebuilding the calipers because the pistons may be sticking. Will report back on this but it obviously won't be for a week or so.

 

[Jim_Gruber]

All back together and test drive is successful. Wobby Wheel syndrome seems to be dramatically better. 45 degrees and sunny, top down, heater on, and tonneau in place, cruising around the neighborhood. Nice and comfy, even got a thumbs up from a Boxster out sans top as well, course he had the windows raised, a wimp! Mid fifties and even a 60 on Tuesday with rain. Come on Spring. Only issue discovered after 3 months of rest is horn not working. Something to troubleshoot.

 

[Roger]

Memory is failing me, and I don't remember what kind of hub bearings are fitted to Spridgets.
As a general rule, British manufacturers used 2 kinds - tapered roller and angular contact ball. (There are other ball bearing types, so please don't tell me what I've omitted.)
Ball bearings are almost always done up tight, tapered roller are a little slack - tighten then back off a flat. If that's what Spridgets have, you're good to go.


Jim, I just read your other post and it seems you have A/C bearings. They should be tight, and if it feels too stiff, check why. You'll hammer out slack A/C bearings very quickly.

 

[Jim_Gruber]

I've got it back together and things spin freely as long as I back off a flat on the castle nut. Hub will spin when tightened to 45 lbs but I get one revolution and thats it. Backed off 1 flat it will spin freely. Idrove it only a few miles yesterday. I'm going to plan on driving a few weeks more if the weather holds and see if I can get that extra flat of tightness after things seat in.