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Spitfire Question on front Hub for a triumph Spitfire.

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ScottFromNH

Senior Member
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Hey everyone.

I am rebuilding the front end of my spitfire. I have replaced the wheel bearings and am trying to find out what the torque setting should be for the spindle nut? Before I took the hub off the spindle I try spinning it and it spun really easy and probably made like 4 or 5 revolutions. I always was told on american cars that their should be a little drag on the hub when you spun it. Is that true?
 
Triumphs are supposed to have some small clearance for the front wheel bearings, so they do spin freely. I don't know what the setting is for your Spitfire, but for TR3-6 you tighten the nut until it just begins to drag, then back off by 1/2 flat (until the cotter pin lines up).

Any drag would be from the seal, not a tight bearing. My RWD American cars have been the same way.
 
Once you mount the wheel, give it a shake to see if there is any play in the bearings. There should be none, but the wheel should spin freely.
 
TR3driver said:
...for TR3-6 you tighten the nut until it just begins to drag, then back off by 1/2 flat (until the cotter pin lines up).
Click to expand...
Same for Spitfire. From the Workshop Manual, for a "dry" adjustment of new parts being assembled: "Whilst rotating the hub by hand, tighten the nut only sufficiently to remove slackness...." etc., etc. It goes on to explain things further in "Adjustment in Service...Whilst spinning the hub, tighten the slotted nut to 5 lb/ft then unscrew the slotted nut one flat to give 0.002" to 0.008" end float of the hub." If you don't have a torque wrench, the method Randall describes does virtually the exact same thing!
 
Thanks everyone I will give that a try. I have a repair manual that came with the car however I realized after I did this those pages of the manual are missing.
 
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