Nolan Penney wrote:
>
> Love these strange cars and their even stranger specs.
>
> Went to do my wheel bearings. Ladeda, done this job a zillion times over
> the years, but not on a Spitfire. Decided I'd check to see what the
> torque specs were, just to do them factory right. Lo and behold, the
> manuals (both Bentley and Haynes) tell me to set them to rattle! Say
> what!? Loose wheels track like hell, and your handling suffers
> horrificly for this.
>
> I've never seen a wheel torque spec that called for leaving the nut lose
> hoping the cotter pin never fails, and having the bearings rattling
> around. Cripes, the specs on a Toyota truck call for 5 lbs hanging on a
> wheel stud to be barely able to rotate the hub!
>
> The bearings aren't special in any case, I can go get Timkin bearings and
> put them in there if I want. (both Spitfire and Toyota truck) But I've
> never seen a wheel bearing spec as loose as what is being called for
> here. I thought old Ford specs of finger tight were strange, but preset
> rattle, shesh!
>
> So, do any of you folk run yours this loose? Or do you do the more
> generic tighten them until there is no play, and then tighten to the
> nearest pin hole alignment and set the cotter pin in place? That's the
> way mine are right now.
Nolan; I have (possibly a revised edition of) a Spitfire Haynes
manual that, on page 270, section 3, step 4, reads: "Tighten the nut
finger tight and then back it off one flat. This should give the correct
endfloat as specified. This can be measured using a dialer gauge or
feeler blades." Then it goes on to say: "Insert a new split pin...."
etc., etc.
Rick deOlazarra
'74 Spitfire
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