Tightening spindle nut on rear wheel

Follow the instructions in your Haynes manual :-) Torque wrenches are only a tenner.

I never needed a Haynes manual for this car before. car is 18 years old so to get a manual would be special order. :-( And I want to fix this ASAP.

The cheap torque wrench sounds attractive if it really is only a tenner. But it might cost me a great deal more if I have to drive to fetch it and the wheel comes off on the journey. Heh!

Does anyone have a practical suggestion about tighening the nut the right amount?

just do it "SENSIBLE" tight if you get my meaning

just do it "SENSIBLE" tight if you get my meaning

If you are hoping that someone here will provide you with this information, might I suggest that the model and year of vehicle would be useful? "Old Mazda" covers quite a few variations :-)

If you are looking for a free source of information you can access yourself, bear in mind that libraries often have some Haynes manuals on their shelves.

WRT the stripped nut, why are you dealing with it? Surely the garage that removed/replaced it to look at your brakes should be taking responsibility...

Chris

Hmmm. I am not to osure what that tells me.

Is that "sensible tight tight" or "sensible loose tight"?

Or to ask another way ... how many turns past the point when the spindle nut only just starts to scrape against the brake cover as I put it on?

Roller or taper bearings?

It depends on the type of bearing. If it is the non adjustable sort then just do it up as tight as you can manage with a ratchet handle, about as tight as you would do up a wheel nut plus a little bit .(usually a self locking type of nut)

If it is the old adjustable type that has a split pin to hold the nut, then you need to do up the nut lightly till it stops, then undo it just a little, check how much wheel bearing movement there is by rocking the wheel, if there is absolutely no movement then undo the nut a fraction more. The ideal is to have the minimum movement while allowing the bearing to rotate quite freely. Then put in the split pin.

Mrcheerful

Don't go wriving the shit out of it. Wheel nuts do not need to be that tight. Hub nuts on front hubs of RWD cars that use taper bearings are just nipped up.

If you want a figure, try 10ft/lb.

Trick I was told is to tighten it until you get some resistance to turning the wheel, then slacken off until the wheel spins free again.

the spec on my escort is closer to 240 Nm

you are talking hub nut?

So get a torque wrench. Even Lidl sell them.

You also need a manual. Don't even think about working on this without it. If it's an old (but popular) car, then try the library, eBay or a local S/H bookshop -- Haynes are only a couple of quid.

Chances are that you fit this nut by tightening it "tight" and then backing it off by some fraction of a turn. You need to know just what the protocol is though, don't just wale on it and hope or you'll kill the bearing and cost yourself even more money.

I think cars vary on this. Some have a spacer between the bearings that keeps them the right distance from their races, so you just put a long lever on the nut and stand on it. Others are more like the "adjustable cup" bearings on older bicycle bottom brackets or hubs-- you adjust the nut quite carefully until there's minimal free-play but the bearings aren't dragging. I think Renault 5 rear wheels were like that. I can't remember if there's a locknut, I think you just have a split-pin in a castellated nut that stops it moving.

Nope, Renault 5 had whacking great big roller bearings.

Obtain a torque wrench.

So you need a torque wrench. That is their sole (intended) purpose.

He didn't the first time, so I'm not sure why he would get it after you repeating it again...

"SENSIBLE" tight would be, erm, the right tightness. He is asking how to know what that is without knowing the right torque or having a torque wrench. You are not helping... Neither am I, I suppose, but at least I suggested a torque wrench.

The best way is to get a torque wrench and read the manual. The cheapskate way is to remember how hard it was to remove the old one.

Trouble is this is the sort of thing you learn by experience, and trying to describe the 'feel' of what various tightnesses are often doesn't work terribly well. Especially if the people describing it have different strengths - eg what's a 'nip it up a bit' for Conor could well be a 'heave on it' for me.

Putting actual numbers on it with a torque wrench is how you get round this problem, which is why that's what you're seeing.

Re your immediate problem:

1) You need to know the settings for that nut. You could ask in a bit more detail - maybe somebody here has the relevant book and can tell you. But you'll need to say exactly what car you have - eg I'm afraid the settings from my book won't help you. 2) Can you borrow a torque wrench? Personally I'd consider it a moderately essential tool, so had no qualms about buying one.

cheers, clive