Torque Specs

[David McLaughlin]

I'm replacing the rear wheel bearings on my 914-6 this weekend.

Does anyone know what the torque spec is for the axle nut?

When I took off my rear wheels, I found NO cotter pin and the driver's side nut wasn't even hand tight. No wonder the rear wheel wobbled as I drove down the road.

Any words of advice would be appreciated as well.

Thanks,


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Dave
1970 914-6 (soon GT)

[scg]

Dave:

If it's the "castellated" nut that holds the stub axle on then, according to Clymers and Haynes both agree it's 217 to 253 lb-ft (!) for both the 914 and 914-6 (and boy, it's really hard to get off, let me tell you! A 6ft cheater bar works best).

I'm going to have to buy a new torque wrench when it comes time to put mine back on, darn it!

scott

[David McLaughlin]

Hard to get off? Mine came off without even a wrench. There was 0.00 torque on the nut; no wonder the bearing is toast.

Thanks for the info.

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Dave
1970 914-6 (soon GT)

[scg]

Yeah, I read that -- the ride and handling must have been "interesting." You're lucky it didn't decide to spin off at a bad moment!

scg

[DK914]

Hey Scott,
Don't buy that torque wrench just yet! Just divide the torque specification by your body weight (say you're 180 lb. and you want 250 ft.-lb. of torque, which gives you 1.39 or about 16 3/4 in.). Now measure off 16 3/4 in. (in our theoretical case) from the center of the socket on the axle nut up the handle of that breaker bar. Make a mark. When you put your full weight on the mark to torque the nut, you'll be in the ballpark of the torque specification.
It's not the most precise method, but it works. And the factory spec allows some room for error.

[SteveStromberg]

I use a 3/4 drive socket on a 42inch breaker bar.I then apply all the force I can(I'm 6'2" 250 lbs).Steve

[TimW]

My 914 is still up on blocks, but I figured I’d stand on the breaker bar, then drive over to a local shop and have them crank it down to spec.

[scg]

Cool! Torque wrenches that go that high are expen$ive!

Yet aonother use found for high school math and physics (after converting from metric eqivalents, of course)!

scott

[Conrad W Peden]

Careful with the standing on the breaker bar. When you tighten these nuts, the torque specs. are designed to put a certain amount of preload on the bearing. This ensures the proper gap between the balls and the race.

Too tight and you could do just as much damage as too loose.



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CWP/VIR
72 914 L20E in rusto.
73 914 L20E 2.0L in resto.
http://members.rennlist.com/a914lover