| Author | Message | ||
     Fravel |
Took the front wheel in to have new rubber put on it last night. When I got home, I put the wheel back on the bike. I was not able to torque the axle to spec because the axle is reverse threaded and the torque wrench didn't work in reverse. I used anti-seize and tightened it down pretty tight and torqued the pinch bolts to spec. Do I have anything to worry about? | ||
| Etennuly |
You can use a long extension and a spark plug socket from Craftsman to run through the axle and use your torque wrench. Biggest concern might be over tightening. | ||
| Fravel |
That's a sweet idea, but do I need to worry about it if everything's already buttoned up and the wheel is rotating fine? Or, should I loosen, and re-tighten everything? | ||
| Surveyor |
That's a sweet idea, but do I need to worry about it if everything's already buttoned up and the wheel is rotating fine? Or, should I loosen, and re-tighten everything? Yes you need to loosen and re torque everything - even worse, if you have over torqued the axle you will have crushed the aluminium spacer between the bearings and you will suffer repeated bearing failure if the spacer is damaged - sorry to be the bearer of bad news - how do I know this?.......guess. | ||
| Fravel |
Ok, so how do I know if the spacer is damaged? | ||
| Ferocity02 |
A not too accurate way to torque your bolts if you don't have a torque wrench or if it's reverse thread, is to just multiply the length of the wrench by how much weight you put on the end. For example, if the wrench is 12" long(from the center of the bolt to where the weight is applied), and you apply 50 lbs to the end of the wrench(90 degrees to the wrench), than that is equivalent to 50 ft-lbs. It's tough to get the feel for this method, but after doing this for several years I can usually get within 2-3 ft-lbs compared to my torque wrench. | ||
| Surveyor |
If you have over torqued the axle you have almost certainly crushed the aluminium spacer in the hub between the bearings. You need to remove the wheel again and check this. If the spacer is damaged it will be evident in the form of belling or flaring at either end. If it's damaged you'll have to replace it or your wheel bearings will fail regularly and quickly no matter how you torque the axle. If the spacer is damaged you also need to check your wheel bearings as the lateral thrust resulting from the overtightening will have damaged them too. How do I know all this..............guess! sorry about the double post my original got lost in the ether and then I reposted but I hope I've answered your question? (Message edited by surveyor on September 05, 2008) |
