This
post has been prompted by the lack of good technical information
out there on the Vauxhall Vivaro, Primastar and traffic van and in particular the rear hub
settings.
I
recently had a rear hub bearing seize up, luckily the bearing
had not welded itself to the stub axle. Which is all too common in
this type of bearing failure.
I
am surprised and concerned to find a lot of miss information on forums. The lack of this
information is making a statement like: “if you don't know the
torque setting for the hub nut just tighten it up as tight as you can
and then put a scaffold pole on the Tee bar and do it up some more!”.
This stratagem can be dangerous and will cause the bearing to
prematurely fail again. Why? The rear hub bearing is of the taper
roller type which means that if you do not set it up correctly it
will bind on the runners causing it to overheat and seize. These are
not like ball bearings which can be over tightened (which is not
recommended) because there is not the same direct affect.
The
specialist kit you need to do this job properly:
 |
| 36 mm socket |
- A thirty-six-millimetre socket for the hub nut. Which is three quarter inch drive that you may step down to half inch.
- A Tee bar.
- An extension bar like a scaffold pole no longer than a meter for loosening only.
- A torque wrench that can go up to three hundred Newton meters. Which are not that expensive. Please note that wrench is Six hundred millimetre long (half a meter) This is the optimum length for this weight of tightness.
- Spanners and or sockets for the brake calliper mounting bolts of twenty-one millimetres.
 |
| 300 Newton meter torque wrench |
 |
| Destroyed bearing. Also shows ABS ring. |
Be
careful not to damage the wheel sensor. The hub nut should be
tightened to two hundred and eighty Newton Meters which is
surprisingly not that tight - about a quarter of a turn or so after
it has been done up normally with a ratchet. The mounting bolts for
the calliper cage- one hundred and eighty Newton meters- you should
clean the threads with a tap before adding new thread lock and the
wheel nuts are one hundred and forty Newton meters and don't forget
to put a little bit of lube on the threads.
If
you would like to ask any questions or add further to this post,
please do.
Related post: Sticking handbrake.
