1967 K20 Adjust rear wheel bearings after new seal install

[marina blue bob]

Hey Guys: Need help from anyone who has replaced rear axle seals on HO52 axle and adjusted rear wheel bearings after.
- The GM Service Manual states: torque outer lock nut to 175 ft lbs. I tried it and it just does not work. The lock ring gets distorted and worse, the bearing load it creates causes so much drag, the hub turn is way too stiff.
- I ended up torqueing the outer lock nut to 45 ft. lbs. and it all seemed ok. No wheel bearing end play. Hub turned freely. Ear of lock ring tab bent into a recess of lock nut as per manual.
- My question: have others run into this? Reluctant to think Service Manual is wrong, but 175 ft. lb torque spec for outer lock nut just does not work. (maybe a typo - shoulda been 75 ft. lbs. ??)
What have you other guys done?
Appreciate any thoughts, advice. Thanks.

[Stocker]

Originally Posted by marina blue bob

Hey Guys: Need help from anyone who has replaced rear axle seals on HO52 axle and adjusted rear wheel bearings after.
- The GM Service Manual states: torque outer lock nut to 175 ft lbs. I tried it and it just does not work. The lock ring gets distorted and worse, the bearing load it creates causes so much drag, the hub turn is way too stiff.
- I ended up torqueing the outer lock nut to 45 ft. lbs. and it all seemed ok. No wheel bearing end play. Hub turned freely. Ear of lock ring tab bent into a recess of lock nut as per manual.
- My question: have others run into this? Reluctant to think Service Manual is wrong, but 175 ft. lb torque spec for outer lock nut just does not work. (maybe a typo - shoulda been 75 ft. lbs. ??)
What have you other guys done?
Appreciate any thoughts, advice. Thanks.

I am waaaaaay out of my element here but I'll toss this in, if for no other reason than to showcase my ignorance.

When you say rear wheel bearings and axle seals, I'm thinking the outer ends of the axle, where the wheels are.

When you say 175 ft lbs, I'm thinking pinion seal at the front of the differential.

[57taskforce]

Originally Posted by marina blue bob

Hey Guys: Need help from anyone who has replaced rear axle seals on HO52 axle and adjusted rear wheel bearings after.
- The GM Service Manual states: torque outer lock nut to 175 ft lbs. I tried it and it just does not work. The lock ring gets distorted and worse, the bearing load it creates causes so much drag, the hub turn is way too stiff.
- I ended up torqueing the outer lock nut to 45 ft. lbs. and it all seemed ok. No wheel bearing end play. Hub turned freely. Ear of lock ring tab bent into a recess of lock nut as per manual.
- My question: have others run into this? Reluctant to think Service Manual is wrong, but 175 ft. lb torque spec for outer lock nut just does not work. (maybe a typo - shoulda been 75 ft. lbs. ??)
What have you other guys done?
Appreciate any thoughts, advice. Thanks.

What you did should work just fine. When i do them on the floating axles I snug the nut up as I spin the hub so as to get all the end play out of it. Once you get to the point where you can feel light drag on the hub from the bearing back the nut off and torque it to around 50 ft/lbs and call it good.
Not sure where they got 175 from that’s way too much.

[marina blue bob]

Thanks for the reply Tyler; your confirmation is much appreciated. Never caught a mistake in a factory shop manual before, but 175 ft. lbs. seemed all wrong. That left me wondering ... go by what I know to be correct, that is, preload while spinning hub, no end play and hub smooth spin.
---Further confusing it was both the wheel bearing retaining nut and jam nut were finger tight when I disassembled the hub. It was that way for 20 years from the last shop who worked on the truck.
--- It's been about 20 years since I had hubs apart; felt a little rusty - me not the hub.
---By the way, the rear hubs show an infrared temp reading of Left side 103 deg. and Right side 99 deg. on the test drive. Temps seem ok.

[Dashman]

This is what my Haynes manual states:

"26)...tighten the adjusting nut to 50 ft-lbs while rotating the wheel, then back the nut off 90 degrees. 27) While continuing to rotate the wheel, retighten the nut to 35 ft-lbs, and then back it off 3/8 turn. 28) Install the lock ring and pin, turning the adjusting nut only far enough so the pin will engage the nearest notch. 29) Install the lock nut. Tighten the locknut to 50 ft-lbs on 1967 through 1971 models or to 80 to 100 ft-lbs on 1972 through 1976 models."

What's the deal with changing from 90 degrees to 3/8 of a turn? The only sense I was able to make of any of it, is to positively seat the bearings. I stayed consistent with reducing the torque by 15 ft-lbs, and loosening the nut enough to where the wheel would rotate again. I believe I settled with 20 ft-lbs on the adjusting nut, and 80 ft-lbs on the lock nut. At some point, a person could strip the threads on the spindle.

[marina blue bob]

Thanks Dashman. I appreciate your reply too. It's really nice to read directions like yours that are detailed, specific and easy to follow.

[Jason Banks]

Does your HO52 still have the barrel shaped rear bearings?

I recently replaced the rear bearings on my 1967 K20 with the tapered bearings that are more common today. I treated them like I do other tapered roller bearings, where I tighten until hard to turn and back off some to free turning.

I think the service manual procedure is for the factory type NDH Barrel Roller Bearings. If you look at the bearing itself, the bearings are barrel shaped and not straight cylindrical. If you look at the race the bearings ride in, it is concave.

Have you discovered Torque King for parts for your truck yet?

Here's a link to their bearing set they sell, but I have called them a couple times and they have been very helpful.

https://torqueking.com/product/8371/...52-ho72-axles/

If you read their descriptions it talks about the NDH (New Departure Hyatt) bearings.

Have you discovered ChaparrallMan1974's build thread yet? He recently went through his whole chassis.

https://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/...d.php?t=841272