Rear Axle: Torque Specs for Hub Nut on Rear Axle (1954 Land Cruiser)

[BOEING707100]

Hello Fellow Studenuts,

Can you help with with a torque spec number? The main nut that holds the rear hub/drum assembly to the axle on a '54 Land Cruiser. What should I torque it to?

And Part 2:

How much grease should I pump into the rear axle (at the fitting on the housing behind the brake backing plate)?

Thanks much!

Tony

[rstrasser]

My book says to torque to 170 Foot Pounds and then tighten to the next cotter key hole. Do not place any lube between the axle shafts taper and the inside of the hub.
As for the grease fitting. Very little; unless you want the excess grease to end up on your brake shoes. On latter Studebakers the grease fitting was eliminated.. The best way to grease the axle bearing is to remove the shaft and pack the bearing by hand.
Ron

[RadioRoy]

You can also inject grease into the bearing with a needle that has a Zerk fitting on the other end, but the hub/drum has to be off the axle for access.

[JoeHall]

About 5-6 pumps on the grease gun, max. The reason those plugs for grease fittings were removed after 1956 was due to, "grease monkeys" pumping too much grease into them. Excess grease will get into all the wrong places, i.e. onto the brake shoes.

I just remove the axles and do it right (repack by hand), about every 25,000-30,000 miles. While at it, double check the bearing and race, and end play. But that's just me.

[BOEING707100]

Thanks a million guys. How difficult is it to pull the axles and regrease, when you've already got the hub and drum off? And I already finished assembling the new brakes shoes. Do I have to take the brake shoes off of the backing plate? Or can I just remove the 4 bolts in the middle and drop that whole assembly, emergency brake line attached, out of the way? Thanks again.

[JoeHall]

Thanks a million guys. How difficult is it to pull the axles and regrease, when you've already got the hub and drum off? And I already finished assembling the new brakes shoes. Do I have to take the brake shoes off of the backing plate? Or can I just remove the 4 bolts in the middle and drop that whole assembly, emergency brake line attached, out of the way? Thanks again.

Piece of cake. No need to remove the shoes from the backing plate, nor disconnect the emergency brake cable, it will give enough to allow you to swing the backing plate with shoes clear of the end of the axle and off to the side. Probably easier to disconnect the brake line, but sometimes there's enough slack to leave it connected. Once the backing plate is out of the way, you'll need something to pull the axle out. The bearing race will drag hard enough that you will need to, "slap" the axle out. I use a puller, but you probably do not have one. You could probably install the axle nut about half way back on, then use a brass drift against the inboard side of the nut, and tap the brass drift with a hammer. It does not take much of a tap, and that should do it.

To reinstall, you tap the bearing race back into the housing.

Hopefully you have a Shop Manual?

[rstrasser]

After the backing plate is removed place the brake drum back on the axle. Install the nut with a few threads and pull the brake drum back and forth using it as a slide hammer.
Ron

[SScopelli]

Boeing 707?

[Studevair]

My '56 manual/'57 supplement manual says to remove the plugs behind the backing plate for the axle bearings and install grease fittings then fill with grease until it comes out of the vent hole at 12 o clock on the axle tube then remove the fittings and reinstall the plugs, I did this on my '57 should I not have done this?

[jclary]

My '56 manual/'57 supplement manual says to remove the plugs behind the backing plate for the axle bearings and install grease fittings then fill with grease until it comes out of the vent hole at 12 o clock on the axle tube then remove the fittings and reinstall the plugs, I did this on my '57 should I not have done this?

Yep...been doing that for years. One other thing I do. I clean the area of the vent hole, so I can find it. Then I use a dental pick and clear the vent. Once grease begins to ooze out that hole, you have sufficient lubrication. I always remove the grease fitting and reinstall the plug. A grease fitting remaining in that location is vulnerable to getting broken off.

[Studevair]

John, that is exactly what I did, I wondered if it had never been done because it appeared the slot in the plug and the vent hole were covered with undercoating.

[BOEING707100]

Boeing 707?

MrTravolta'sB707B.

[BOEING707100]

Piece of cake. No need to remove the shoes from the backing plate, nor disconnect the emergency brake cable, it will give enough to allow you to swing the backing plate with shoes clear of the end of the axle and off to the side. Probably easier to disconnect the brake line, but sometimes there's enough slack to leave it connected. Once the backing plate is out of the way, you'll need something to pull the axle out. The bearing race will drag hard enough that you will need to, "slap" the axle out. I use a puller, but you probably do not have one. You could probably install the axle nut about half way back on, then use a brass drift against the inboard side of the nut, and tap the brass drift with a hammer. It does not take much of a tap, and that should do it.

To reinstall, you tap the bearing race back into the housing.

Hopefully you have a Shop Manual?

Great information, Joe. I really appreciate it. I do have a shop manual, but wanted to get a "real-life" take on it before I charged ahead. This helps.