Axle Nut Torque: 166 or 137

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Corey

Active member
Hi,

Digging through my service manuals after a recent wheel bearing replacement. Found some conflicting numbers

Edit: ST165 manuals states 137 ftlbs.

My 1990 Manual says 137 ftlbs

A 1992 manual I have says 166 ftlbs in a number of diagrams, but in one diagram is shows 137.

Edit: Just checked the 205 Manual: Its 195 ftlbs front, 166 rear

:shrug:

Edit: Diagrams posted on gtfours.co.uk under the wheel bearing replacement pages show:

ST165: 137ftlbs rear,
ST185 and ST205: 166 ftlbs rear
 
S

sMARTINside

New member
My Chilton book says 137ft-lb for the ST185 Axle Nut. The confusion is that it's 137 ft-lb OR 186 Nm which is the same torque value. They are all mixed up in my book too! :doh:
 
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RafaCalde

New member
I did 166 even though I have a 90 cause I was following a 92 Manual and I used thread lock red cause I've had the front passenger nut come loose on me three times.
 
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tubasteve

New member
RafaCalde":3f9lbxj4 said:
I did 166 even though I have a 90 cause I was following a 92 Manual and I used thread lock red cause I've had the front passenger nut come loose on me three times.
Click to expand...


^ I've had this happen on my divers side.

I tighten my axle nut the proven German way, "4 dut duhs" with a gun we call Bertha.

I'd go with higher though, won't hurt her.

-jr
 
C

Corey

Active member
K sounds good.

I had mine arbitrarily torqued to 180 ftlbs. I think I'll leave it there for now. It's mid way between the 205 and 185 values.

It seems toyota chose to increase th torque spec through the years. Starting with 137 front and ending with 195 front on the 205 (albeit with a different knuckle style).
 
CMS-GT4

CMS-GT4

Active member
I do 195 as the nut has come loose on me at required values, which ruined the new bearing in the process. This has happened to me twice. Once including when toyota did the wheel bearing.
 
P

phattyduck

New member
Is it bad that I just run the nuts down with a normal 1/2" impact until things stop moving (maybe 6-8 hammers after slowing down)?

I've had good luck with bearings that way, but haven't put a ton of miles on any I have have done...

-Charlie
 
CMS-GT4

CMS-GT4

Active member
I think with something as important as these axle nuts, you need to make sure they are right. Also, always run those cotter pins. That actually saved my life when that nut ran out on me.
 
D

deecee

New member
so Corey - general consensus is 195 ftlbs front, 166 ftlbs rear.
Do you want me to change my tutorial figures?
 
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tubasteve

New member
phattyduck":l1jm514h said:
Is it bad that I just run the nuts down with a normal 1/2" impact until things stop moving (maybe 6-8 hammers after slowing down)?

I've had good luck with bearings that way, but haven't put a ton of miles on any I have have done...

-Charlie
Click to expand...


That is my "dut duh" reference.

195 is what I'd run hands down IF i was using a tq wrench....i have seen to many axle nuts come lose at that low of tq some times.
-jr
 
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bridge47

New member
Once I rushed a frt. bearing replacement on my 93 and confused ft/lbs and nMs. I believe I tightened it to 186 ft lbs or the higher number per the 93 BGB. Then it got noisy and I got to do it again. But to be honest, it could've been a cheap bearing or a bad job by me pressing it in. Torqued 2nd bearing to BGB spec in ft lbs.

I certainly wouldn't just impact away. Unless I knew my gun really well, and did these sorts of jobs everyday, etc.

Also, I never had a nut back off. Must have done 6 bearing jobs if I include my 90 Alltrac. Some years have washers. Some don't. I'd use blue loctite if loosening was an issue.

Of course the BGB could be wrong as well. Misprints are common in such manuals.
 
C

Corey

Active member
DeeCee":2imrn4ui said:
so Corey - general consensus is 195 ftlbs front, 166 ftlbs rear.
Do you want me to change my tutorial figures?
Click to expand...


Hey,

Hope it didn't seem like I was trying to make a big point about it on the OC when I asked. It's only because my bearings were recently replaced that I was curious about the value and whether the 137 ftlbs I had seen before was incorrect or something.

It's your call of course, they are excellent tutorials to be sure! :)

Cheers
 
D

deecee

New member
No offence taken Corey. It is better to ensure that we provide the correct information to others for their safety first and foremost :)

At least you have raised this as a discussion point. Others may take information at face value without validation..
 
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RafaCalde

New member
Those of you just using impacts, I have a question for you. Do you daily drive your car? I do and once I just used the impact and the nut still backed out. And it was a good impact. I recommend still using a torque wrench to ensure proper torque after impacting it down. Just be safe.
 
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tubasteve

New member
RafaCalde":375u2pt5 said:
Those of you just using impacts, I have a question for you. Do you daily drive your car? I do and once I just used the impact and the nut still backed out. And it was a good impact. I recommend still using a torque wrench to ensure proper torque after impacting it down. Just be safe.
Click to expand...

I do know that about 10k cars we've done axles on and wheel bearings on. 0 have come back due to impacting on. We have line pressure alarms when below 140 psi constant line pressure to ensure the same performance everytime. I've seen more axle nuts back off when tq'd to spec. I'M NOT SAYING IT'S A BAD IDEA, just sharing experience. If the axle nut is used once already, you should be over tq'd just a little bit. Trust me.
-jr
 
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bridge47

New member
How is it that the nut can be backing off? The factory retainer and pin should keep this from happening. Do not all models have this? My 90 did and IIRC, so does my 93.

Another word about torque values. I would imagine the 166 ft lb refers to clean dry threads. After so much time and miles it is likely that nut won't spin on easy so torquing to 166 could actually be less. In this case over torquing nut a bit is not a bad idea.
 
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tubasteve

New member
On my red car it took the castle off when backing off, I'll see if i can find pictures...

The pin sits out a little, and once the castle is sheared...it's too lose to support the bearing.
 
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tubasteve

New member
^ mind you, this happened twice, same spindle, new hub and bearing with axle. It was checked several times for 1k miles just to bake sure it stayed tight, and hadn't backed off even with track days. The previous owner appeared to have same problem as they peened the hub...

The new axles I'm getting are coming with a new axle nut/washer combo like Honda but still uses retainer and cotter pin. Been having great luck with these i must say.
 
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