Hi,

Thanks everyone for the input.

I went looking at parts online last night to manage my expectations on
cost.  Used parts vs. new... it's all manageable.

Now to dive into it!

Cheers,
Steve W.

On 12/04/2017 10:39 AM, Steve Williams wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I have a 1991 Westfalia.  On a recent road trip my passenger side rear
> wheel started making a bit of a noise.  I have a handy tool to tighten
> the huge nut so pulled the cotter pin and was able to get about 1/2 of a
> turn on the nut.  I figure I put close (if not more) to the 350 foot lbs
> of torque, a 2 foot breaker bar with 185 lbs standing on it to torque
> it, then a gentle bounce to get the nut to the next spot a cotter pin
> would fit in..
>
> That made the noise go away.  I left the hub cap off and checked the hub
> for excessive heat periodically (15 min, 30 min, 1 hr, then hourly)  for
> the rest of my drive to my destination and all was good.  It never got
> warmer than one would expect with braking.
>
> I got to my destination with no further incidents.
>
> On the way home, about 1000 km later, it started making the noise
> again.  I was a bit confused as there was no heat build up... but I
> figured what the heck & re-checked the torque on the axle nut. It needed
> maybe 1/3 of a turn.
>
> *** NOTE *** There is a cotter pin in the nut, so it's not like the nut
> backed off.
>
> I am getting ready to tear into the hub, but I'm curious what I might be
> expecting to see once I get in there...
>
> There must be something wearing for the nut to need tightening again.
> But from my understanding of how the rear bearings are set up, with the
> bearing being torqued down onto the sleeve,etc I don't see how it could
> loosen.
>
> Thoughts?
>
> Thanks,
> Steve Williams