Re: RF CV Boot job questions (5ktq)

[EICHSTEV@aol.com]

Jim Haseltine wrote:
>  The axle nut was so tight that I could only just start the
>  threads by hand. Just winding the nut on took so much effort that I was
sure
>  that I'd crossed it. After 4 turns I gave up and refitted the old nut. Some
>  day when I'm feeling energetic I'll have another go.

You might want to make that some day soon.  On my old '86 5ktq, the LF wheel
bearing was replaced at 105k when I bought the car by a local reputable shop,
30k miles later I found the same bearing had become noisy again.  When I
disassembled the car, I found the shop had used the original axle nut and
came off quite (too) easily.  Almost finger tight in fact... 

Upon diassembly, I found the bearing to have been loose, but didn't look or
feel bad (it was destroyed when pressed apart however).  My guess is the
reused nut slowly loosened over time, allowing the bearing to become loose.
The replacement nut was rather tight, but it is meant to be.  The car went
another 100k miles for me with no more bearing failures.

Moral of the story:  When the book says, "ALWAYS REPLACE" when referring to
fasteners, there is probably a reason for it...

Steve Eiche