I mentioned this in the "What did you do with your MINI today" thread, but I'm still a little perplexed. My hub was found loose the other day..... anyone else stumble on this? Is it a common thing? :confused5:
Wheel bearings can wear out. Hitting a curb or a pothole hard can deform one of the ball bearings and the hub will wear out pretty quickly. On a lift, the mechanic will walk around and wiggle the wheels. There should be no play in both the suspension linkage and the wheel hub. Front hubs are more expensive and more difficult to replace because they're connected to the axles; rear hubs are easy and cheaper.
As far as I know, a simple tightening of the huge nut on the end did the trick. Hopefully it stays tight :eek6:
Just looked like a big nut to me. There was nothing to prevent it from just working it's way all the way off.
The shaft that the "Big Azz" nut was on should have a "kerf" cut through the threads. The nut itself has a thin rim that is supposed to be deformed into this kerf after the proper tightening of the B/A nut. This deformation prevents the B/A nut from working itself off. You should make sure this was done properly.... This is a similar nut that I speak of....
Just sent this info to the hubby to see if he noticed anything. Might have to swing by the dealership? Oh, and there was a dent in the collar around it???????
P/N 31106773005 Hex nut with flange, M22x1.5 - ZNS3 Yup, just a hex nut. Did the hubby add loctite to the nut?
LOL- nope. I called the dealership. They were alarmed and told me to bring it in immediately. So I'm going to have them check it out tomorrow morning. :crazy:
Yes, please do. This has had my full attention, every since you posted. I can not believe that something like that has no locking device. :eek6: Jim
Oh I will- the service dude freaked out and told me to come in immediately. I was like, "oh, ok, but I've been driving around all week like this after the hubby tightened it". He must think I'm an idiot now... hell, maybe I am ut:
I can see how he might be a little worried, but if he was really worried he'd tell you to have it flatbed over.
Couple of points: 1) That style nut is VEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERY common, and can really be found on almost every car made today. Most cars made today use a sealed bearing within the whole hub assembly. This is why the parts are most costly in the first place, but also why there is next to zero call for wheel bearings to be packed. With that, the hub bolt can be torqued very tight (80 ft/lb) . W/ older style wheel bearings, you did NOT torque much (13 ft/lb), and they used a "castle-nut" to prevent the nut from backing out. The current design is MUCH safer and less maintenance. 2) That nut only holds the axle in place, not the hub. 3) The hub is held in place by four bolts on the back-side of the knuckle. If the hub was really what was loose, then those four bolts are the culprits. 4) DO NOT PUT LOCK-TITE ON THAT NUT. There is zero need for it, and will only cause issue later. I hope the dealer is able to get you going right.
As people mentioned already, to lock the nut in place you take a punch, line up to the cut out groove on the axle shaft, and whack it with a hammer to dent the top of the nut. The dent should now go into the groove in the shaft and prevent the nut from coming loose. If the last guy who worked on it didn't get this part right, the nut could spin loose. If it was whacked properly, then any play would be worrisome and come from somewhere else.
Not much of an update: Dropped Artemis off this morning. Haven't gotten a call yet with someone screaming at the other end, "WTF did you do?!?!?!?" :lol: Stay tuned.....