Had this problem and solved it. i Purchased the axle wrenches and instead of using them inconjuntion with a tourqe rachet, i slipped the pipe from my floor jack over them and wrenched those babies down until i heard my wrist click. That was 10 months ago and still no problem.

 

Hey Guys thanks for all the help tonight i got a 2" end wrench from work and loosened both nuts all the way off, then i coated the threads with red locktite then retightened both nuts as tight as i could get them, tight enough i was actually turning the engine over with the tires on the ground . Anyway I then took a sharp punch and put a punch mark on the axle and both nuts in a straight line, that way I know buy looking if the marks line up the nuts haven't moved. Everything is tight now no play in the rotor or the sprocket. Thanks for all the help hope the nuts stay tight! If it wasn't for your replies I would have thought the free play was normal and my bearings would have eventually went bad . thanks!!!! It's good to see there is actually people helping others out on here, rather than the (MINES BETTER THAN YOURS BS) Doug

 

i hope you didnt smash your axle bearings! If you make it too tight it will crush the bearings. been there done that!

 

I went ahead last night and changed out my bent rotor. The process is really simple but those damn nuts were sure on tight. I went ahead and torgued everything back to spec. The end of the axle bolt was to be set to 85 ft/lbs and let me tell you, I wrenched and wrenched until the wheels spun with the e-brake on. I still could not get that wrench to click. The back axle nuts are to be torqued to 170 ft/lbs. Yeah right. I need to get one more wrench before I tighten that down. My torgue wrench doesn't even go that high. I'll loc-tite and use the jack handle as described above. I guess if you have air tools it could be possible.

 

I thought there was a spacer so you couldn't mash your bearings ? anyway I doubt I got it that tight anyways , I just hope the locktite holds up , when I took the nuts off there was crap on the threads like the factory used some sort of lockitite . Obviously the factory $hit didn't hold up ,hope red locktite does. I doubt you could get the nuts tight enough to mash the bearings you would need a 4ft long pipe on the end of the wrench to do that!

 

I'm with you. Like I said it was nearly impossible to get that thing to snap at 85 ft/lbs so I don't think I'll be getting it to 170 ft/lbs by hand unless I have a 4' pipe and jump on it from a second story window by which time I'll just bend the axle. HAHAHAHAHA

As to the factory using loc-tite I would bet they did because my manual says so. The red is the strongest so I don't think they should come apart. They also used loc-tite onthe rotor bolts even though the manual didn't say but you can see the residue.

 

That spacer alot of people refer to as the crush tube, it is crushed bewteen the inner races of the bearing. when you tighten the nut it pulls the hubs together which pushes on the bearings inner race. After a while the crush tube or "spacer" gets a little thinner (isnt long enough to brace the inner races) since the inner races of the bearings are not supported on both sides from the hubs and crush tube pushing in anymore the hubs will have a little play. which requires you to retighten the nuts. After a few times of this the bearings and tube will need replaced, I think thats relatively normal. The actual nuts should never come loose.

 

Before you have alot of guys give you too much mis info, and you end up wasting the bearings, carrier, and spacer tube, DO NOT tighten the inside nut as hard as you can! You will always have some front to back play. Whether or not your fingers can wiggle it or not, I'm sure your 38 HP will! (and also slowing your 400 lb beast). The ONLY nut that should be tightened to the extreme is the OUTER locking nut. The guys talking about crushing the spacer are right. Although you may not notice it immediately, that extra 1/3 turn of the nut will cause a tone of excess friction on the bearings and races. Tighten the inner nut firmly (use a man sized wrench, not one for a gorilla) and the use some locktite and torque the outer one as hard as you can(again with the man sized wrench), and presto, most of the play is gone, and and your bearings will still be smiling. As for the gorilla wrench weilding thugs, have fun forking out some cash. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

Sounds like the dealer might have missed something at prep. I would bring it to them NOW before warrenty is gone out of effect! Good luck this seems to be a new little problem.

 

The hubs should be tight, you can call it misinformation if you want. Oh! and have fun forking out your cash for hubs and axles.