How tight front wheel brg. '77 6500 drum brake?

[uglytruk]

I just had the front drum off of my '77 GMC 6500 dump, and was wondering what the correct setting was for the nut. I know for cars it's contact then back to the 1st slot for the cotter key. But this bearing was tight! What do you guys think? :Pointhead

[Steve Frazier]

Is the new bearing seated properly? What I do is tighten the wheel up real snug while spinning the wheel, then back off 1/4 turn. After that check for play and if it's OK, you're done. Don't forget to check it after the first run to see if the bearing seated any further.

[uglytruk]

Old bearing, just took wheel/drum off to check brake/cam adjuster. I was pretty sure that snug then back off was right, but it was tight! . :salute . Happy 4th :usa

[greg9504]

A little late but here is the info from my 1982 Service Manual:

- Front wheel off the ground
- tighten adjusting nut to 50 ft lbs while rotating wheel, turn in both directions.
- Back off nut 1/6 turn, if slot in nut doesn't align with hole in spindle, continue to back off until it does. Bearing end play 0.001-0.007 inch)