I knew I wasn't the only one that hates the new system for holding bearings tight. If it worked for 30 years, it couldn't be that bad, could it? I don't check for play, don't even use a torque wrench like some guys do. My old man taught me to set them by feel.
That Stemco bearing preload setup is worthless in my book. After the bearings have seated and X amount of miles the preset preload they were trying to achieve becomes pointless.
When the bearings and races are still fine shape the only way the set the proper preload is leave the bearing spacer/collar out. Throw that single locking nut away also those have
been known to fail when reused. Go back to old school and use the two nut and locking washer set-up.
They want you to buy the whole kit, bearings, races, spacer and new single self retaining nut plus wheel seal. We have had a few that ran allot of miles but just as many the seal
started to leak because of excessive bearing end play. We have over 850 wheel ends to deal with.
The other POS is the Crossfire tire inflation system. How federal DOT put the OK stamp on that I will never know. It basically allows a truck to operate with defective equipment.
If a tire has a leak it's defective. That thing allows a driver to bypass the tire shop and keep on trucking. On a level two inspection if the inspector hears a leak in a tire it's fix it
there and now. Every time a tractor or trailer is in for service in our shop we stick the tires with a gauge even if it isn't due for service we check them. If a tire is below 80 lbs
we call that a flat and 99% of the time it is. But one thing else when new tires are mounted up the valve stem is removed and a new seal installed using brake parts lube on the
O-ring. Those stems will corrode {steel to aluminum} and start leaking over time.
Truck Shop