Thread: axle nut torque specs question

I'm sort of lost on what torque spec should be should be used for my 99 Regal. Some sites say 118ft-lbs and some say 159ft-lbs. Another thing that is odd is why would the grand prix use the same exact hub and parts and only be 118ft-lbs and the regal be 159ft-lbs? Is it more dependent on the hub you have for the torque spec? This is starting to piss me off as I'm going through hubs faster than the damn seasons change. I'm wodering if the hubs I put on (didn't come with torque spec in box and were ebay brands-those should still last longer than a few thousand miles) were 118ft-lbs and because I torqued them to 159ft-lbs, could that actually detroy the hub bearings that fast?

I always torque mine to around 150 ft-lbs and never had an issue.

I would rather think your issue is using cheap hubs. Get Timken for $100 from rock auto, torque them to 150ft-lbs and you should be good.

Maybe the cause of cheap ones is the cause in most applications but typically not after 3 or 4 months. Doesn't make sense. If it is though I guess this will be the 3rd hub on the driver's side.

Yours is 118. They changed the spec in like 99 or 2000 to the 159.

Originally Posted by darkhorizon

Get oem hubs, torque to "as much as you can"

/thread.

Thats retarded the torque sets the preload in the bearing. They need to be torqued.

well why would it suddenly jump from 118 to 159 when the parts are exactly the same? especially when everyone says a hub for the grand prix can be swapped into a regal and vice versa when grand prixs are set for 118.
and my car is a 99 so by what you just said it'd be 159.

I just looked up the spec for yours on alldata its 118 I mis spoke it was 2000 or 2001.

99 grand prix is also 118.

It changed in 01, I think it is the axle nut its self that is different.

Originally Posted by darkhorizon

Get oem hubs, torque to "as much as you can"

/thread.

That's all I have ever done. I don't have a torque wrench that goes to above 110 ft lbs. No problems so far

mitchell1 which i have access still from remember my autoshop's login from a couple years hehe says for a 99 to be 118 and 2000 on up is 159. Can anyone explain how GM could raise the torque spec for the next year yet the hub assembly is exactly the same for 98-through 2003 I thought?

Originally Posted by kyle91

mitchell1 which i have access still from remember my autoshop's login from a couple years hehe says for a 99 to be 118 and 2000 on up is 159. Can anyone explain how GM could raise the torque spec for the next year yet the hub assembly is exactly the same for 98-through 2003 I thought?

The replacement hubs are exactly the same. I would guess that GM originally started torquing them to 118ft lbs and then ran into an issue where they thought it would be best to raise the torque to 159 or whatever. But they didn't feel it was a big deal to make it retroactive.

I have a 97 and have replaced a few hubs and always torqued to 150ft-lbs or so.

in 01 the hubs did change you have a plastic abs clip or metal

Originally Posted by 1LoudGrandPrix

in 01 the hubs did change you have a plastic abs clip or metal

lol I don't think a clip change is grounds for 40ft-lbs more of torquing on the nut. So should I try a happy medium say like 130 and just check to make sure it doesn't come loose?

Originally Posted by kyle91

lol I don't think a clip change is grounds for 40ft-lbs more of torquing on the nut. So should I try a happy medium say like 130 and just check to make sure it doesn't come loose?

The clip change is not the reason for the torque spec change lol. Often when there is a component or assembly design change they will also look at changing peripheral components (i.e. the clip) for cost savings, minor improvements, etc. I have a 2001 3.8L GP and thus it appears to be a candidate for mid-year component changes.

I had the issue first of getting the wrong socket. The aftermarket axles that I found used a 34mm nut. So, I went to the store and picked up a 34mm socket. However, the nut on my axle...the original axle...is not 34mm! It's 36mm. They switched from a 36mm to a 34mm nut sometime, I'm guessing mid year 2001, for some design improvement which I don't know. Doing so reduced the surface area of the nut by about 10%...and as a result they probably increased the the torque spec from 118 to 159ft-lbs to account for the change. Obviously 159 is more than 10% greater than 118, but there is also some loss in thread surface area when you drop in size so the 41 ft-lb increase accounts for that as well.

I'm coming across this stuff now because I am actually replacing my bearing today and also found contradicting information. I welcome anyone to challenge this theory if they know better- but this is the best thing I can come up with as to why there are two torque specs.

I hope this helps

-Luke