Dexter Axle Nut

[Rocky Mountain Camper]

I am new to the forum, perhaps this has already been discussed, but on my 2018 Vibe 315BHK, I repacked my wheel bearings and replaced the grease seals as recommended. When I pulled the cap off the drum, I was surprised to find there was not a castle nut and cotter pin, rather an 1 1/2" nut with a cage that fits over a slotted portion of the spindle to keep the nut from backing off. When I removed the clip, not a single one of the axle nuts were tight, they werent even against the washer that pushes against the inner bearing housing. I was very surprised there was no bearing or spindle damage, especially given the distance that ive towed it over the last year since I bought it new. Does anyone have any experience with these type axles? Is it inherent that the nut will back off during travel since there isnt a Castle nut? I'm thinking every other trip I need to pull each wheel off and check the torque on the nut again to prevent bearing damage.

[dieselbobcat]

The retainer clip that holds the nit is indexed on the flat side of the spindle and will prevent the nut from backing off in the same manner that the castle nut is held by the cotter.

Taken from the Dexter manual (see page 57):

-Tighten to 50 ft lb to seat bearing
-Loosen and install nut finger tight
-Replace retainer clip

https://www.dexteraxle.com/docs/defa....pdf?sfvrsn=42

[chaps2018]

Sounds normal to me. I just did my 2018 rig last week after 11k miles. Removed the “cage” and hand loosened each nut.

Was there more than 1/8” play with the wheel on?

When reassembling it I tighten the nut while turning the hub. Stop turning then unloosen the nut, hand tighten then place the retainer(cage)over the nut.

[dieselguy]

Castellated nuts have been replaced by the caged lock washer as you describe it on many RV's in the past 6-7 years mainly due to the EZ lube axles that have a channel right thru the middle to allow for the grease to be pumped to the back of the inner bearing. With the channel there can't be a cotter pin hole as it would interfere with the design. I have seen several units with the caged lock washer EZ lube or not. The caged lock washer works just as well as the cotter pin, my last two fivers as well as thousands of other units use them. I've never had an issue with the nut backing off as the lock washer fingers aided by the flat on the spindle hold the nut very snug. Many mechanics (including me) tighten the spindle nut wrist tight, then back off either one flat or one quarter turn, then lock down when we service our wheel bearings. You shouldn't have had any issue with your spindle nuts not being absolutely tight against the washer unless you could have noticeably rocked the wheel/tire combo when jacked up ... then there would have been an issue.
On edit ... the 50 ft lb recommendation is mainly to seat new bearings and races, but some people follow the practice on new and used bearings.

[TimVWulp]

Below is a link to dexter axel. On page 8 of the download is a paragraph on how to adjust the castle nut. The nut should be finger tight to give the bering steal room to grow when they warm up to running temperature. The link is from the library at the top of this page.

Forest River Forums - Downloads - Axles and Brakes -Lippert Axle

Hope this helps Tim

[Rocky Mountain Camper]

Thanks everyone for the quick responses. Seems I may need to go back through them again to make sure I'm to Dexter spec rather than usual trailer bearing torque spec of 20 ft lb. I'm a heavy equipment mechanic by trade, so I'm not used to seeing loose parts on wheels, it all makes sense now that I read it, but it caught me off guard to have loose axle nuts. I honestly didnt even check for play with the wheel still on since I was going to be taking both inner and outer bearings out to inspect them closely. I just got back from a 200ish mile trip today, I'll Jack it back up and apply tightness to the manual, thanks again for the help.

[babock]

Ez lube axles can still have cotter pins. They just offset the cotter pun hole. I have a boat trailer with ez lube axles and cotter pind

[dieselguy]

I'd guess with 20 ft lbs of grunt on the wheel bearings ... you may have see a bit warmer temps than normal if you'd had an infrared thermometer. Not being argumentative, but in 50+ years of car trailers ... boat trailers ... goose neck implement trailers ... RV trailers ... and golf cart trailers ... I've never read anything about tightening them up to 20 ft lbs and locking them down. We've always backed them off just a tad from wrist tight unless brand new bearings were in play. Heavy equipment trailers and semi trailers are a different tale to tell.

[dieselguy]

babcock ... I stand corrected ... but ... my way of thinking with a hole down the middle and another hole for a lock pin ... a lot of metal has been drilled away from the end of the spindle. But, hey it must work about the same as shaving off a flat on the spindle for these newer lock washer to work.

[TimVWulp]

Originally Posted by Rocky Mountain Camper

Thanks everyone for the quick responses. Seems I may need to go back through them again to make sure I'm to Dexter spec rather than usual trailer bearing torque spec of 20 ft lb. I'm a heavy equipment mechanic by trade, so I'm not used to seeing loose parts on wheels, it all makes sense now that I read it, but it caught me off guard to have loose axle nuts. I honestly didnt even check for play with the wheel still on since I was going to be taking both inner and outer bearings out to inspect them closely. I just got back from a 200ish mile trip today, I'll Jack it back up and apply tightness to the manual, thanks again for the help.

Thank you for the thank you. The procedure in the manual works good. I went to Alaska last summer back to west Michigan then down to south Florida and back to Michigan no problems. About 18,000 miles no problem. I did not use the grease fitting to add more grease to the assembly as the risk of greasing your brakes is very high.

Hope this helps Tim

[babock]

Originally Posted by dieselguy

I'd guess with 20 ft lbs of grunt on the wheel bearings ... you may have see a bit warmer temps than normal if you'd had an infrared thermometer. Not being argumentative, but in 50+ years of car trailers ... boat trailers ... goose neck implement trailers ... RV trailers ... and golf cart trailers ... I've never read anything about tightening them up to 20 ft lbs and locking them down. We've always backed them off just a tad from wrist tight unless brand new bearings were in play. Heavy equipment trailers and semi trailers are a different tale to tell.

Normally you torque the nut down while turning the wheel and then loosen the nut and go finger tight. The high torque number is just to seat the bearing.