Hi all, i have replaced the RH rear hub bearings and the original axle nut with thread insert is still intact inside the nut, can i use a high strength thread locker and as it still tightens, torque to spec?
Thanks Karl

 

The short answer is NO.

Could it be done/has it been done? Yes (not by me).

Since the bearings rely on pre-load, a loosening axle nut will affect the bearings very quickly. It would probably ruin them quickly. Beyond that, you don't want your wheel to come off.

If you do this, you will want to repeatedly check the torque on that axle nut (which is HUGE) after driving for a bit. Being so tight, you'd think it would never loosen. But reusing a nut is not a scenario that was ever tested or recommended by the factory, as a matter of safety.

 

Hi Karl,

Sorry to join your thread late. I am aware of at least two members of the Jag-Lovers forum who re-used their rear axle nuts and had them come loose while driving their cars! As Richard surmized, the bearings were damaged from the loss of preload.

It has always been difficult to find the correct nuts from any source other than Jaguar, but you might try the link below to see if Gripcoil can supply nuts of the correct thread in small quantities. The few companies I have found over the years to manufacture this type of nut have all claimed that a benefit of the coil insert was that the nut could hold torque even after repeated re-use, but the +/- 230 ft. lbs. of torque Jaguar specifies in this use apparently distorts the coil insert to the point that it cannot be relied upon for re-use.

Gripcoil Lock Nuts

This is one of those matters in which the false economy of re-using the nuts could put your life at risk.

Cheers,

Don

 

Google "Torque to yield" fixings for an explanation, but a given torque setting produces a different outcome for a "plain" nut or bolt from the outcome you get by applying it to a torque to yield fixing like the hub nut. You do need to use a new nut.