This nut has been used on the Volkswagen Bus as a locknut on the steering ball joints and on the Volkswagen Beetle and Karmann Ghia as a front wheel bearing nut on the left side.
Front wheel bearing nuts must never be tightened to the tightening torque (tightening force in Nm or kgm)! You wouldn't be the first to see the torque of the Allen bolt (used in the last years of the Volkswagen Beetle, Karmann Ghia, Type 3 and VW Thing) for the wheel bearing torque. This locking bolt must be tightened to the prescribed torque.
Proceed as follows:
1. tighten the nut slightly against the thrust ring (thrust washer) and simultaneously turn the brake drum or disc to center the bearings in the bearings
2. loosen the nut again, then tighten until you can still move the thrust ring with a screwdriver
3. lock the nut or nuts
If you work in this way your new bearings can last for years.
In older Volkswagens the locking is ensured by two nuts screwed on top of each other, between which retaining clamps are placed, which are hit against the nuts after tightening. Always order these locking plates extra, they are for one time use only (listed on the options tab).
On younger models, these are clamping nuts which, once tightened, are secured by an Allen bolt. In the third generation of Volkswagen Bus (T25/T3 Vanagon), the locking is carried out by the nut itself, which is partially oval. These nuts must always be replaced, the ovality will largely disappear and thus the function of lock nut.
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