MF65 wheel hub install question

[lynrob]

I am in the process of rebuilding the front end of my 1963 diesel MF65. The wheel bearing were so bad when I got it that they broke the inner collar off of one of the wheel hubs and the spindle shafts had 1/16" grooves in them. In addition, the power steering pedestal bushings were badly worn. I got new spindle bushings installed and reamed, got a new hub to replace the broken one and installed new bearing races in the hubs. The power steering pedestal is at the machine getting new bushings (the pre-sized ones aren't available any more so he will have to ream them to fit).

So far, so good... Then today, I installed the spindles and put one hub on. That's where I ran into a problem. According the the shop manual you are supposed to tighten the castle nut on the axle until the bearings seat. It says you can tell when you've reached this point because the wheel won't turn. At this point you are supposed to back off the nut until there is a slight drag and install the cotter pin. The problem is that I never got to that point. Instead, I reached a point where I couldn't tighten the nut any more but the wheel still turned but with noticeable drag. I backed off the nut but nothing changed, it's like the bearings didn't follow the nut when I loosened it. I also noticed a gap between the inner part of the hub and the root of the axle. It isn't clear to me if the gap is supposed to be there. I also don't know if I installed the dust seal right or not. Should the metal or the rubber side of the dust seal go against he bearing?

Can any of you who have done this before tell me if this is ok or did I mess something up? This my first time doing this so I am not sure what to expect. How freely should a wheel with new bearings spin? If i give it a good spin it will go about one more revolution before it stops. Is that how it should be? Here are some pictures showing the hub, inner bearing, dust seal installed both ways, and, the gap.




Here is the dust seal rubber side out...



Here it is with the steel side out...



Here is the gap I was talking about...



And a close up...

 

[The kid]

There is a possibility you have reamed too much, or possibly the wrong size bearings. Here's a snippet from AGCO Parts Book Online where it shows three differrent axles and the complete assembly for each. All you may need is another washer to tighten up the axle enough, or replace and use correct parts if that's the case.
Here's the snippet from that page. You may want to visit the page yourself where you can zoom with print options for a better view. This is an example of what you'll find. -kid

View attachment 316378

 

[lynrob]

Thanks Kid!

I'm sure I have the right parts, they're identical to the ones I removed. I took the hub off and took some careful measurements. The inner bearing is fully seated so I think this gap must be as designed, maybe to allow tightening the bearings as they wear. Anyway, thanks for your help!