Carl:
The set of tapered wheel bearings I wrecked in less than 500 miles by following the instructions for ball bearings were on my '57 GMC 102. The GMC Maintenance Manual routine for adjusting the ball bearings says after cleaning, lubing and reinstalling, tighten the nut to 33 ft/lbs while spinning the wheel. Then back off the nut no more that 1/6 (one nut flat) of a turn and install the cotter pin. In my case (with either ball or roller bearings) there was no "slop" using either bearing type.
I had changed to roller bearings when I installed disk front brakes using the original hubs. After the bearing failure I went back to ball bearings and drove the truck over 100,000 miles in 12 years.
'57 GMC 102, Original 347 V8, HydraMatic, 3.08 rear gear, added A/C, disk front brakes, HEI, AFB carb, '98 Honda Black Currant paint. T-boned and totaled 10/12
'52 GMC 152 Stake Bed, Original 228, SM420, added A/C, HEI, disk front brakes, '67 Chev 3.55 rear gear. Gets used as a real truck.
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