Unitized wheel end assembly

A wheel end assembly for rotatably coupling a wheel with a shaft of a vehicle, the wheel end assembly comprising:

• a generally cylindrical hub connectable with the wheel and having an inboard axial end, an outboard axial end and an inner circumferential surface defining a bore;
• a bearing disposed within the hub bore and including an outer ring coupled with hub, an inner ring disposed within the outer ring and disposeable about the shaft, and a plurality of rolling elements disposed between the inner and outer rings;
• and
• a seal assembly for sealing an annular space between the bearing inner and outer rings, the seal assembly being configured to retain the inner ring disposed at least partially within the outer ring when the wheel end assembly is separate from the shaft.

A wheel end assembly for rotatably coupling a wheel with a shaft of a vehicle, the wheel end assembly comprising:

• a generally cylindrical hub connectable with the wheel and having an inboard axial end, an outboard axial end and an inner circumferential surface defining a bore;
• a bearing disposed within the hub bore and including an outer ring coupled with hub, an inner ring disposed within the outer ring and disposeable about the shaft and a plurality of rolling elements disposed between the inner and outer rings;
• a nut assembly disposed adjacent to the bearing and including a nut configured to threadably engage an outer surface section of the shaft so as to couple the wheel end assembly with the shaft and a washer disposed at least partially between the nut and the bearing inner ring, the nut being movably coupled with the washer;
• and
• a retainer coupled with the hub and contactable by the washer to retain the nut assembly disposed axially adjacent to the bearing such that the nut assembly limits axial displacement of the bearing inner ring to maintain the inner ring disposed at least partially within the outer ring when the wheel end assembly is separate from the shaft.

A method of installing a wheel end assembly onto a spindle shaft having a central axis, a free end and an outer circumferential surface with a threaded section, the method comprising the steps of:

• providing a wheel end assembly including a hub having inboard and outboard ends and a central bore, an inboard bearing disposed within the hub bore and having an outer ring coupled with the hub and an inner ring, a seal configured to retain the inboard bearing inner ring disposed within the inboard bearing outer ring, an outboard bearing disposed within the hub bore and having an outer ring coupled with the hub and an inner ring, a nut assembly disposed adjacent to the outboard bearing and having a nut threadably engageable with the shaft, and a retainer configured to retain the nut assembly adjacent to the outboard bearing so as to retain the outboard bearing inner ring disposed within the outboard bearing outer ring;
• inserting the free end of the spindle shaft into the inboard end of the hub;
• displacing the wheel end assembly along the shaft axis until the shaft extends through the inboard bearing, the outboard bearing and the nut assembly;
• and
• rotating the nut about the threaded section of the spindle shaft outer surface to couple the wheel end assembly to the shaft.

A wheel end assembly for rotatably coupling a wheel with a shaft of a vehicle, the wheel end assembly comprising:

• a generally cylindrical hub connectable with the wheel and having an inboard axial end, an outboard axial end and an inner circumferential surface defining a bore;
• a bearing disposed within the hub bore and including an outer ring coupled with hub, an inner ring disposed within the outer ring and disposeable about the shaft, and a plurality of rolling elements disposed between the inner and outer rings;
• and
• a seal assembly for sealing an annular space between the bearing inner and outer rings, the seal assembly being coupled with the bearing inner ring and configured to seal radially outwardly against the hub inner surface or against an inner circumferential surface of a seal member coupled with the hub.