Summit bearings

I have a couple of questions related to my Summit’s bearings. I have searched the forum and come up with some information but I still have questions.

Question 1. Can I safely remove the bearing shims without doing any damage? Can I get a different sized bearing that would allow me to remove the shims?

Question 2. I have trouble getting the bearing cap tightened properly. Too tight - the bearings are constricted which means the wheel does not turn freely plus the bearing makes a scraping noise. Too loose - the shims shift out of place and I get another scraping noise. When I leave the bolts loose, I am almost afraid they are going to fall out because they are so loose. The problem here is there is not much difference between too tight and too loose. I do not have a torque wrench. Does anyone else out there have problems getting the proper tension on their Summit bearings? Any ideas? Any suggetions for getting it right?

I have been riding about 16 months and at age 51, I don’t ride it real hard.

Try using a 1/4" nut driver with a 10 mm socket on it. It’s pretty hard to overtighten the bolts using this method because of the lack of leverage.