It wasn't too long ago that some thought that 100 ft/lbs applied to the adjuster wheels was far too much load on the bearings...so I thought I'd do a test and measure the resultant actual drag on the bearings themselves. It should be noted that lots of anti-seize or grease should be applied on the threads and the bearings should also be new. I also applied some gear oil to lubricate the bearing rollers.
original 8-25-2006 Pirate thread

With a minor modification, I found a socket that would fit just right inside the case's journal and this would allow me to spin the case at about 1 rev/sec to get an actual measure of the bearing drag. I measured about 10 in/lb.....so 100 ft/lb on the wheel results in 10 in/lb on the drag.

I then tightened the wheel to 150 ft/lb. and a little bit more.

I measured about 17 in/lb of drag. The relationship seems linear....170 ft/lb on the wheel is 17 in/lb on the drag. 17 inch/pounds of carrier bearing drag is acceptable for new bearings. Crank away on them bearings