Thread: Wheel bearings, Stub axles and Ignorance

Damn. Good luck with the repair. Pitty it didn't go up at Ace's with the guys there it would have been inspected and fixed in no time.

Originally Posted by jimbo110

I would use it, if another one came up cheap in the future, replace it then, but I wouldn't have have any problems using that one.

Don't forget that there's an oil seal there too.... If that inner face is pitted, the seal could wear faster than expected and/or leak. If you need something now, use it.

If it were me, I'd probably fit a second hand one from the breakers and then tidy that one up for the spares box (but then I'm a fussy bugger...).

M

Thanks for your comment Jimbo, that helps me get a better idea of what's good and what's bad.
Yeah Edd, Ace and the crowd have a way of conjuring parts out of apparently thin air!
Camel_Landy - could you expand on "tidy that one up"?

well that doesnt look as bad as Id feared (got to play devils advocate in the event of lack of info/pics) Id refit that but pack the oil seal with a good grease to help it seal...(this might be the time to pack the bearings with grease as well if yours are setup to run oil, the oil will still get to them but the grease will save the seal and in the event of failure give you a fighting chance of catching it before total failure.

Id have one ordered in and would be checking the wheel bearing temps at every stop and inspecting the inside of the wheel for oil/thrown grease.

at least once a week (assuming 500km per week) id prop the back wheel and check it for float.

as for getting it machined take the bearing you want to run on it to the machine shop and simpley tell them you want it lathed back then sleeved to run this bearing.

to me it looks like the inner race of the inner bearing has overheated and expended then turned, grabbed and slowly worked its way round till it wedged on at a slight angle and then the inner bearing has procceded to eat itself.

if the outer bearing face was as bad as the inner ID be more cautious about using it.

What is ringing some alarm bells for me is the damage to the leading edge of the sealing surface that aint normal..

Freebie tip.. IF you have a good digital camera that has a macro setting

when inspecting bearings or other parts set your camera up for max optical zoom on macro shooting with the flash off and on the highest resolution it can do, Use strong sunlight or even incandescant lighting take a pic and the look at it on the computer, you'll be amazed at how much you can see.

Originally Posted by camel_landy

Don't forget that there's an oil seal there too.... If that inner face is pitted, the seal could wear faster than expected and/or leak. If you need something now, use it.

If it were me, I'd probably fit a second hand one from the breakers and then tidy that one up for the spares box (but then I'm a fussy bugger...).

M

The seal runs on a different surface to the bearing (the next one up, the larger diameter one) a rub with emery will clean that up. I replace my hub seals and repack the bearings yearly, is that not normal? The seal should at least last that long. (maybe I'm a fussy bugger too)

Originally Posted by jimbo110

The seal runs on a different surface to the bearing (the next one up, the larger diameter one) a rub with emery will clean that up. I replace my hub seals and repack the bearings yearly, is that not normal? The seal should at least last that long. (maybe I'm a fussy bugger too)

Like Dave, there's a bit of 'devils advocate' going on here as the photo isn't showing us everything that we could see if we had the part in our hands.

As for the lip that the seal runs on... If there's nothin more than a couple of light dings then I agree that a rub with the emery would probably do. However, if a grove has been worn, heavy pitting/scoring then I'd probably look at fitting something else. Something has happened to that leading edge...

M

PS... Queenstown eh?? Gotta say that my missus cr@pped herself when we went over that tiny suspension bridge.

Originally Posted by DiscoDave

Camel_Landy - could you expand on "tidy that one up"?

Have a quick look at my previous post re-devils advocate...

If decided that it's too worn/damaged for everyday use, just run some emery over it. Smooth down any damaged faces so that there's nothing sharp when running your fingers around it.

M

Originally Posted by blknight.aus

well that doesnt look as bad as Id feared (got to play devils advocate in the event of lack of info/pics) Id refit that but pack the oil seal with a good grease to help it seal...(this might be the time to pack the bearings with grease as well if yours are setup to run oil, the oil will still get to them but the grease will save the seal and in the event of failure give you a fighting chance of catching it before total failure.

Id have one ordered in and would be checking the wheel bearing temps at every stop and inspecting the inside of the wheel for oil/thrown grease.

at least once a week (assuming 500km per week) id prop the back wheel and check it for float.

as for getting it machined take the bearing you want to run on it to the machine shop and simpley tell them you want it lathed back then sleeved to run this bearing.

to me it looks like the inner race of the inner bearing has overheated and expended then turned, grabbed and slowly worked its way round till it wedged on at a slight angle and then the inner bearing has procceded to eat itself.

if the outer bearing face was as bad as the inner ID be more cautious about using it.

What is ringing some alarm bells for me is the damage to the leading edge of the sealing surface that aint normal.

Thanks again for your tips BK. Mine is original greased bearings - maybe that's part of the problem?
The leading edge got damaged as the inner race was beaten over it and with me filing off some burrs.

Originally Posted by camel_landy

As for the lip that the seal runs on... If there's nothin more than a couple of light dings then I agree that a rub with the emery would probably do. However, if a grove has been worn, heavy pitting/scoring then I'd probably look at fitting something else. Something has happened to that leading edge...

There are no dings or (visible) grooves in the part that the oil seal runs on. The damage to the leading edge is due to the inner race being beaten so it folded over that slightly and to me trying to file off any burrs. Once it's on the seal doesn't contact the edge though, so far as I can tell.