Front wheel bearing issues

I'm in the process of converting drum to disc on a 57 BN4. The kit is from AH Spares so their bearings are supplied SCH.
Trying to figure out why the inner bearing won't go farther on the stub axle.

Ashley

The bearings are a very snug slip fit and it's important to keep them very straight and even as they go on. If even slightly cocked, they can bind and not move. Do not force them, try wiggling them by hand but if it cocks and stops, pull it back off and try again. a little smear of light oil can help, but mostly try to keep them straight. This is, of course, assuming they are the right size.

Dave

Ashley - You might want to mike things and see what you're looking at.
It'd be really interesting to know if the bearing ID is the right size.

You have to be able to assemble the bearing in the hub with the seal and slide it onto the axle. You want to be able to get it apart.

Be sure to check old threads here about setting up the clearance with shims, light oil, etc.

Dave is spot on. Often if a bearing hangs up like this, again assuming it is the correct bearing, VERY gentle tapping around the inner race of the bearing with a brass or aluminum small diameter ( soft, yet hard) drift will get past the bearing being cocked a bit. It takes a bit of finesse to tap with the needed force but not so much that if you tap in the wrong spot it makes it worse. If you look at it very closely you may even be able to see or even measure which point on the circumference of the bearing is the "high spot" and tap it right there and free it up. I have a huge collection of various steel pipe sections that I use from time to time to press bearings on. If you can find something that is square on at least one end and slips over the axle and picks up the inner race and will not get stuck on the axle itself, that may be used in place of a drift. Probably best to make absolutely sure the axle and bearing inner race are spotlesslessly clean and lubed and try again. Pressing or tapping on the outer race, while tempting, is not advised as the bearings are easily damaged this way. Press on the outer race if you are pressing the bearing into a housing rather than onto a shaft.

Also make sure there are no deep scratches or burrs on the axle from years of use. Polishing the axle with bit of fine wet/dry sand paper or sctotchbrite and some oil may remove very small defects that contribute to any binding.

What about heating the bearing carefully to expand it a bit?

pdplot said:

What about heating the bearing carefully to expand it a bit?

Click to expand...

It needs to be removable - tough if it's shrunk in place.

a chunk of wood can also be useful for tapping without damaging - both using an appropriate sized piece in place of a drift for tapping the inners, or a chunk of 2x4 for providing a semi-uniform loading if you have Jon's collection of pipe bits such you have a 'collar' that fits onto the inner bearing and is long enough to protrude out past the the axel stub et al. good fortune here. And never force anything (at least, initially): it can get more complicated and expensive in a hurry. Doug

If you're determined to drive the bearing onto the axle, pvc pipe fittings or pieces of pvc pipe work well with no damage to metal surfaces.

The fittings are available in many sizes and it's usually possible to get one to fit your task almost exactly.

I wouldn’t drive it in at all. Realize that the bearing should come off with the hub when you pull the hub. Sometimes they will stick on the spindle when u pull the hub but they should stay with the hub and the seal when u pull the hub. Maybe the spindle has a burr on it causing the bearing to not slide on. When u took it apart was it hard to get the old bearing off?

I put new bearings on several months ago and had the same issue. Just worked the spindle with 600 grit sandpaper and we able to get it to slide on. Like vette says above, you have to be able to put the entire hub and inner bearing off the spindle whenever you want to repack the bearings.

I'm with Rob on this one



Bob

Thanks for the help. I used some sandpaper and oil and they slipped on. Job complete. Now for the brakes.

Ashley