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Bad Bearing

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tinman58

tinman58

Jedi Knight
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After only about 600 miles I started to feel a viberation in the front end. (Rebuilt steering box, new nylon steering pins) I put the TR up on jacks and the right wheel had slop in it , so I tightened the axel nut a flat or two and spun the wheel Well I heard a bad noise not grinding but like there was no grease. So I pulled the hub off to check the bearings and found that the outside bearing was wasted.
What could cause that in such a short time? P.S. plenty of grease, nut tightened right.
Dan
IMG_0515.jpg
 
Looks like a serious contamination issue to me; but perhaps that's just the aftereffects of whatever the original failure was. It seems strange that the cage is so badly damaged. Are all the rollers intact?
 
What did the inside bearing look like and the stub axle? Did you note any 'washing' in the remaining grease. Did the race look properly seated? Lots of damage for such mileage.
 
I have done many wheel bearings in my life but have never seen this before. Here ia a shot of the stub
IMG_0513.jpg
 
looks to me like the inner ring is breaking up and the filings buggered the cage. That bearing and it's cup (race) was new 600 miles ago?
 
Yes 600 miles and I cant find what I did wrong!
Dan
 
tinman58 said:
Yes 600 miles and I cant find what I did wrong!
Dan
Click to expand...

When you did the job, did you use a new felt seal?? The aftermarket felt seals I've seen are really too thick, and will give a false indication of the correct adjustment on the wheel bearings, essentially making them too loose as the felt compacts.
 
Do you know the manufacturer of the bearings? If they were reasonably priced or cheap, they probably came from China or India. I priced Koyo and Timken bearings a while back for my Spitfire and they were about $150 for the fronts. The set I bought from TRF were about $50 and appeared to be no name brand.
 
Tinman,
I can't imagine anything going that wrong unless the bearing itself was way wrong (out of round carrier/rollers or race). Even if the felt was a tad thick and tightened up (loosening your bearing mating serface) I don't think it would destroy a bearing like that so quickly.
I'd pull the other side and look (I'm sure you did everything over there in the same manner) as they've both traveled the same distance they should look the same.
If the off side is fine just a very bad bearing.
 
I have found koyo bearings to be better than timken. If i can, i always get these.
Also, i always clean the old grease out of the hub until spotless! Make sure the bearing race is seated properly (always replace the race with bearing-everybody already knows this but i will say it anyway). Pack the bearing with new bearing grease. If the bearing came with what appears to be grease in it already, remove and clean it out and re-pack it with REAL bearing grease. Fill the hub reservoir between the bearings, don't overfill. Make sure your metal cap on the hub does not leak in any way.
If you did this, then it's a manufacturing defect.send the bearing and race(the ring the bearing runs in) back to your supplier and ask for a koyo replacement. If he doesn't comply, post the suppier and bearing maker on the site so we don't use them.
thanks
Rob
 
trfourtune said:
Make sure your metal cap on the hub does not leak in any way.
Click to expand...

You mean like the factory's 10-32 tapped hole in the center of the cap ?
:laugh:
 
TR3driver said:
You mean like the factory's 10-32 tapped hole in the center of the cap ?
:laugh:
Click to expand...

That's a laugh alright. I've never been able to make use of that...always stripped out! :wall:
 
I bought the bearings on E-BAY They came in a plastic bag, no brand name, unless zip lock is now making bearings.
Dan
 
Just a gut feeling, but I think the materials may have been a bit less than up to standards.

Two words: Buy Timken!!!

They STILL supply industrial strength parts, no junk. Your butt is riding on those bearings, they're as important as good brakes.

...besides, it helps support John's lifestyle. :smirk:
 
I just ordered some Timken bearings from NAPA. They will be here by Saturday.
I am going to assume that it was a bad bearing. No more surprizes from E-BAY.
Dan
 
martx-5 said:
That's a laugh alright. I've never been able to make use of that...always stripped out! :wall:
Click to expand...
Me too. In fact, I once put on a brand-new cap, and immediately tried removing it with a brand-new screw, which cleaned the threads out of the cap without even damaging the screw! So now I put a short flat-head screw in from the inside before installing the cap, and grab it with Vise Grips to pull the cap. That also seals the hole, which is a Good Thing, IMO.
 
Good lad.

You may have been able to save a bit if you have a good bearing supply house nearby. IIRC they aren't anything proprietary to Triumph. Rather a "standard" size bearing cup and race.
 
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