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BN1 front wheel bearings

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moremonkey

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I'm repacking and shimming my front wheel bearings but am a little confused about how the bearings and spacer come out of the hub.

The hub is off, sitting on my workbench. The outer bearing came out easily when I gently tapped it from the inside with a drift. But the spacer won't follow it out because it is held in by the outer bearing race in the hub. Does that race need to come out in order to remove the spacer or is there something in all that nasty old grease that I can't see that's holding the big spacer in there?

The shop manual is unclear about this process (to me, at least) so I figured I would ask the Collective:

Should the spacer follow the bearing out or does the race need to come out first?

Thanks,

Jonathan
 
Jonathan, the distance piece ( spacer ) is basically trapped in there by the bearing races. But having said that it might slip out from the back side of the hub, the big end. I can't remember if it does for sure or not. I knock the races out with a brass drift about 6 to 8 inches long. If you clean out some of the old grease you will probably find that the inner surface of the hub is notched about where the race sits on a machined ridge. Those notches are there so the brass drift will sit unto the edge of the race so that the race can be punched out. If you have it this far apart I will recommend that you take it all apart so that you can clean every piece. When I have it apart as far as you have, I don't trust to just pack in more grease and reassemble. The chances of getting dirt and grit in there is too likely. I wash everything in a bucked of gasoline with a stiff brush then blow dry with compressed air. But don't spin the bearing when it has no grease. the shims are important so don't leave them out.
 
Safety first, I would not use gasoline as a Cleaning agent..too explosive! Cleaning solvent can be bought at most auto supply or many stores tool departments. When installing your new races, pre freeze them in your freezer, then get your butain torch and heat up the bores.. I pre set my telescopic gauge to the bore size and keep checking the heat expanded bores as I am heating them, when the bores are heated enough so that the pre set telescope gauge drops in the bore with no contact...then just drop in your frozen bearing races.. Wipe off the frost first before you drop the cold races in or they will hang up. Place some weight on the newly installed race as the bores cool to insure the race stays fully seated.This is the better alternative to beating the heck out of the new races and risk gouging your bores. I use the same process for instaliing bearings into bores with more then a .001 interference.

As far as the Shims go, it's better to start with a new shim pack kit which has all the various shim thickness to achieve the proper end play.. If I remember correctly, I think the end play is .001 with the hub nut torqued to 65lbs. Keep adding or subtracting shims until you achive this. but check your manual for review for exact specs. You will need a dial indicator with a mag base to check the end play. Always use a new cotter pin as well.
 
If I remember correctly, I think the end play is .001 with the hub nut torqued to 65lbs.

End play is:0.00 and the wheel turns freely no binding of the bearing. This is achieved by using the recommended new shim Kit mentioned.
 
Assume by "spacer" you mean the distance piece - item 121 on the Moss "Front Suspension" page.
I just looked at my old drum brake hubs, distance pieces and swivel axles. The distance piece withdraws through the inner race. The inner race is 2" ID; the distance piece is 1-5/8" OD.
The shims (item 122) are located between the small end of the distance piece and the outer bearing.
Once you get rid of all the dirty grease, it should make more sense.

FWIW, I've heated the hubs in boiling water and also my gas grill. Harbor Freight makes an inexpensive set of seal/bearing drivers that do a great job on the races, but you can use correctly-sized pvc pipe fittings as drivers, too.

HlyFtHub.jpg
 
Well, I got both sides apart and cleaned. The races took a little bit more than "gently" to remove with a drift, but nothing remarkable. I've decided to replace the inner bearing on the driver side because there was a little pitting and I really don't want to have to get back inside the hubs anytime soon if I can prevent it.

One hub needed a three-arm puller to get off, the other slid off easily. Although the grease caps came out without a fight, I'm going to make the little removal tool properly now while I can just take the grease cap to the hardware store to match the threads and buy the bits.

I am eager to try the heating/freezing for the installation of the bearings. Generally when I use heat it is to unstick stuck bolts...it'll be a treat to use it to put something clean and shiny back together.
 
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