Bearings

[grindstone01]

I repack our FW bearings every year which is about 10k miles and allows me to inspect the brakes, springs and bushings. The bearing grease always looks good and I would be comfortable going 2 years or 20k miles if needed.

[DavenFla]

Originally Posted by 325BH

Provided they were packed with grease and installed correctly, probably 20k or more. The problem is, camper assembly lines aren’t that reliable.

I replaced my bearings and races with US Timkens, did a good hand-pack and torqued them correctly the year I bought it new. Knowing that, I won’t worry about repacking them for years. I only put about 1k miles a year on my TT.

IMO, all of the “ez lube” (and similar) systems are junk. Just pack the bearings right and be done.

Torque? I have never seen a tapered roller bearing torques on axles hubs. Preload and back off yes... Unit bearings yes, but I open to some further edumacation.

[twinboat]

Timkin recommends 0.001 to 0.005 " end play.

That is after torquing to 200 FT lbs, backing off 1 turn, torquing to 25 FT lbs and then backing off 1/4 turn.

[DavenFla]

Originally Posted by twinboat

Timkin recommends 0.001 to 0.005 " end play.

That is after torquing to 200 FT lbs, backing off 1 turn, torquing to 25 FT lbs and then backing off 1/4 turn.

Has anyone ever used a dial indicator for wheel end play? and what happens if the castellated nut doesn't allow that "window" of adjustment/tolerance? To Tight is worse than to loose. Heat is the only real enemy.

Real world = using a pair of channel locs... tighten to stop> spin/move wheel hub while backing off, tighten again>spin/move wheel hub while backing off> back off until some play is observable> inset cotter pin or bend locking tab.

Use a high quality synthetic grease and do not fill the cavity completely. Assuming no seal failure or brake failure ( overheating) the lubricant in your hub will outlast the vehicle.

[325BH]

Originally Posted by DavenFla

Torque? I have never seen a tapered roller bearing torques on axles hubs. Preload and back off yes... Unit bearings yes, but I open to some further edumacation.

In the context of tapered roller bearings “torqued “ means exactly what you are saying. I figured people would understand that.

[325BH]

Originally Posted by DavenFla

Has anyone ever used a dial indicator for wheel end play? and what happens if the castellated nut doesn't allow that "window" of adjustment/tolerance? To Tight is worse than to loose. Heat is the only real enemy.



Real world = using a pair of channel locs... tighten to stop> spin/move wheel hub while backing off, tighten again>spin/move wheel hub while backing off> back off until some play is observable> inset cotter pin or bend locking tab.



Use a high quality synthetic grease and do not fill the cavity completely. Assuming no seal failure or brake failure ( overheating) the lubricant in your hub will outlast the vehicle.

The “real world” scenario you wrote is how I have done it for 40 years.

The whole point of tightening it first is to remove all “slack”, caused by grease and needles/rollers that have not snapped into place yet. Once all slack is removed, backing to the next slot is perfect. The process of “tighten, back off, repeat... “ is the process to remove the slack.

Once one does this a few times you can get the feel for it.

Absolutely correct that too tight is bad. Should be no preload.

[twinboat]

I don't use a dial indicator for wheel ends either. Just posting what Timkin recommends.

A lot of folks think there should be a pre-load on tapered bearings. That will cook them.

I have used dial indicators when shiming tapered bearings in large gear box's.

[dix39]

I've occasionally used a dial indicator, generally if it was something new just to get a feel for it. It may be "overkill", but sometimes I am prone to that.

I usually jack the wheels up every year before a trip and spin/pull them to listen for grinding and to determine if the tolerance is still about right. If there is a problem found I would pull the wheel, clean and inspect the bearings, replace if necessary, repack with grease and install using new seals. Otherwise I would pull the wheel and go through the procedure every 4 or 5 years (40-50k miles). That worked well for me, but there are many ways to approach this and if whatever you are doing is working that's all that is necessary.

When repacking after cleaning and inspecting, I force grease into the larger side of the roller cage with my fingers until it comes out the other side. I bought a "bearing packer" years ago, but only used it a few times. Then smear a little on the races and call it done.

There are a few tapered rollers I've seen that are mfg. with a built in tolerance and are just torqued. The front wheel bearings on my Tracker are like that. The front wheel bearings on my neighbors Dodge PU were also like that. Generally, that is not the case.

I would agree with twinboat and others, preloading a bearing that is not designed for that will destroy it. I always go with the tolerances provided in the factory maintenance manual. I also turn the wheel when applying the first torque to be certain the bearings are seated correctly.

I have a friend that I rely on for bearing advise who rebuilds gearboxes for part of his living. He warranties his work and is very particular about where the bearings he uses are made. As already pointed out here, cheapest may not always be best.

Steve

[lynnmor]

200 ft lbs., grease lasting the lifetime, spinning the wheel while backing off..... all bad information.

[dix39]

While it may not be true for all applications, my factory shop manual provides a torque value for tightening the wheel while turning it to seat the bearings before backing off and getting the correct bearing tolerance. I don't know what it is without looking, but it is there. I don't think I would turn it while loosening the nut, but it is specified while tightening.

With with the built in tolerance bearings used in the Tracker, I think the torque is around 150 ft lbs, maybe a little less. They're just torqued to that value and that's the end of it. The Dodge was probably more. I didn't care for them much because the inner and outer bearings were very close together. And again, they are an exception and not what is generally used.

When I get a new vehicle, the first thing I do is get a factory shop manual for it. That is what I use for any repairs I make. So far that has worked out well for me.

Steve

[DavenFla]

Originally Posted by lynnmor

200 ft lbs., grease lasting the lifetime, spinning the wheel while backing off..... all bad information.

Lol

[lynnmor]

Originally Posted by DavenFla

Lol

This might help, especially page 56: http://www.dexteraxle.com/docs/defau...s.pdf?sfvrsn=2

[Dtwallace]

Originally Posted by lynnmor

China is producing some real junk, I have had some bearings that were not ground correctly and started to fail immediately. Get the Timkens.

Lynnmor,

in your photo, it only shows grease packed bearings, where is the failure?

I'm not seeing it

DTW

[DavenFla]

Originally Posted by lynnmor

This might help, especially page 56: http://www.dexteraxle.com/docs/defau...s.pdf?sfvrsn=2

You should probably read what you post, but because you're smarter than the rest of us.

see page 57.... lol,