After 3 yrs.took the family for the first road trip,car was running pretty good.after 30 miles we were pulling into a gas station and heard a pop. Not real loud, then something sounded like it fell off didn't see anything in the mirror. Pulled in to the station and the brakes felt bad. I walked around that and seen the RF cap was gone off my wheel and it appeared the end of the spindle was gone. Sure enough hauled it home to find this. I bought the whole front end from Pete and Jake's thinking I was buying good stuff not junk. I bought it all new in 2012 just put 50 miles on it. Thank God my family didn't get hurt. Now my wife doesn't want to ride in it.
I've seen this happen when the washer beneath the hub nut is making contact with the hub/cap. On the rh side it will shear , on the Lh side it will loosen. Check the other side. Always check for clearance on those washers
Sure glad to hear it didnt get any more exciting than it did! You might want to look closely at the broken end and see if you can figure out just why it failed like that.
What does the end of the spindle look like? Does it appear that anything was turning on it? I assume the washer had a tang to keep it from turning. Any bluing like it got hot? All the threaded end has to do is hold the bearing in place. It shouldn't have much load. That would scare the crap out of me! Were you able to find the cap and spindle end? I've seen bearings spin enough to weld to the spindle and not break the spindle.
I think it was Limey Steve had a Chinese bearing go bad at low mileage and just about weld itself to the spindle....any number of these things mentioned could have contributed, so make sure it's not just the spindle at fault.
Hard to tell from whats left of the spindle. When we first seen it the bearing was still there,after loading and driving in the garage the bearing fell apart. The other side looks good,feels good. It ruined the hub also where the outer race presses in. I have had bearings go bad on trailers to where it destroyed spindles never seen one break. Couldn't find the cap or end of the spindle.
I always spin them after assembly to make sure the cotter pin doesn't rub. I am a toolmaker by trade so I am usually a little too picky.
I am assuming bearing failure. The end of the spindle was hot, appears the race spun in the hub. Not sure how the end of the spindle could have broke off though.
Is the other side good? I've seen a new bearing that had a soft inner race. The race rolled out like dough under a rolling pin and the wheel got loose in less than 50 miles on a semi trailer. The rollers and outer race looked fine.
I talked to(supposedly the owner of the place the parts came from) he was not friendly to say the least said this has never happened I must have done something wrong. I tore the other side apart. They are national made in china bearings and no name seals,and races. We will see what he says tomorrow. I have a feeling I am out more$ and time. I will have my bearing rep get me some timkens.
It sure looks like the inner race spun on the spindle when you save and then expand the photo. That would most likely relate to either a bearing that was bad to begin with, a bearing that wasn't packed right with grease or one that wasn't adjusted right. It sure would be interesting to see the washer, nut and end of the spindle though. That should tell a more complete story.
I had a camping trailer do exactly that years ago. The bearing failed, welded itself to the spindle, and tore the end right off the spindle. The tire on that side passed up our car when it came off. I would be willing to guess bearing failure, possibly through lack of lubrication. Don
I had a US made outer bearing on the snout of a full-float Dana 60 let go on the freeway. Were it not for the disc brake, the Super Swamper would have done some serious damage on its way to the ditch. I had to saw off the whole snout and weld on a new one: Yeah, the whole old one is curved.
I had the same thing on my trailer. After that, the bearing store told me to grease it lightly, said a full pack was similar to wading thru water and would cause the bearing to overheat. I dunno. I've been packing them tight for 48 years and no other failures.
When I was in the .mil wheel bearings were required to be inspected and repacked/replaced as necessary, every six (6) months. Period. Now you can say that's a bit excessive, but realistically, what is suitable timetable for our rides, also considering that classics or Hot Rods oftentimes don't get driven very often or a lot of miles put on them. I have gone years and lived to tell the tale, but that's not the way to bet. I'm thinking it needs to be done on a lube order schedule just like in the owners manual though extended a little, maybe, in conjunction with a brake bleed. Say every three years or so. This is especially important with all the shitty bearings being used today. Scary stuff, get a lot of people killed. If I said what I thought I'd get banned.
Dana 60 is oiled from axle housing , I'm am always wondering about any hardware (bearings , nuts, bolts etc) that we purchase in "today's" world . Nothing has any quality to it including the green hard earned American Dollar spent to buy the junk ! Nothing is as it seems , I question the grease that you used to lube the bearing with being of sub standard quality . I'm sorry that this happened , just be thankful no one was hurt or killed , parts can be replaced . A huge PITA , but it is what it is a brand new Cadillac can have mechanical issues in our world today .
In my experience, when a bearing fails it gets hot and burns up the grease inside the hub leaving it blackened from the burned grease.
Spoke to the owner again.what a jerk. Still my fault.had to overtightened the bearing.in 45 years of this business it's never happened before. Also his national bearings are USA made you can tell because they don't rattle. Wtf, he thinks I fell off the turnip truck. He is replacing his parts and holding my cc# until he gets the spindle back. My guess doesn't want anyone to see it. He can keep the Chinese national bearings.i called my bearing rep and can still get USA made timken 's. I just don't understand as a business owner why he would be a jerk about it.made me feel like he knows there is a problem. I am the one out time,paint and parts.just glad no one was hurt
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