Technical Wheel bearing blues!

Summit Racing has Timken bearings, they’re my go to source because the local parts stores only stock offshore brands.

In my former life I rebuilt countless rotating assemblies with tapered bearings, all of which required a specific end play adjustment confirmed with a dial indicator. It may seem like overkill, but I set wheel bearings the same way. The target range is .001-.005, I shoot for the lowest possible reading.

 

Things keep going like they are we all may have to bunch up! Maybe I will see you at the party Lloyd is puttin on next year!?






Bones

 

I recently bought some parts from Speedway...came with a set of no brand name, part numbered made in China front wheel bearings. They went into the "swap meet" parts box. I ordered SKF bearings from the parts store at a higher price. SKF markings on the boxes and bearings...along with "Made in China"! I just hope SKF quality control and specifications were met...more so than on a set without a manufacturers name attached.

 

May just be repackaged. Someone with more skills than I have, could probably find out how many bearing manufacturers there are in China. Then you’d have to dig even deeper and see if they make them to different specs, etc.
There’s still a few bearing supply houses within 30-40 minutes of me, but it’s been 3/4 years since I bought anything. I don’t recall the name, but were stamped Made in US.

 

When Timken got bought out the new owners outsourced much of their manufacturing and sold the equipment. When the family bought it back, they simply didn't have the cash to replace all of it so continued buying some bearings elsewhere out of necessity in order to offer full lines. I can only assume that their quality standards are such to weed out the junk.

That's where I got the last Timkens I bought and for the same reason you quote. The guy on the phone swore they were US-made when I asked, but showed up as re-boxed SKFs...
I will note that these were Japanese, not China-sourced.

 

In my opinion you can't inspect a used wheel bearing unless it's clean enough to see. Solvent, brush - wash until it's clean. Now you can inspect it and see if it's any good. Roll it in the race and see how it feels. No one says you have to re-pac it while it's wet with solvent. I'm not sure why anyone would. I've cleaned and packed hundreds, maybe thousands of bearings in the last 55 years like this and have never had a failure that I'm aware of.

I worked with an older mechanic for awhile and he wouldn't clean a bearing, says that was what he was taught. OK, I've heard that many times as well but I like em clean before I put them back into service.

As for made in China bearings, I'm kind of gunshy. I lost a couple of SKF made in China rear wheel bearings with way too few miles on them. That's what's back in the car now but I sourced some new old stock Ford branded bearings to replace them with, if / when the time comes.

 

I agree. And that's the way I was taught to do it when I worked for Standard Stations (when they still did auto servicing before becoming mini-marts).

And to tell the truth, front wheel bearing failures are rare, especially if they're tapered rollers or at least they used to be. The GM ball bearings were the most troublesome (which is why GM finally dumped them) but I can count the number of tapered bearing failures I saw on the fingers of one hand and get change.

 

You can use your middle finger to count the failure I just had!

The reason for the ball bearing failures was largely due to being out of adjustment! The way they are made if they get out of adjustment the ball starts riding on the edge of the race putting extreme pressure on the ball and the race, leading to failure! With the tapered bearings if they get out of adjustment, you still have almost all the bearing surface, so no extreme pressure, just slack in the bearing!
One of the many differences in Ford and GM!






Bones

 

And I'll note one other thing. You're not supposed to spin the bearing with compressed air to dry them. That's not really to protect the bearing, it's to protect you! An uncontrolled spin can cause the rollers to fly out and dodging shrapnel is never a good thing. It's fine to spin them, just use a finger lightly to limit speed.

 

Guilty! But lucky!




Bones

 

What he said^ ; and what I was taught to do. On automotive, industrial and aircraft bearings.

 

I’ve done all the things “ wrong” in my years on the line! Washed bearings, spun them with an air hose to dry them, being in a hurry slap some grease on them and put them back in! But have also done it right many times! Packed with grease and properly adjusted, I have got good service from them! But most of mine were done back in the day of USA made bearings.






Bones

 

I guess I'm ok, these bearings are likely original, made in 1959, should be good for another 60+ years with proper maintenance, eh? I was just giving them their pre trip clean, inspection, lubrication, and adjustment.

 

Isn't that the funny thing, thanks to the Chinese we still have parts to buy. And forget the Green Day song who over tightened them in the first place wherever they were made. Which by the way, can't be blamed on location of manufacture as cause for all early failures.



Seems to me, if I'm reading this correctly, on guy read the book and the last guy who got told the story got it wrong.



These by the way are GM instruction. Ford may have it different, but I'd run with it.

 

SKF made in Japan are good quality from what I've seen. I live in the middle of farming country and it's all they use around here for headers and seeders.

 

Are you looking on Ebay for bearings? Found several NOS Bower US made bearings for cheap. Here's one

 

Both of the old cars/trucks I drive have the original bearings in them as well I’m sure. Weird how maintenance makes stuff last hey?

 

Wow! GMs way of adjusting the wheels bearings is almost word for word the way I described my method of adjustment!
Also I attributed the failure of the bearings to improper adjustment! The failed bearing was a Japan Bearing, which I think are almost as good as a USA made bearing. But these China made stuff I have seen lately lacks in quality! Just my opinion.
Buying anything not made in the USA goes against my philosophy!








Bones

 

The 1950 Ford I bought 3 years ago came with new wheel bearings, in a box in the trunk.They are Timken, marked made in USA. Anyway, when I was doing the front brakes, after cleaning and inspecting the existing wheel bearing I decided to re-use the (original ?) bearings. I repacked them and put them back in. I don't know how many miles they have on them but I couldn't find a reason to discard them and install the new ones.

 

Counterfit bearings have been a problem in the industrial world for a number of years now. Often cheap, Chinese bearings are packed in boxes printed to appear to be Timken or SKF or other name brand. Sometimes they even etch or stamp a fake name into the bearing. Buying from "reliable" sources isn't a gaurantee that you won't get a counterfit bearing, they get suckered too. Industrial maintenance guys have been complaining about this for years, and the problem has continued to get worse. I don't know what the best solution is, buy from the best sources you can and inspect the bearings well before installing them.

Re cleaning the old grease, IF the bearings were previously packed by somebody else, and you don't know what grease is in there, you really should clean it all out and start over. It is very common for 2 different grease products to have a negative reaction when mixed in an application, causing the grease to thin and the oil to separate from the thickener. Remember the Alaska Airlines jet that crashed many years ago and killed everyone aboard? That happened because the maintenance crew switch grease products used on the elevator screw, even though the new grease was approved for use, they failed to clean all the old grease off the screw. The grease thined out, the threads on the screw stripped off and the pilot lost control of the elevator flaps and the place crashed.

I always clean them anyway, as explained by someone else above, it's the only way to correctly inspect them.

 

This is pretty much how I was taught. On heavy equipment the adjustment is often using a dial indicator to measure the end play. But the first step is always to overtighten the nut while turning the wheel or hub by hand, to fully seat the bearing, then backing off it and coming back up on it again until there is just light resistance. Then backing off if needed to line up the slots for the cotter pin.

 

Well now you're assuming that Bones is the kind of guy that would be interested in another fellow tinkering with "his stuff".

 

So you know it's Timken. It's still the best product on the market. There are Timken bearings made in India for the Asian market. What was the problem on a trailer you mentioned.

By the way Timken has been an international company since WW1, it's a publicly traded company and there is a member of the board of directors from the Timken family.

 

Dead on the money! As a bearing engineer I have the unique pleasure of seeing the effects of counterfeiting and improper maintenance. Some of the counterfeits are down right laughable and can be easily spotted. Sadly the ones not found before install have killed people.

You can thank the Big 3 (and us suppliers that went along with it) for the rise in cheap Chinese crap coming here. They pushed the supply base to source as much of the product from China in rhe mids 2000s. Even requiring it to be made in China in order to win business. It was total Bullshit.

Do not use made in China bearings! Please! Your life is not worth saving a few bucks. Bearings from Europe or Japan are just fine if a US source is not available. If the product you receive seems sketchy, it probably is. See here for more info: https://www.stopfakebearings.com/

Good, clean lubrication is key to bearing life. That and not abusing then...

Please clean your bearings completely off all old grease if you are repacking with new. That old grease likely has picked up debris so it is good to get it gone.
During testing bearings are sometimes cleaned for inspection, then lubed and put back on test. I do not recall any failures being sourced to the cleaning regime.

I use contact cleaner as a final cleaning step before drying and re-lubing.

Hope that helps.

 

Never had a wheel bearing failure in 60 years of driving...The biggest issue with old cars the set is brunelling.....

 

I've had a couple, which I can blame on me entirely, the result of lack of grease.

Be sure to grease all the wheel bearings in your old car, before you drive it too far.

 

The "America standard of quality " is for the package , not the. contents ( bearing) !!

 

I recall in high school auto shop class (do they still exist?) a student volunteered his OT Malibu for demonstrating bearing service. After removal, during the cleaning, the teacher and several of us moved to another area of the shop. Soon we heard the unmistakable sound of a bearing increasing in speed propelled by compressed air. The instructor strode briskly to the source of the noise, calmly took the bearing from him, asking " Did you not hear me say, NOT to spin the bearing? You just ruined your bearing and risked injury to anyone in the area." He placed the bearing on a bench and smacked it with a hammer. He pulled a new replacement from his pocket, as if he anticipated this happening or perhaps it had previously, and said "Try again, the right way."
I clean bearings, with solvent and then chlorinated brake cleaner and hand pack them with Starplex II, formerly Texaco, now Chevron. Its red color easily indicates contaminates, and it's rated for severe industrial use.

 

Not really, brinelling occurs to bearings that are exposed to over loading or shock loads, it could also happen during assembly by those off you who pound a bearing cone into a race to install the race. Don't do that. False Brinelling can also occur to bearings that are exposed to vibration while stationary, or not turning; like the wheel bearings in a car that is shipped long distance over seas or on a rail car. An old car that sits motionless for decades will not experience either brinelling or false brinelling. It can however suffer from rust occurring along the bearing cup (race) along the lines of contact with the rollers.

Since we have a bearing engineer here, maybe @rattlecanrods can clarify that, correct me please if I'm posting FUD.

 

I too, would welcome the knowledge, specifically the condition that occurs when rollers sit motionless and an 'imprint'
develops on the race.