frozen bearing please help **update**

[eamarquardt]

Bearings and their races come together in the package for a reason....

They are a matched set.....

No so in my world. Cups and cones are usually sold as separate pieces at bearing houses as the inner and outer diameters can be mixed and matched to some extent. They come packaged together in retail stores as the sizes are somewhat standardized and it is good form to replace them both at the same time.

Do not attempt to use the old races with a new bearing which I am all but certain is your problem.

I agree that the old race should not be used with the new bearing.

I’m not so sure the wobble is caused by a bearing, but mixing new and old is generally not good form, and certainly if the bearing seized the cups and cones (both inner and outer as one may have contaminated the other and started accelerated wear) should be replaced.

That old race went thru hell when the bearing siezed up and is fried and will destroy the new bearing in very short order if it is dragged around more than a few city blocks. Change the race now .

Yup!

And pray that is all it is because the next step is a new axle.

Yup!

Cheers,

Gus

[bobhenry]

God I have been exonerated by Gus

[Dale M.]

AHEM... Why don't we put this on hold till we find out what BILLZ finds....

We are speculating he did not change bearing race in hub, BUT maybe he did.... Lets take a break over the weekend and see what develops next week....

Dale

[BillZ]

Looks like there has been some discussion since I have been away

Just finished driving from Maryland to Indiana, It makes for a long day. I am staying at my Mother's and she has dial-up so needless to say, I won't be online much until I get home on Tuesday.

Here's the story on the races...
Remember, I don't know what I am doing I looked at the old races and felt them. besides a few discolored spots they were smooth and otherwise looked fine. It is certainly possible that one could have been warped and I wasn't able to see it. That is what I am guessing.

When I bought the bearings from the local RV place, they were loose in a bin, not packaged with races, so I didn't buy the races. I got what I thought needed replacing by my own inspection, bearings and rear seals. I knew (from what I have been told) that I couldn't replace the races myself anyway.

What I will probably do when I get home next week is take everything apart again, smooth the rough spot in the spindle and take the hubs to my mechanic and ask him to put some new races in for me. Sounds like I should do that anyway and hopefully that fixes the wobble issue. I am almost certain that the wobble is not the wheel or the tire but will check those again just to make sure.

I appreciate everyones input! The great thing is after this ordeal, I will be pretty comfortable dealing with bearing issues.

[eamarquardt]

Some final thoughts (of mine):

Any bearing that is "discolored" from heat should be replaced.

I called Dexter, talked with Christene and got the limit they use for axle size. On a 1 1/16 axle which is what I think we're dealing with here, the lower limit that Dexter uses is 1.0608". This is .0017" less than the nominal dimension of 1.0625/ 1 1/16". Or, about half the thickness of a human hair or half the thickness of a piece of notebook paper. Not too many mechanics have micrometers in their toolbox but any automotive machinist or general machinist should be able to measure the shaft and see if it is still within Dexter's specs.

Cheers,

Gus

[Wild Bill]

"wobble" may be caused by missing race in hub, I use a deep socket the correct size and drive the races out of the hub. If you do not know what you are doing it is best to leave it to someone who does, less a bearing failure a few miles down the road on your first outing with the trailer, it will not break during the build sitting in the shop. Worked on a 54 chevy that a guy installed the roller bearings backwards. A very costly mistake. Some times something that seems to be so simple can be so complicated, Races can be installed wrong, not far enough in the hub or backwards and you cannot get the bearings in at all. The surface that the seal touches must be smooth and perfect or the seal will not last long, once the seal goes the bearing will not be far behind it. Looks like a great frame to work with. Should make for a great build. Bill

[Dale M.]

As for bearings from the bin.... Ummm... NOT for me.... I usually go to commercial bearing supply house and get individually packaged bearings that come with new race(s)....

Cost a little more but I am more comfortable them than budget bin items....

Dale