Front Wheel Bearing Swap ???

[James S.]

Re: Front Wheel Bearing Swap ???

When I was a chevy mechanic at the dealership they procedure for the roller was to put a tourque (while turning the bearing) on the nut to make sure it is in correctly. then back it off and finger tighten to the nearest hole. Some say if between holes tighten to nearest. Over tightening is the damaging factor.

DOM

Thx Dom!!!

[Tom P.]

Re: Front Wheel Bearing Swap ???

Just converting a 53-62 to roller bearings by itself may or may not make a noticeable difference in overall handling of these old cars--------------but it will be an improvement.
If the car is to be frequently driven, PARTICULARLY under hiway conditions------------more so on the Interstate, then the BIG difference will be very noticeable after a complete frontend rebuild, AND adding roller bearings and switching to radial tires.
Without exception, EVERYTHING in the early frontends is a metal-to-metal joint. With a complete rebuild at every joint, correct adjustment to the steering gear box (with the over center adjustment just ever so tiny on the tight side), roller bearings, radial tires and a proper alignment (with just a tiny additional amount of positive caster), AND DO NOT INSTALL WIDE, FAT WHEELS/TIRES ON THE FRONT, these cars will drive and steer just great (for an old car).
Then, the key to KEEPING them a nice driving/steering car is to REGULARLY grease each and every joint----------especially the upper/lower-inner/outer A-frame shafts. These are the greatest wear points of these old frontends. Yes, keeping these frontends greased is and can be a mess and a hassle. Just keep a couple of big rags in one hand as you grease with the other hand and wipe off the excess.
There are a total of 22 grease fittings per frontend, and if you have U-joints with grease fittings, then 2 more.
Use a good chassis grease in the steering gear box (a couple of service bulletins were issued in the 50s about grease instead of gear oil).
With all of the above, the addition of roller bearings AND radials will noticeably reduce any tendancy of the front wheels to "hunt" and wander, especially on the hiway. On the Interstate, I can take a nap at 70mph and the 56 goes just as straight as an Apache arrow!

[Michael H.]

Re: Front Wheel Bearing Swap ???

Just converting a 53-62 to roller bearings by itself may or may not make a noticeable difference in overall handling of these old cars--------------but it will be an improvement.
If the car is to be frequently driven, PARTICULARLY under hiway conditions------------more so on the Interstate, then the BIG difference will be very noticeable after a complete frontend rebuild, AND adding roller bearings and switching to radial tires.
Without exception, EVERYTHING in the early frontends is a metal-to-metal joint. With a complete rebuild at every joint, correct adjustment to the steering gear box (with the over center adjustment just ever so tiny on the tight side), roller bearings, radial tires and a proper alignment (with just a tiny additional amount of positive caster), AND DO NOT INSTALL WIDE, FAT WHEELS/TIRES ON THE FRONT, these cars will drive and steer just great (for an old car).
Then, the key to KEEPING them a nice driving/steering car is to REGULARLY grease each and every joint----------especially the upper/lower-inner/outer A-frame shafts. These are the greatest wear points of these old frontends. Yes, keeping these frontends greased is and can be a mess and a hassle. Just keep a couple of big rags in one hand as you grease with the other hand and wipe off the excess.
There are a total of 22 grease fittings per frontend, and if you have U-joints with grease fittings, then 2 more.
Use a good chassis grease in the steering gear box (a couple of service bulletins were issued in the 50s about grease instead of gear oil).
With all of the above, the addition of roller bearings AND radials will noticeably reduce any tendancy of the front wheels to "hunt" and wander, especially on the hiway. On the Interstate, I can take a nap at 70mph and the 56 goes just as straight as an Apache arrow!

I agree with everything you say..... except the part about the roller bearings. I'm still waiting for someone to explain HOW changing to roller bearings can have some effect on the way a car drives. Ball bearigs are set at zero. How can it get better than that?

Spend the time/money on something that does make a difference.

Old Chevy's (and a lot of other much heavier cars) roamed this country from coast to coast for decades on old ball bearings without issue.

[Michael H.]

Re: Front Wheel Bearing Swap ???

When I was a chevy mechanic at the dealership they procedure for the roller was to put a tourque (while turning the bearing) on the nut to make sure it is in correctly. then back it off and finger tighten to the nearest hole. Some say if between holes tighten to nearest. Over tightening is the damaging factor.

DOM

Word for word from the GM/Chev Service Manual for roller bearings.

1. While rotating wheel, tighten spindle nut to 12 ft lbs torque.

2. Back off adjusting nut one flat and insert cotter pin. If slot and pin hole do not line up, back off adjusting nut an additional 1/2 flat or less as required to insert cotter pin.

3. Spin the whel to see that it rolls freely.

Note: Bearings should have zero preload and .001" to .008" end movement when properly adjusted.

[James S.]

Re: Front Wheel Bearing Swap ???

Word for word from the GM/Chev Service Manual for roller bearings.

1. While rotating wheel, tighten spindle nut to 12 ft lbs torque.

2. Back off adjusting nut one flat and insert cotter pin. If slot and pin hole do not line up, back off adjusting nut an additional 1/2 flat or less as required to insert cotter pin.

3. Spin the whel to see that it rolls freely.

Note: Bearings should have zero preload and .001" to .008" end movement when properly adjusted.

Thanks Mike.

I don't have the service supplement manual for this car that covers these critical elements. I really appreciate your effort.

Happy Holidays!

Semper Fidelis.

Jim

[Domenic T.]

Re: Front Wheel Bearing Swap ???

Michael,
I think what makes them better is not the setting but the actual contact surface either bearing has on the racesand the angle that the contact is.
The rollers also have a flat tapered contact that is longer than the contact area of the ball, it is like having a bigger bearing in the same area. There are more rollers in the races because of their length that also add to more contact area.
There is nothing wrong with the ball bearing type if you are easy on them as we are now that the cars are so valuable and have the original style tires. The wider tires give better cornering but would need larger bearings to transfer the loads to the bearing races. the roller bearing offers that at the same diameter.

DOM

[Michael H.]

Re: Front Wheel Bearing Swap ???

Michael,
I think what makes them better is not the setting but the actual contact surface
DOM

Yes, that's true. It does make them better. But it doesn't make them handle/drive any better.

I don't disagree about the roller design being better than the ball design. My point was that it does not make the old cars drive better. Zero end play is zero, no matter what other factors are brought into the discussion.

I hope people are not spending a lot of money on a kit to change over to roller style bearings hoping that this will cure some handling/stability issue. It won't.

[Domenic T.]

Re: Front Wheel Bearing Swap ???

Michael,
I agree with what you are trying to get across. I posted the adjustment of the roller bearing, not the ball. You are right on for the ball adjustment which I haven't done in over 40 years.

DOM

[John H.]

Re: Front Wheel Bearing Swap ???

Many home mechanics miss the fact that there are TWO cotter pin holes in the spindle - one vertical, and one horizontal; you're always within 1/12th of a turn from a pin insertion position, not 1/6th of a turn.

[Bill M.]

Re: Front Wheel Bearing Swap ???

The ball bearing adjustment is:

1) tighten nut to 33 lb-ft while spinning wheel.

2) Loosen nut fully and retorque to 12 lb-ft. Install cotter pin.

3) If pin won't slide in, back off up to 1/4 turn and install cotter pin.

[John H.]

Re: Front Wheel Bearing Swap ???

The ball bearing adjustment is:

1) tighten nut to 33 lb-ft while spinning wheel.

2) Loosen nut fully and retorque to 12 lb-ft. Install cotter pin.

3) If pin won't slide in, back off up to 1/4 turn and install cotter pin.

Bill -

I know that's what the ST-12 says, but you shouldn't have to back off the nut more than 1/12th of a turn in order to expose the other cotter pin hole. 1/4 of a turn is .0125" of end play, which is excessive.

[Richard M.]

Re: Front Wheel Bearing Swap ???

When I was a teenage kid in the (mid)70's working at the boatyard, that's where I learned about wheel roller bearings when I serviced my first boat trailer. A old time mechanic who taught me how to do it told me the reason you torque them first, is to "seat" the bearing cup in case it wasn't fully seated on the hub mating surface. Then back off to set the cotter pin at the closest hole in the axle stub.

Rich

edit...One more thing I was always uncertain about though. Since the bearings are not tapered onto the axle, what prevents the inner bearing cone from spinning on the axle. Every time I inspect a axle at the contact area of the inner cone, there is evidence it has spun on the axle for many revolutions. If a brand new bearing can slip over by hand on a brand new axle, what keeps it from spinning if the torque is zero or less?

[Bill M.]

Re: Front Wheel Bearing Swap ???

Bill -

I know that's what the ST-12 says, but you shouldn't have to back off the nut more than 1/12th of a turn in order to expose the other cotter pin hole. 1/4 of a turn is .0125" of end play, which is excessive.

You're right, John. Here's the quote from ST-12:

"If slots do not line up with either hole, back off nut until nearest hole and slot align, and insert cotter pin."

That won't be more than 1/12 turn.

Thanks for the correction.

Bill