Front wheel bearing question

Planojc

Planojc

Well-known member
How snug should the front wheel bearings fit on the axle taper. I know they should not spin on the axle.
Mine however fit so snug that it takes a puller to get the hub off. The outer bearing is the one that is tight.
With the hub installed all the way in I have to suck the outer bearing in to the race by tightening the axle nut. This is on a 35 Ford. The taper on the axle looks clean.
 
The bearing should not be on the taper part of the spindle. The inter bearing seats on one flat area and the outer on another, the taper is between them. If the outer bearing is hitting the taper portion of the spindle something is wrong. If the outer bearing is not hitting the taper portion and has to be pulled onto the flat portion, that is also a problem. I would mike the spindle and make sure the bearing is correct. Is this on both sides? I would not drive this car in this condition, this could be a serious issue!!!!
 
I can not find a good photo or drawing of the bearings on a ford spindle, but the attached drawing of a totally different spindle should give you the idea. A lot of times the outer bearing will fall out with very little effort with the axle nut is removed. The second photo is of a 35 spindle, you can see the flat areas the bearings run on. The bearing should not be touching the tapered part of the spindle.
 

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Correction, it is when the outer bearing hits the flat spot that it gets tight and requires the nut to pull it in. The other side, you can pull the hub and drum off by hand.
 
Check the diameter of the bearing surface on the spindle and also try moving the outer bearing from one side to the other. That should establish if it is the spindle bearing surface or the bearing itself.
 
It shouldn't be tight, just a nice easy sliding fit. If yours is actually tight, a previous owner might have done something to the spindle to make the bearing fit tighter. (centre punch dots etc). Either that or the outer bearing is the wrong one. The former scenario is far more likely than the latter. Bearings are manufactured to very precise dimensions, if it is the right bearing, then the spindle must be wrong.

What happens if, (just for a test) you fit the inner part of the outer bearing from the other side onto the spindle? Is that one tight? Or does it go on ok.

You have the problematic parts at your fingertips, it is easier for you to work out what is happening than for people to guess.

Not a rant, just saying that it shouldn't be difficult for you to deduce what the problem is.

First thing to check would be the part number on the outer bearings.

Mart.
 
Does this happen on both sides ? If not and it is correct bearing it is possable the car was hit on that side & the spinal may be bent.....
 
I dug out some of my old Ford bearings that I saved for spares and they all slipped on like they should with a snug fit. The new bearing which was a Timken was way too tight, so I went with the spare bearing.
 
That's very unusual - was the tight bearing good quality with the correct numbers??

Glad you found a usable part.

Mart.
 
There is also counterfit bearing with brand names on them. Normally bearings are made to very tight tolerances. That one sounds like it is 1 thou. too small and may well be phoney.:mad:
 
Timken has provided bearings from all over the world for at least 25 years that I know of. In fact their boxes used to say, " could be made in one of the following countries." Then they would list the countries. That was to get around where they were actually made as was a U.S. Government requirement.

Rich O.
 
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