Front Wheel Bearings....
#1
10-20-2018, 06:15 PM
Front Wheel Bearings....
"Another One Bites the Dust"...Front wheel bearings...Roll em' over with the axle, and they feel like gravel... 17k on the OEM factory set, 18k on the Factory supplied, dealer installed set. I bought the R&R tool from George's Garage, gonna do them myself this time. I've used his tools before and they are amazing. I also got a set of All ***** bearings and hope they are better than Mama MoCo...
#2
10-20-2018, 06:25 PM
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#3
10-20-2018, 06:46 PM
"Another One Bites the Dust"...Front wheel bearings...Roll em' over with the axle, and they feel like gravel... 17k on the OEM factory set, 18k on the Factory supplied, dealer installed set. I bought the R&R tool from George's Garage, gonna do them myself this time. I've used his tools before and they are amazing. I also got a set of All ***** bearings and hope they are better than Mama MoCo...
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plongson (10-20-2018)
#4
10-20-2018, 06:57 PM
My opinion on wheel bearing failures is that the failure has a lot more to do with the bearing installation than the "brand" of bearing used. When installing the bearing(s) the preload exerted between the bearings and the spacer is critical. Too loose, or too tight, will subject the bearings to undesirable side loads that will affect bearing life.
If one is experiencing repeated bearing failures I'd be looking at the installation process as the culprit.
If one is experiencing repeated bearing failures I'd be looking at the installation process as the culprit.
#5
10-20-2018, 07:24 PM
My opinion on wheel bearing failures is that the failure has a lot more to do with the bearing installation than the "brand" of bearing used. When installing the bearing(s) the preload exerted between the bearings and the spacer is critical. Too loose, or too tight, will subject the bearings to undesirable side loads that will affect bearing life.
If one is experiencing repeated bearing failures I'd be looking at the installation process as the culprit.
If one is experiencing repeated bearing failures I'd be looking at the installation process as the culprit.
#6
10-20-2018, 08:25 PM
My opinion on wheel bearing failures is that the failure has a lot more to do with the bearing installation than the "brand" of bearing used. When installing the bearing(s) the preload exerted between the bearings and the spacer is critical. Too loose, or too tight, will subject the bearings to undesirable side loads that will affect bearing life.
If one is experiencing repeated bearing failures I'd be looking at the installation process as the culprit.
If one is experiencing repeated bearing failures I'd be looking at the installation process as the culprit.
#7
10-20-2018, 11:26 PM
The first bearing is pressed in until it seats on the shoulder of the bore in the wheel. That's the easy no brainer part.
The second bearing is the critical one. It does not index all the way to the shoulder of the bore in the wheel, but rather only to the point that the inner race contacts the spacer between the two bearings. This is where the "preload" I mentioned comes into play. The preload is the pressure or force between the inner races of the two bearings and the spacer.
Not enough preload will cause excessive side loading of the bearing's outboard side of the inner race(s) and inboard side of the outer race(s) when the axle is torqued.
Too much preload will cause excessive side loading of the bearing in the opposite direction, i.e., inboard side of the inner race(s) and outboard side of the outer race(s).
Either one, too much or not enough preload, on the bearings to spacer is just as bad as the other. That is why installation of the second bearing is so critical. And to top it off, that critical installation of the second bearing is completely dependent on the "feel" of the operator/installer and is certainly not a fool-proof process.
Last edited by 2black1s; 10-20-2018 at 11:35 PM.
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plongson (10-21-2018)
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#8
10-21-2018, 05:32 AM
Yes... that's exactly what I'm saying. Kind of. Here's an explanation of what you are missing...
The first bearing is pressed in until it seats on the shoulder of the bore in the wheel. That's the easy no brainer part.
The second bearing is the critical one. It does not index all the way to the shoulder of the bore in the wheel, but rather only to the point that the inner race contacts the spacer between the two bearings. This is where the "preload" I mentioned comes into play. The preload is the pressure or force between the inner races of the two bearings and the spacer.
Not enough preload will cause excessive side loading of the bearing's outboard side of the inner race(s) and inboard side of the outer race(s) when the axle is torqued.
Too much preload will cause excessive side loading of the bearing in the opposite direction, i.e., inboard side of the inner race(s) and outboard side of the outer race(s).
Either one, too much or not enough preload, on the bearings to spacer is just as bad as the other. That is why installation of the second bearing is so critical. And to top it off, that critical installation of the second bearing is completely dependent on the "feel" of the operator/installer and is certainly not a fool-proof process.
The first bearing is pressed in until it seats on the shoulder of the bore in the wheel. That's the easy no brainer part.
The second bearing is the critical one. It does not index all the way to the shoulder of the bore in the wheel, but rather only to the point that the inner race contacts the spacer between the two bearings. This is where the "preload" I mentioned comes into play. The preload is the pressure or force between the inner races of the two bearings and the spacer.
Not enough preload will cause excessive side loading of the bearing's outboard side of the inner race(s) and inboard side of the outer race(s) when the axle is torqued.
Too much preload will cause excessive side loading of the bearing in the opposite direction, i.e., inboard side of the inner race(s) and outboard side of the outer race(s).
Either one, too much or not enough preload, on the bearings to spacer is just as bad as the other. That is why installation of the second bearing is so critical. And to top it off, that critical installation of the second bearing is completely dependent on the "feel" of the operator/installer and is certainly not a fool-proof process.
I would think there are side forces going on when the bike goes into a turn, especially at higher speeds. So how does that play into the feel that the installer is looking for?
#9
10-21-2018, 08:42 AM
2Black is absolutely correct. That is an excellent description of how to properly install these bearings, and I believe not enough care is taken to assure it is done correctly...dealer techs just crank 'em in to get it out the door and the factory isn't much better. Be sure, I'm gonna take my time, and if they shirt the bed in 15k miles, it won't be blamed on the install process...
#10
10-21-2018, 09:29 AM