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Wheel bearing races

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  • Wheel bearing races

    I'm woking on the front brakes to the wife's 69 Mustang. I saw a set of Wagner rotors on ebay that were cheap and free shipping. Last time I bought Wagner rotors they were USA, not this time. Since the new rotors come with outer races installed in the rotors, anybody use these as is? I punched the new one out and I'm going to install the races that were in the old rotors and their matching bearings. I'm a little leery of using the races in the new Chinese Wagner rotors.
    Last edited by Huskinhano; August 4, 2011, 06:56 PM.
    Tom
    Overdrive is overrated



  • #2
    Dang.... Based on the title, I thought this thread was going to be about racing wheel bearings. Kinda like racing valve covers....

    Oh well.



    Ron
    It's really no different than trying to glue them back on after she has her way.

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    • #3
      racing wheel bearings, you might be onto something there
      Charles W - BS Photographer at large

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      • #4
        Originally posted by Ron Ward View Post
        Dang.... Based on the title, I thought this thread was going to be about racing wheel bearings. Kinda like racing valve covers....

        Oh well.


        Ron
        X 2
        Doing it all wrong since 1966

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        • #5
          You did what I would do. I'd rather use the race that came with the bearing.

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          • #6
            Unless you plan on reusing the old bearing, I would use the new race. The old bearing may have worn in with the old race. You can buy tapered roller bearing parts (commonly known as the cup and cone) separately, so there should be no problem with the two parts from different sources working together.

            As for being China made- I have used a lot of Chinese bearings in industrial equipment with no problems. I would not be afraid of them. Not all Chinese stuff is bad and not all American stuff is good...
            Why think when you can be doing something fruitful?

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            • #7
              Originally posted by ss427 View Post
              You did what I would do. I'd rather use the race that came with the bearing.
              This may be old school - but this method is what I've had the best luck with - just like a flat tappet cam and lifters - keep the bearing and race as a matched pair.

              Remember to check the preload again after a short drive to confirm nothing has moved.
              There's always something new to learn.

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              • #8
                Originally posted by Ron Ward View Post
                Dang.... Based on the title, I thought this thread was going to be about racing wheel bearings. Kinda like racing valve covers....

                Oh well.



                Ron
                somewhere around 17, I worked in a small engine shop. When we would get bored in the shop we would use the air compressor on open bearings and race them. They were small, like 3/8 or 1/2 id, from edgers or mower wheels. All fun and games until someone let one loose and it went through the shop door into the showroom and broke one of the front windows. Ooops.
                Flying south, with a flock of bird dogs.

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                • #9
                  I've never seen a tapered bearing fail from a new race, but have from lack of grease, failing grease seal

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                  • #10
                    Beags -

                    That reminds me of a story my friends Dad told us about when he was a teenager working at a gas station / service station and there was another similar station right across the 4 lane highway (US131 South of Kalamazoo).

                    They use to take the old wheel bearings - put them on the neck of a glass coke bottle and get them up to a bazillion rpm with compressed air - then turn the bottle upside down and shoot the bearings across the four lane highway into the other service station! - sparks would usually fly from the bearing as it zinged across the pavement and many of them were run over by cars and trucks driving by - some hit the fuel pumps - others went off course into the grass - but some - some went right into the service bay and smashed into the back wall making a hellofa noise and mess..... but hitting the target magnificently

                    I think that was all shut down after one went through the plate glass customer entry door!
                    There's always something new to learn.

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                    • #11
                      I recently repacked the wheel bearings in the Blazer. One side was bad - pitted, so I replaced the bearings and races. The other side looked and felt fine when clean so they just got repacked. In the past, I have put my old bearings in new rotors/races. I'm sure millions of garage mechanics have done the same when doing brake jobs... but if you're buying new bearings, I'd go ahead and change the races, too.

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                      • #12
                        Many years ago I went to a Torrington bearing seminar. Learned a lot of good stuff. Anyway, the instructor was telling about a industrial plant that was a customer. He got a call that one of the bearings on a big piece of equipment failed, burned out. So he said he replaced it. A few weeks later, the same. He said he was puzzled to the bearings burning out. He said they were nasty looking. He checked the equipment out and couldn't find any reason for the bearing to burn out. He asked the guy how he installed the bearing. The guy said he took a torch to heat the bearing up nice and red to slip it on the shaft instead of pressing it on.
                        Last edited by Huskinhano; August 5, 2011, 02:29 PM.
                        Tom
                        Overdrive is overrated


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