How To Clean And Repack Wheel Bearings

Here's an Unsealed 4X4 driveway DIY yous can knock over earlier you head off on holidays: how to check and tighten bicycle bearings!

Wheel bearings are something yous don't think nearly until they're whining their head off like a millennial having to go to work, or you've just lost a front wheel on the way downwardly Toowoomba plateau. And so first and foremost, let's look at what leads to a quick death of wheel bearings – and how to minimise their wear and the hazard you lot'll lose a wheel.

Bigger wider tyres

Despite all the pros of going bigger and wider in the rubber section, one of the cons is that it increases the side-load on wheel bearings, which will crusade the rollers to run with more force per unit area on one side than the other. We're non saying don't practice information technology, just understand that your bearings volition flog out sooner than they otherwise would.

Neg 500 wheels

Same bargain every bit above… by putting the contact point of the safe and bike outside (or even inside) the centre of the mating face of cycle to hub, you lot're going to increase side-load again. Go neg 44s and information technology'll be even worse…

Cooling speed

An inherent attribute of wheel bearings (and bearings in full general) is estrus. Driving for three hours with a boat on the back, pulling up at the gunkhole ramp and launching the tinny equally soon as y'all get there is going to cool the bearings downward to cold pretty bloody speedily. This can crack the bearing and cage (that holds the rollers in place), and yous're gonna have a bad day. The other issue is that going from hot to common cold creates a vacuum backside the seal, and tin can describe h2o into your hub or behind the bearing. If you lot didn't know, rust is bad, and chocolate milk for oil just won't cutting it, m'kay?

Metallurgy

Don't. Buy. Cheap. Bearings. Always. If you absolutely must relieve a couple of dollars on your rig, stop putting those stupid My Family stickers on it (chances are, your life and the lives of your family unit members aren't going to rely on the stickers). Bicycle bearings, however, stop the wheels falling off… which is kinda important. Cheap bearings are cheap for a reason, whether through the manufacturing process, materials used or both, so cheap won't last. Make sure you go Japanese bearings, or European – think Timkin, SKF, etc. Do not purchase crappy Chinese bearings!

Incorrect fitment

Last but certainly non least, over-tightening (or under-tightening, for that thing) will atomic number 82 to a swift death of the bearings. If you lot're going to have a fissure at doing them yourself, know how to torque them upwards properly, or leave it to an expert. On this thought, it'due south absolutely worth getting and keeping the correct size hub socket in your vehicle, simply in instance you're 500 miles from home and a bike bearing does work itself loose – you lot can nip information technology upwards to become yourself habitation safely and non have to worry almost a wheel falling off.

Bonus points: Genuine wheel bearings.

Something that might blow your listen a flake here is that genuine bearings (and seals for that matter), that come in a trivial genuine parts box, will actually hold an SKF or Timken (or other brand proper name) bearing. True story. As an example, Toyota doesn't make bearings; it purchases top-quality parts and puts them in a genuine box; nearly frequently a quality Japanese bearing. All of the Toyota Genuine seals I've come up beyond were NOK branded, too, so y'all don't demand to buy 'genuine'. Just make sure yous go to your local begetting shop (CBC, for example) and buy high-quality 'brand name' bearings. Alternatively, you can admittedly get a Drivetech or Terrain Tamer bike bearing kit; they only employ quality Japanese bearings in their kits.

How to check your bike bearings?

Tools you'll need

Information technology's pretty straightforward in the tool department (for an 80 Series LandCruiser, anyhow):

• Decent socket gear up
• Decent spanner set
• Rattle gun… considering easy style
• Razor blade for cleaning up any gaskets that become destroyed (think hub gasket) – a Toyota Wheel Bearing kit should come with 1 for each side.
• Circlip pliers
• Hub socket (54mm for the 'Cruiser)
• High temp bearing grease
• Degreaser and restriction cleaner (restriction cleaner doesn't leave any residue)
• A couple of bottles of brake fluid (as I upgraded my brakes to bigger callipers and discs while I was at information technology) plus a total brake fluid flush
• WD40 for when the half dozen-foot breaker bar simply won't get that nut off!

Check for whatever play

Kickoff off by getting the wheel off the ground and checking to come across if at that place is any play meridian to lesser and side to side.

Practise this past grabbing the exterior of the tyre and giving information technology a scrap of 'jerk' superlative and bottom and both sides. If there is any movement your wheel bearings are more than likely shot.

Pull the hub comprehend off

Wheels and brakes come off showtime; and if we need to tell you how to exercise this, then you're meliorate off leaving the chore to a mechanic! If you're game and not bad on the spanners, once you've got the wheel and brakes off, yous'll want to pull off the outer locking hub. It'due south easiest to do this with the hub in 'Free' every bit it pulls the hub together, so it'southward a squeamish tight part when y'all pull information technology out (not a hub hanging on the end of a spring threatening to break upwards faster than Sting and The Police force). Later the half dozen 10mm bolts are out, this should just pull direct out.

Remove the transmission hub and circlip

Remove the circlip from effectually the end of the CV and undo the six 12mm nuts holding the transmission hub on. Under the nuts you lot'll find flat washers and cone washers. Use a brass drift and tap the end of the studs to loosen the cone washers and pull them out – a lite tap with the hammer on the side of the hub will loosen them plenty to go them out, or you lot tin can get a tiny flat-blade screwdriver into the splits in the cone washers and pull them out. You lot tin use a pair of screwdrivers to lever the hub off if information technology'southward a fiddling tight.

Remove the wheel begetting lock basics and lock washer

Next you'll need to fold the tabs downwards on the lock washer to requite admission to the start cycle begetting nut. Once y'all've got the offset nut off, yous should be able to remove the lock washer and become admission to the 2nd bicycle bearing nut. Make certain you flatten out the lock washer at this point then you can reuse it if information technology's however in skilful nick (my kit didn't come with a new lock washer). And so go ahead and undo the final bike bearing nut and remove it from the hub.

Remove the hub and rotor together, and clean them up!

At present you've got the hub assembly off, requite it a decent clean – cleaning out any grease and checking the seals for marks or obvious signs information technology'due south been rubbing untrue. After cleaning the grease out of the hub assembly you'll be able to meet the wheel begetting's cup and cones.

Repacking the bearings

My bearings were in proficient nick, simply the grease was closer to oil than grease, so I repacked them and retightened to spec. Essentially, yous put some grease in the palm of your hand and button the bearing onto the grease and then it forces the grease through the bearing. Keep adding grease, and pushing it through the bearing until information technology'due south coming out the other side (the whole way round). Should y'all need to supersede the bearings yous'll have to knock the cups out of the hub associates, knock the new ones in until they're all the fashion habitation, and grease the cones upward as outlined.

Tightening and reassembly

Once you've repacked everything it's time to put it all back together. I'thousand not going to go into torque settings or 'feeling the bearing preload' as it'southward dissimilar across the dissimilar 4X4s out there… suffice to say, you'll notice it in the workshop manual or you can inquire Google. From there it is just a matter of completely reassembling things opposite to the way you lot've taken it all apart… and then yous're done. Oh, make sure you check for play in the bike when it'due south all back together.

Source: https://unsealed4x4.com.au/a-guide-to-wheel-bearings-and-how-to-check-repack-and-replace-them/

Posted by: mcmullenwhinevesock1945.blogspot.com

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