Wheel bearings, wheel bearings, oh wheel bearings.

[Hoosierman]

Now that the weather is finally starting to turn nicer, I'm going to resume work on my '84 BII. I'm going to start by servicing the front brakes and replacing the calipers, as well as replacing the rotors. Looking through the shop manual, it appears the wheel bearings and races should probably be replaced when doing the rotors. I am have a few questions about this job because I feel like I'm not getting the big picture.

While replacing the rotors:

1. Do I replace both the inner and outer wheel bearings?

2. Will the Timken Set45 cover both inners and others for both sides? Is there even a difference between the inners and others?

3. Are the grease seals the same?

4. What else should get replaced that I may be missing?

5. Are there any specific recommendations for what grease to use when packing?

I have yet to jack up the truck and begin investigating, so I'm at the preparation stage. It looks like I'll need a spindle nut tool also.

Thanks

 

[Shran]

Inners & outers are the same, you need two Set45's per side for a total of 4 races and 4 bearings. Yes I would replace all four at once. Wheel seals are the same on both sides.

If the bearings aren't loose and look to be in good shape then just clean them out really well, repack, and reuse. If you are careful you can reuse the seals too... lol... my cheap ass definitely has done that many times, not gonna spend money on seals if I just replaced them a year ago and am repacking bearings cuz I drove through a creek!

Grease: I just use whatever red high temp I have on hand. I imagine there are many other types that will work too, I just like the red stuff.

Anything else to look at: yes, remove the spindle and at a minimum clean & repack the bearings inside them where the axle shaft rides, replace the little seal there, check u-joints in the axle shafts, and look at the dust seal that should be on the outer axle shaft right where it goes into the spindle - it's probably missing.

 

[lowspeedpursuit]

Every new rotor I've bought has come with races in it, so buying bearing-and-race sets leaves you with extra races. If you want Timken specifically, though, I do only see the set.

 

[Shran]

I never use the races that come with new rotors. Timken is about the only bearing brand I trust for quality these days - who knows if the China races that come with rotors are even in spec. National & SKF used to be as good as Timken but they are hit & miss now.

 

[lowspeedpursuit]

I think it depends on the application. I'm going to be more careful with a trans than with a diff than with a front wheel bearing. Something this accessible--especially in a world where formerly reliable brands are all gravitating towards the same lower level of quality--I'm honestly not that picky.

If we are talking brands, I'm literally dealing with a National kit right now that didn't have the right bearings inside when I opened it. I do like BCA, and don't ever really see people talking about them.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I never use the races that come with new rotors. Timken is about the only bearing brand I trust for quality these days - who knows if the China races that come with rotors are even in spec. National & SKF used to be as good as Timken but they are hit & miss now.

I use the ones that come with rotors as bearing drivers to help install good races lol.

 

[Shran]

I think it depends on the application. I'm going to be more careful with a trans than with a diff than with a front wheel bearing. Something this accessible--especially in a world where formerly reliable brands are all gravitating towards the same lower level of quality--I'm honestly not that picky.

If we are talking brands, I'm literally dealing with a National kit right now that didn't have the right bearings inside when I opened it. I do like BCA, and don't ever really see people talking about them.

Lots of truth there. I just figure that Timken's on RockAuto are very competitive price wise as any parts store brand, obviously better than anything really cheap on RA, and known to be good quality. They live in a dirty environment too but they're easy to get to. If you're limited to parts store stuff then I don't know if it even matters. I bought some National bearings that said Made in China on the box and the bearings were stamped Made in USA... then there were some that said Made in China on the box and the bearing just had a part number on it.

Transmission bearings are a different story, I've found that you're pretty much limited to whatever comes in the rebuild kit unless you want to spend BIG bucks buying individual bearings. Koyo & Nachi are pretty common in kits and they seem to be good quality. Input shaft pocket bearings are the exception - IMO it's arguably one of the most critical bearings in the kit and they are almost always not even marked with a part number and shrink wrapped to a generic white piece of cardboard. I want the BEST there...and that's very hard to find.

In a differential - carrier or pinion bearings - I am going with Timken and damn the cost. Setting up gears is expensive if you have a shop do it and a bunch of work if I do it, so I have to know that what I'm installing is a quality part.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Koyo & Nachi are pretty common in kits and they seem to be good quality.

Like 95% of John Deere bearings companywide are Koyo, they are as good as anything.