Bearing spacer???

[pcmpete]

I just got new bearings put into my hubs but there is approx 1/8" movement when the castle nut was fully tightened. The axle store I went to fully seated the races in the hubs. Can I safety put a spacer in the hub before the outer race to take the movement or just remove the races and not re-seat them fully?

Please advise

 

[kmarine]

Re: Bearing spacer???

Most axles have a washer between the nut and the bearing race. Were they not in the old ones?

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Bearing spacer???

You cannot partially seat the races as they will eventually move with the result being a very loose bearing and probable bearing and spindle failure. I would be concerned that the wrong bearings were installed. To clarify terminology, the race is the outer piece of the bearing. The bearing itself is the piece with the rollers in it. If the nut bottoms before the free-play is removed, then something was done wrong.

 

[pcmpete]

Re: Bearing spacer???

That is what I thought. I will take everything apart, clean and measure everything to see where the problem is?

You cannot partially seat the races as they will eventually move with the result being a very loose bearing and probable bearing and spindle failure. I would be concerned that the wrong bearings were installed. To clarify terminology, the race is the outer piece of the bearing. The bearing itself is the piece with the rollers in it. If the nut bottoms before the free-play is removed, then something was done wrong.

 

[PBarrett]

Re: Bearing spacer???

Is this the same trailer as in this thread? http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=534813 If so, did you compare the old and new bearings BEFORE having them installed in the hubs? If so, were they the same width? If you are missing approx. 1/8", it sounds like the washer is missing, as suggested by kmarine. When matching up bearings for trailers, it is usually okay to use a bearing the is slightly wider than stock, but it is never advisable to use a narrower bearing because the narrower bearing probably has a lower load capacity. If those were the only bearings available, you could always double up the washer between the outer bearing and the adjusting nut to take up the 1/8". Just make sure you take your time adjusting the bearings, then run the trailer down the road and repeat the adjustment process.

Pat