How did this bearing get bent?

Lynnmor wrote:
You bent the cage, no way of knowing how you did it.

I can't deny that. There had to be some decent force to bend the cage an put those marks on it though - right?

Lynnmor wrote:
I don't think that Timken ever made a seal.

I ordered these: Timken 440972 Seal.

Lynnmor wrote:
Do yourself a favor and replace the Chinese bearings with Timken.

Yes, I have replacement Timken bearings and races for that wheel on order as well as a spare set. The OEM bearings seemed to be doing good except for my mystery bend.

You bent the cage, no way of knowing how you did it. The magnet clip can't get into the outer bearing. I don't think that Timken ever made a seal. Do yourself a favor and replace the Chinese bearings with Timken.

SDcampowneroperator wrote:
I' d say the notches in the cage were caused by some tool, maybe a prybar to work it into place.

I would agree, this is why I'm so confused. There was no prying or forcing to install or remove the drum or bearing. It didn't fall on the ground.

I'm going to replace both bearings on that wheel just to be safe. As far as I know I'm the only one who has R&R'ed the hub, so the blame is on me. I just don't have a clue as to what I need to be extra careful about :?

I' d say the notches in the cage were caused by some tool, maybe a prybar to work it into place. The inner and outer races, roller bearings, should be unaffected by the damage to the soft cage metal.
Good thing you found it and can correct without issue.

The race and rollers looked fine. I didn't dive in and clean/inspect thoroughly. I pulled the other drums for a quick inspection and then ordered parts and will wait for them to arrive before tearing back into things.

Merkim,
I check and repack my bearings annually as well. No matter what the "experts" on this site say (I remember someone stating that servicing the bearings will CAUSE bearing failure), I will defer to the manufacturers recommendation.

Anyway, that is one messed up looking bearing. Something certainly got wedged near that cage. What does the bearing race look like?

This is the outer (small) bearing. The inner seemed ok.


According to my axle manual:

Bearing grease should be replaced every 12,000 miles or 12 months, whichever comes first.

I'm going to need to inspect more often. Two of the seals failed, leaking enough to ruin one set of brake pads and probably messing up a second set. I **don't** pump grease through the EZ-Lube hubs, so that wasn't the issue. The seal lips appeared fine. I wonder if seal material itself might be of poor quality. I'm going to try Timken seals this time...

The bearings were OK with respect to grease and probably could have gone longer. I'll be doing a long trip next year and want to have general maintenance items dialed in before leaving for that trip.

I really don't get how this bearing cage got bent and I cannot explain the marks on the cage around the bend....

Looks like a tool of some sort damaged it.

Is that the inside or outside? TT wheel bearings should be good for 30,000 at the least, be for the need to repack. Why would you do it two years in a row, do you use it that much?