Need advice with wheel bearing issue

[twodollarbill]

Greetings everyone, I'm in need of a little advice. I have a new to me 2008 Starcraft. I've pulled all the wheels and hubs to take a look at the bearings and repack etc, everything looks good.

However, there is one spindle that measures slightly larger and out of spec compared to the other three for the outer bearing location. The outer bearing is an L44649 and the inside diameter measures 1.062". The spindle in question measures between 1.0625"-1.063". All other spindles measure 1.061"-1.0615".

I'm able to push the bearing on with the castle nut but it doesn't float like the rest. This seemingly hasn't been a problem thus far and I think I'll just need to sneak up on the preload and call it good. Wondering what insight others might offer?

[twodollarbill]

Problem solved. Fifteen minutes with some 3M 'fine' emery paper and we were good to go. Just sneaked up on it until the bearing went on by hand. The fit is more snug than the other three wheels but no longer tight. I hope this thread will help someone in the future as this was quite a simple fix.

[twodollarbill]

The outer bearing came out with the hub. After backing the brakes off I noticed I still couldn't remove the hub by hand. Slight pressure from about a 12" pry bar slid the unit off.

[RCMAN46]

To the OP.
How did you get the bearing in question off of the spindle for inspection?

[twodollarbill]

Look what I found..http://www.johndee.com/discuss/messages/6/118012.html?1259182256

[twodollarbill]

The dial caliper in question is not the electronic variety. For comparison purposes though it's adequate in showing ALL other spindles measures smaller than (and equal to each other) the one in question.

I'm not a machinist...can someone tell me a good starting point grit for the emery paper or crocus cloth. Again, I hit is with some 600 grit sandpaper to no avail. Probably something in the 250-300 range?

I'm a better welder than machinist so that's always an option...replacement spindles are $45.

[Raften]

RJsfishin wrote:
I do accurate (.001) lathe machining all the time w/ a dial calipers.

50 years as a machinist means I would not trust a dial caliper (not a electronic caliper) instead of a mic to be accurate to .001.

[RLS7201]

Emery cloth is used all the time in machine shops for final fit and finish. Because the OP owns a dial caliper, one would assume that he is a couple steps ahead of the average bearing packer and knows how to adjust the fit correctly.

Richard

[fj12ryder]

You state "shoe-shine the spindle", and you'll have somebody going to town with 80 grit emery paper. And they they'll wonder why the bearing has spun on the shaft the next time they pull it off, or have to have it repaired alongside the road.

Just because you know how to do it doesn't mean that anyone else does.

[MEXICOWANDERER]

Put a grinder to the spindle and you'll end up with a safety pin. C'mon people. I was asssssssumimg common sense would be used with selection of grit and amount of time spent in removing material. I used to do this with big-rig bearings that used STEMCO oil filled bearings
One hell of a lot more demanding precise fit required.

For the benefit of Felix Unger types here, change Emery to Crocus Cloth. The process is valid
But it does demand minimum common-sense.

[Gjac]

All machined parts have mfg tolerances. If you are still worried about it you can measure the inside dia of your bearing and you will probably find a plus or minus.0005 variation in those. You can use the .0005 larger ID bearing to go on your slightly larger OD spindle.

[RJsfishin]

I do accurate (.001) lathe machining all the time w/ a dial calipers.
But you don't need to mic it,....you already know its too tight.
I would emery strip it down to a hand slip fit like they are supposed to be. You should not have to force a bearing onto a spindle.

[Raften]

A dial caliper, get a micrometer, that caliper is not accurate enough.

[twodollarbill]

The spindle looks mint, measurements were taken with a dial caliper (.001) Before posting here I tried a long strip of 600 grit sandpaper which did nothing except make things more shiny. The spindle is hardened and I doubt altering at home is going to happen (successfully).

It's survived seven years...I'll use some common sense setting it up and be good to go.

[fj12ryder]

MEXICOWANDERER wrote:
Use a long strip of emery paper and shoe-shine the spindle. Try to get it reasonably even just for drill. This is a cheap fix that few ought to argue against.

Yeah, I'll argue against this approach. All you'll end up doing is removing material and you'll have a sloppy fit. A very slight press-on fit is just fine, but you don't want a fit such that you have to drive it on with a hammer and drift.