VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1929-1932 Front Wheel Bearings - Taper Roller - 1932

Can you change just the outer race to Taper Roller bearings? They are the ones that are sold by "The Filling Station".

Sorry I don't have an answer to that one but I was wondering if anyone out there has done the bearing change and what are the advantages to it. Also do you need to change the inner seal at the same time?

Jerry! I have done the change over on my 31 and it will be the same for 32. I changed the inner and outer to tappered roller bearings and races. I got them from Olcar Bearing Company
135 James Creek
Southern Pines, North Carolina
910-693-3324
talk to George
I would imagine you could change just the outer to tappered, but why?

Hoppy: I need to change one race due to spalling of raceway and thought I would try the taper roller bearing to see if they help . This is the 2nd set of outers on this side of car to go in a couple of years. The others are all original and just fine.

If I understand your plan, you intend to replace the outer bearing with a tapered and the inner would be roller?

Never seen that done. The adjustment procedure is different for the roller and the ball. Do you have a plan for that procedure?

Keep us posted if you do in fact mix bearings.

Have you ever thought about finding out why those bearings fail after only a short time and probably only a few miles?

incorrect installation? poor packing of grease?, poor quality grease? faulty alignment?, bad spindles? or kingpins?, or poor quality bearings?

I have New Departure ball bearings on a couple of my cars that have been in use for 30 years or longer.
I have some used ones I salvaged from cars no longer around that look and work as well as new ones. I do keep the races and balls together and dont interchange them, except as a unit.

The only ones that I have had to become rough were some imported off brand Korean outside front jobs that were on my 53 when I bought it, they were quickly changed out with some good NOS New Departure bearings I found at a swap meet.

I beleive the two replacement bearing were likely off shore but purchsed at a bearing supply house. Yes the original New Departure bearing even worked after I removed the half ball that was left from the original user. I found that after cleaning and repacking. It ran with out that ball for over three years as I tried to find NDH replacements. I should also say that the replacements were plastic caged bearing not steelcaged bearing. Not something I like. As a note I was in Quality Control for one the world's largest bearing manufacturing facility FAG bearing. I know front wheel bearings. Yes it's a trial and error thing I'm doing, just thought second opnions from others would be best. I would give anything to find original New Departure bearings. Will keep you posted as to the results of my trial.

Note that the diameter of the balls was made much larger on the later bearing.(around 1958)...This was done to give the bearing great capacity for the heaiver cars as the bearing was used up until 1960.Thus the complete bearing must be used...the small ball race and cone is different and parts can't be mixed.I have never had in ball bearing problems.

As a note: Ball / roller designs have been used and are used today in several major car applications. The roller design was used to increase the load capacity of a bearing design.
Most waterpump applications use this due to the increase demand in this area of the car. eg. power steering pump, air condition pump, air polution pumps etc. In 2000 I worked with a new design for **** Europe that is now in the Focus.
The biggest change in bearings has been lubricants.