VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1933-1936 Inner bearing races

As I was checking the front brakes on my 36 pickup I discovered that the inner bearing races (next to the backing plate) are very sloppy on the spindle shaft,(1/8 in. sloppy) my question being; is it likely that the shaft is worn down that much or could it be the bearing race?, or both? Do I need to replace the spindles or would new races correct the problem? If the spindles have to be replaced, what about having a spacer machined to take up the slack between the shaft and the race? Thanks to anyone who can advise me on this problem.....Richard :confused:

Hi Oldred36

1/8" seams a bit much. But back in my old mechanic days we did either of 2 things. 1)get a tube of liguid steel and apply evenly around spindle and sand down to fit bearing race. 2) take a center punch and center punch holes around spindle so that inner race would fit tight. If it fits too tight file down a little. We even did either of these methods on semi-tractors and it worked.

thanks
John

Its more common to have the spindle wear as its made from softer material.To check remove the race and look for a ridge where the race rides-no ridge or step-no wear.An 1/8" is excessive.Something has a lot of wear.

Thanks guys, There is no ridge on the spindle, I'll try the punch first and see if that tightens it up, if not I'll do the liquid steel. I appreciate the suggestions. :)

Another suggestion, when we put the wheels back on we put a little grease on the grease seal so that it would not become damaged. I even back filled the seal with grease, this would keep the seal tight to spindel.
Thanks
John

With 1/8th inch play between inside of bearing and spindle it fits to I would check you have the right bearing for the application. The bearing should be an a neat fit on to the splindle, at worst .001" clearance not .125". with the clearance you mentioned you will not be able to keep the bearings properly adjusted let alone the damage you will do to the brakes.
Tony

Yes, I agree, although the bearings fit snug in the drums the nearest that I can tell is that the spindles must have the most wear, but if this is indeed the problem I would think that the spindle would show a groove or a ridge where the race has been wearing the shaft. Anyway thanks again everyone, I'll check it all out and let you know the results.....Keep em rollin :) Richard

There should be a number on the inner race or "cone" in Chevyspeak. The correct # for this part is 909502 or maybe just 9502. Look for the number to see if your inner cone is correct for your truck.
Mike

I'm late to this thread (by only 15 yrs), but I haven't found answers elsewhere and it looks like you guys probably have the knowledge I'm seeking regarding proper installation of the Inner Ball Cones (ND909502) on my '29, 1 1/2 ton truck. My Cones fit their spindles without detectible 'slop', but I found them riding on a film of grease, which allowed them to be easily rotated by hand. Should I remove the grease and use some type of Locktite to prevent them turning? Of should I re-grease and trust the compressive force of the hub and spindle nut to prevent rotation?

Thanks.
Larry

Hi Larry
Definitely do NOT use anything to stop the cones from rotating.
They are meant to be able to "creep" a very small amount and it sounds like yours fit exactly as they should.
They were made that way so the wear didn't continually occur on just one side of the bearing.

Be aware that bearings set too loose will let the cones spin TOO much on the spindles.
Also be careful in following the proper adjustment procedure for ball type wheel bearings as opposed to how you would set tapered rollers.

Thanks much for the quick reply. And for explaining the "creep". Makes perfect sense.