VCCA Home Forums GENERAL DISCUSSION New User Forum 1948 PU truck front wheel bearings question.

Are the front wheel bearings on a late 1940's Chevy pick up truck supposed to be loose ball bearings, with no carrier? Since about 1979, I've had a utility trailer made from a late 1940's Chevy front axle, & I try to grease the wheel bearings every 5000 miles or so, & the ball bearings do not have a carrier; they're simply loose ball bearings inside the races. I've had no real problems with it, but I noticed on some old Chevy sites that the ball bearings are in a carrier. Anybody out there in the ether have an opinion about carrier vs. no carrier? Thanks. -Rich Reeder, Mesa, Arizona.

To my knowledge all front wheel bearings the balls are held in a cage though they do escape.
Tony

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G'day Tony.

Thanks. I have a half a mind to purchase a new set in carriers, or cages., but the thing has traveled over 30K miles with no real bearing trouble, so maybe not. When I repack the bearings, they do tend to roll all over if I don't grease the races & set then in the greased race. A hot day is when the grease melts, & the balls tend to migrate all over Creation. Thanks, again.

The front bearings on my 38 coupe are loose balls held captive when the races are assembled. The balls always seem to scatter when you take everything apart as some stick to grease but others are waiting in anticipation to escape...

Gene has recommended using a long fibre grease and minimize the amount of grease.

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Thanks, Canadiantim. Long fiber grease makes sense. Next time I'm at the parts store, I'll get some.

Hi Tim,

Interesting observation about the front wheel bearings on your car. Are the inner balls in a cage or are they loose also?

On page 74 of the 1938 shop manual there are instructions to pack the separator and ball assemblies with grease before installing them.

On my '37 all of the balls are retained in cages, both inner and outer. The next time I have a front wheel removed I will look for part numbers to help determine if they are replacement parts.

I have never seen wheel bearings (ball or taper roller) that dont have the balls or rollers caged though occasionally some of the balls or rollers do escape when everything is on the floor.
Tony

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Rusty:
Yes, they are all loose. No cages anywhere. But they seem to work. Thanks.

When I got the new bearings for my 38 1/2 ton the inner race, balls in a holder cage and outer race all came in the 1 box for each position (4 boxes).
Scott Crawford from here on Chatter did the leg work saving me $200 on the set by acquiring the there and posting them to me compared to my local supplier.
Tony

Hi Rich,

I am well aware of ball bearing assemblies that have no cage or separator for the balls. They are very common in bicycles. The key is to add enough balls to the point that you cannot add anymore. That helps maintain uniform ball spacing and load distribution.

A properly adjusted cage-less ball bearing has slightly less friction than a caged one. In a caged bearing there is friction between all of the balls and the cage as things rotate. In a cage-less there is only friction where some balls come together

I just have never seen one in a Chevrolet of the era you are describing.

Well, I got the caged bearings, installed them, & things seem to be ok. Thanks everyone for your help. (I tried to get long fiber grease, but the parts store didn't carry it. Sigh.)