Secret Tappered Bearings

Discussion in '1947-1954' started by breezy, Dec 2, 2008.

  1. breezy

    breezy Member

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    Why are the tappered wheel bearings so hard to find. What if you need a replacement. Where do you get it?? I work at the parts store, have for 20 plus years. I have searshed and searched for replacement bearings. Can't figure it out. Does anyone have the part numbers for these. And please not those stupid jap numbers. They might as well not exist, cause they don't.
    I know some companies have this little adapter piece you need for the inner race and seal to ride on. Why can't they just sell that and tell you what bearings you need. And not at some 100% mark up price. I also have a dear friend that owns a machine shop. These little things like that are probably made out of old pipe. Got carried away there. Sorry. Thanks for any help
     
  2. shankamoto

    shankamoto Member

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    Bearings

    What year is your front axle ?
    41-59 used ball bearings
    60-61 used ball bearings

    62-69 used roller bearings inner Hy-A-1412362

    outer Hy-m-113158z

    Gene
     
  3. Bill Hanlon

    Bill Hanlon Member

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    Breezy's point is that you used to be able to order (for instance) New Departure 909052R (R for roller) bearings that were dimensionally the same as 909052 outer front wheel bearing used in 55-59 GMC 1/2 ton trucks. Someone still makes such a bearing because you can find a complete set of 2 inner and two outer bearings at many of the Old Truck parts suppliers as well as on eBay at
    http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1947...ryZ34199QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
     
  4. vwnate1

    vwnate1 Member

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    Front Wheel Bearings

    I'm no fan of those cheaper roller bearings , they have more rolling resistance

    Most old truck vendors sell them however .

    I'm a parts guy too and I'm always pi$$ed off that NO ONE has OnLine bearing & seal catalogs (Bower BCA for example) and the well meaning retard on the night shift " cleaned up " a few years ago and tossed out all of my vintage paper catalogs I had neatly stored under the counter...... :mad:

    I'd kill him but you cannot blame a well intentioned idiot I suppose .

    IIRC , when changing an AD to roller typ bearings no special adapter is needed
     
  5. Zig

    Zig Member

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    Classic Parts

    and our host sells these.:D

    I'll be putting them on my ride, also. (When I go to disc brakes up front...);)
     
  6. breezy

    breezy Member

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    Hey Nate NIce to see another patrs guy on here. I've started a NAPA when I was 18 then the Zone now I've been at O'rieely for ten years. Where do you hang your hat while pushing parts? By the way do you know any part numbers for the illusive bearings I seek. You can PM if you wish. Anybody Know????
     
  7. vwnate1

    vwnate1 Member

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    Parts Is Parts

    Area II Stores , No. Ho. partsroom , fllet mtce. div. , materials management section of general services , at your service ;)

    Chevy Duty , the fine folks who pay for this websiter , have the bearings in stock .
     
  8. booger

    booger Member

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    Nate, for the "idiot" that threw out your catalogs ,just remember that you cant fix "stupid" !
     
  9. breezy

    breezy Member

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    120 bucks for 4 bearing sets and 2 seals!!!! Nate you know that's just not right. Seems I saw them for 40 bucks somewhere. Dang if I can find them now?? For that price I can 5 lug with 61 car hubs and a nova rear end. I have everything to disc brake the front except the bearings for the stock hub. OEM replacement parts total cost 80 bucks or so. Just have to make the caliper bracket. I figured on that. Just need these bearings??? I'll figure somthing out, I will have off the shelf parts, not some import 1 off bearing set.
     
    Last edited: Dec 3, 2008
  10. vwnate1

    vwnate1 Member

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    Disc Brake Upgrade

    I see thay you really do need tapered roller bearings , look in older posts about brakes , wheels , spindles etc. as I know someone has posted the P/N's before , maybe Evan .

    I'm off work due to a Moto collision so I have NO acess to any catalogs not partshaus people .

    I bet if you search on Kragen or NAPA etc. OnLine you'll find the P/N's under /55.1 3100 series pickup...

    just remember , NAPA has funny takes on stabdard bearing #'s .

    Wish I could be more help buddy .
     
  11. mikesters1950

    mikesters1950 Member

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    bearings

    Here is an old post from Bill Hanlon on bearings. Might help.

    Yes, I have both radial tires and disk brakes. I ran through one set of tapered roller bearings in about two years, repacking them twice. Bearings were no-name. Came with the brake kit. Used to be able to find 909052R and 909067R roller bearings, but I haven't seen a set in years. Have tried big bearing supply places with no luck. They found references in books, but couldn't find the actual parts. MBS, a Japanese bearing manufacturer lists them
    outer inner set
    MBS # bore OD ---- w i d t h -------
    909052R 32.550 75.260 19.000 27.100 29.083
    909067R 19.057 52.832 13.000 15.440 17.983
    where sizes are in millimeters

    Here is the URL to the MBS parts.
    http://www.mbs-m.co.jp/page039.html

    Some more info.
    orig # GM 909052, FAFNIR10052, SKF# 909052, BCA# B-52
    orig #, GM 909067, FAFNIR10067, SKF# 909067, BCA# B-67

    Taken off http://www.mbs-m.co.jp/page026.html
    Try to cross reference some of the numbers. Hope it helps....Mike
     
    Last edited: Dec 4, 2008
  12. Fla54Chevy3100

    Fla54Chevy3100 Member

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    Deciding on which disc conversion kit to put on your AD truck is where a lot of folks back themselves into a corner with having to spring the $119.00 for the vendors bearing set. Retaining the stock hubs and bolt pattern not only forces you to use the premium vendor bearings but also places some limitations on the aftermarket wheels that are available.

    Using the 5 on 4-3/4 lug pattern eliminates having to run the pricey tapered bearings in the old hub, and has you running a complete rotor/bearings/seals from a GM car. These are available from any local parts house. Of course, if you want to retain your stock rear-end, you wind up with 2 bolt patterns which is a real pita. I found that using the mid and late 80's Camaro/Firebird rear ends (62" wide, mount to mount) was a cheap and relatively easy upgrade. Lower mileage diffs with options like posi/discs and better road ratios are readily available. The 3.08's and 3.42's are common while the 3.73 is a bit more elusive.

    So what's this have to do with replacement bearings? Well, just envision yourself sitting beside the road, 600 miles from home, waiting on UPS to deliver your "custom" bearings in 3-5 business days!!!! Not a pretty picture!!!

    It might not be the answer to your problems but it's an option you might want to consider when planning your build.

    Dave
     
  13. breezy

    breezy Member

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    OK I've got something going here. I was talking to some old hot rodders and they used to put 62-6? hubs on there tri-5 cars to get tapered bearings. One fella said try some truck hubs from the same years. 6 lug tapered bearings. I went back to the store and looked up bearings. Outer bearing OD is .003 larger no big deal there. Now the inner is another problem it's bigger by a little to much. But I can machine a little adapter to take up the difference and step it up for the seal to ride on. This is that little adapter I spoke of earlier. Located some hubs tonight. Hopefully this weekend I can do some comparing to make sure hubs are compatable. If this works I'll have of the shelf parts!!! Next step will be slip on rotors from late model truck and disc brake. " CAN WE BUILD IT, YES WE CAN. " Builder BOB
     
  14. breezy

    breezy Member

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    Last edited: Dec 4, 2008
  15. vwnate1

    vwnate1 Member

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    Bearing Adapter

    That looks pretty good to me ! .
     
  16. Fla54Chevy3100

    Fla54Chevy3100 Member

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    Hey Breezy,

    Cpp screwed up an order and sent the wrong hub collar which I still have, the ID is 1.275" and the OD is 1.375". The seal surface is OD is 1.980" and the total thickness is 1.383". It looks like the one you have pictured.

    Let me know if that's the correct sizes and I'll figure out some way to get it to you. If you already have one this might save you some machine time, or serve as a pattern if you need to make another one.

    Dave
     
  17. breezy

    breezy Member

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    Dave I got ahold of a tech that will remain nameless and gave me those exact measurements. So you just have 1?? I'm kinda lost when you say you got a wrong adapter. If you had a wrong one why did you not use this one. How much do you want for it?? You can PM to keep it on the hush if you want.All I need now is a hub, to check how it matches up to the 52. Thanks Tom
     
  18. Zig

    Zig Member

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    Dang-burnit, Dave!

    Alright, Dave. I've been thinking of the 6 lug disc conversion for a l-o-n-g time now. I never even considered this would be a problem. (Expensive bearings AND they don't last?):confused:

    The ones our host sells aren't good?

    Reading your post had me clicking on your "photo bucket" journal of your truck rebuild. I must say "THANK YOU" for spending the time to document each picture, and go into the great detail that you did. What a LOT of work! It's your kind of effort that makes this site invaluable! :cool:

    Thanks, Dave!

    Paul
     
  19. Fla54Chevy3100

    Fla54Chevy3100 Member

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    disc conversions

    When you start making modifications to your truck it's a good idea to have a specific, well-thought out plan!!! Like so many others, I elected to make the disc conversion and became aware of the need for expensive tapered bearings that were a "trade secret" so I went with the 5 on 4-3/4" bolt pattern. This way, I can use over-the-counter Chevy rotors, calipers and bearings, and all I had to order was the bracket kit which came with the spindle adaptors. I was planning on using the 62" wide Camaro/Firebird diffs from the late 80's cars which were plentiful and cheap. What I didn't take into consideration was that by doing the disc conversion I was going to wind up springing for 4 new rims.!!!

    I'm happy I went this direction with the 5 on 4-3/4" pattern as I don't have to be concerned about mail ordering bearings from somebody 3-5 days away, and the Camaro diffs are readily available. So I saved some cash on one hand, but had to spring for new rims.

    A person considering a disc conversion, might be wise to check out the source for rims with 3-5/8-4" of backspacing if they were hoping to avoid dropping a bundle on new rims.

    Dave
     
  20. Zig

    Zig Member

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    Dave, where did you get the bracket kit and spindle adapters?

    I was looking at my 6 lug wheels, and they are the 16.5 size. I'm not sure if that is a size that is "normal" anymore. I'll be changing wheels, too, but they probably won't be slick like yours. I'm thinking something that I can paint white and then put a yellow and red stripe on, add hubcap clips, and be "good to go".

    Again, I'd like to thank you for the excellent information you've put into your well documented rebuild! I just need more time to spend going over it!

    Paul
     

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