Hello, I have a few questions I was hoping to find help with. I have a 54 3/4 ton truck that I have had for about 12 years, it is in good shape, have kept it inside or covered most of this time. It is still all original for the most part, stock everything. Just recently I have found the time and $ to start a little work on it. Rebuilt the carb and got it running again after 6-7 years. I need to re-do the brakes and would like to keep them as close to original as I can. These forums have been great help and very informative. I was thinking of redoing the master cylinder& wheel cylinders, new brake springs , hoses and lines, they are original now, they just are in bad shape. Front spindles are good but thought I would replace wheel bearings while i'm doing things, are the ball bearings type ok or can I find or need roller bearings? Any advice or knowledge will be appreciated, thanks, steve54pu
It sounds like the ball bearings will be fine for your application. The way I understand it, the only reason you need roller bearings is for things like high(er) speed cornering, etc. Ball bearings don't take the side load like roller bearings do, thus they will wear out and fail quicker. But, in a truck that will remain pretty much stock, ball bearings will work just fine.
Hi Steve ; You're right on track , brakes and tires (12 year old tires are dead no matter how nice they look), I don't see why you'd need spindles ? . Lots of greasing and fluid changes , flush cooling system etc. Ball bearings are fine as far as loading and driving fast etc. , you just need to service them every 12,00 miles or annually regardless of milage ~ I challenge anyone to keep up with my old '49 work truck , as long as you're running a 6 banger you'll only see my taillights vanishing = of course I run the stock ball bearings and they may well be original too , certainly I've never changed then out , just clean and re-pack . -Nate
Stebve54pu, I'll add an "I agree" post. Unless you're doing a lot of fast cornering, the ball bearings should be good enough. The spindles should still be in good shape as well. I just did this job on my 54 1/2 ton and it was pretty messy, but very straightforward. good luck! volcan96
if you use ball bearings you won't be able to do any stunts like you see in the movies where somebody hits a ramp with one side of the car and then drives on two wheels for a little while. Are you really prepared to give that up?
RE: Ball Bearing MYTH [updated:LAST EDITED ON Jul-30-05 AT 08:02 AM (CST)] And why not pray tell ? I don't understand where this urban myth came from . -Nate
