I'm doing some long-overdue front suspension maintenance on my MG, and have broken down the front stub axles(or rather just one of them now-hopefully the other will be faster). I started off just replacing the brake rotor, but project creep and all of that had me figuring I'd best address everything.
In any case, my original Made in England Timken bearings are in good shape(from what I understand/have been told they don't go bad unless abused) and I'd rather reuse them than replace with new of unknown quality and origin. I've cleaned them in kerosene and dried with compressed air. Now that I'm done cleaning/derusting/painting etc every part of the stub axle and front suspension I can access easily, I'm ready to put it all back together.
I know bearings can be hand-packed, and Timken even has how-to documentation on doing it. My biggest fear in doing that, though, is missing a spot and causing issues down the road.
I've seen a variety of hand tools intended to pack bearing races. Part of me never wants to turn down a chance to buy a new tool, but realistically this is going to be a $30 tool that I use once every few years if even that often. Still, though, if I end up doing a better job packing them using a tool than by hand I'd buy it.
Does anyone have any opinions on the merits of doing it one way vs. the other?
In any case, my original Made in England Timken bearings are in good shape(from what I understand/have been told they don't go bad unless abused) and I'd rather reuse them than replace with new of unknown quality and origin. I've cleaned them in kerosene and dried with compressed air. Now that I'm done cleaning/derusting/painting etc every part of the stub axle and front suspension I can access easily, I'm ready to put it all back together.
I know bearings can be hand-packed, and Timken even has how-to documentation on doing it. My biggest fear in doing that, though, is missing a spot and causing issues down the road.
I've seen a variety of hand tools intended to pack bearing races. Part of me never wants to turn down a chance to buy a new tool, but realistically this is going to be a $30 tool that I use once every few years if even that often. Still, though, if I end up doing a better job packing them using a tool than by hand I'd buy it.
Does anyone have any opinions on the merits of doing it one way vs. the other?
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