reuse bearings on a new rotor/hub

[Donald]

The new front rotor/hub for my pickup did not come with any new bearings as I would have liked(expected). So can I just clean and regrease the old bearings?

The new hub has new races in it.

The manual says bearing and race are machined sets? Not to use an old bearing with new race. But that would mean to have the current new races removed, buy new bearings with a race and press in the new race.

Related question, do you need to put any grease on the ABS ring attached to the hub/rotor?

 

[Quest]

since re & re is what takes up the most time (translated to cost if you to have mech works for you), in your best interest you may might as well get a new set of high quality replacement bearing and start your hub from mile 0 again.

bearing and bearing race are a full set. Do not reuse old race on new bearings for it will 100% fail (no exception).

RE: ABS rings. Are you referring to your ABS toothed ring (reluctor ring) typically attached to the innermost part of the hub? If so, look around and see if it's a press-fit (then you need a press to get it out and press it onto your new hub) type or does it comes already pressed onto hubs (most imported hubs specified for ABS type already has that ring preseed onto the hub as a whole selling unit).

If pressing needs to be done, you can always sparingly lubricate the mating surface with wheel bearing grease and then press it. wipe clean the excess grease afterwards.

Q.

 

[Donald]

Originally Posted By: Quest
since re & re is what takes up the most time (translated to cost if you to have mech works for you), in your best interest you may might as well get a new set of high quality replacement bearing and start your hub from mile 0 again.

bearing and bearing race are a full set. Do not reuse old race on new bearings for it will 100% fail (no exception).

RE: ABS rings. Are you referring to your ABS toothed ring (reluctor ring) typically attached to the innermost part of the hub? If so, look around and see if it's a press-fit (then you need a press to get it out and press it onto your new hub) type or does it comes already pressed onto hubs (most imported hubs specified for ABS type already has that ring preseed onto the hub as a whole selling unit).

If pressing needs to be done, you can always sparingly lubricate the mating surface with wheel bearing grease and then press it. wipe clean the excess grease afterwards.

Q.


I would be reusing the old bearings in a new race.

The ABS toothed ring was on the new hub. Just asking if I need to put some grease on the teeth?

 

[Donald]

A related question, are the bearing and race machined as a pair? So if I went to buy a new bearing only from NAPA to use with the race that came with the rotor/hub would that be proper?

 

[440Magnum]

If the old bearing inner race or rollers don't show any pitting or other visible wear, it should be OK. I did it that way several times back in "the old days."

For what its worth, I would *never* toss a good wheel bearing. Aftermarket replacement quality has gone to heck in a handbasket over the last 10 years, so many of them are made offshore instead of in the US or Mexico anymore. I miss the days when I could bypass a 'made in Mexico' bearing most of the time :-/

 

[fdcg27]

^^This!
My preference would be to slam new wheel bearings in there while it's apart.
The problem is that good quality new wheel bearings are hard to find and even some name-brand boxes contain junk that will not last.
Maybe the OP should just grit his teeth and pay the premium for new OEM bearings in a Mopar box?

 

[Chris142]

There's plenty of trucks running around with old bearings on new races. It may fail eventully but not anytime soon. As for matched sets I don't think so. When I put bearings and races in my ford I had to buy them seperate. And the races were a different manufacturer than the bearings. Been ok for 16k so far.

 

[doitmyself]

For what it's worth, when I investigated this a few years ago for my son's Ranger, I "was told" it's o.k. to put old bearings in new races (hub), but not new bearings in old races per Quest's advice above.

I remember calling around to all the parts stores to find out what kind of bearings they sold and COO. Just a few years ago, I believe that AZ was selling Timkens! Ours were still U.S. made. If you have an industrial supply house in your area, they can be substantially cheaper for bearings.

I can't believe that the matched set thing is true, otherwise they wouldn't sell rotors with races already installed.

 

[Kestas]

It's okay to replace just one race in a taper bearing. You should be okay to use your old cone sets with the new cups.

Bearings are not machined as matched sets when new. The only exception is automotive hub units where the ball sizes are tweaked to match production variances of the races.

 

[Cardenio327]

I would go ahead and drive out the races that came with the new hubs and toss them. They are just there for customers of shops that are suspicious they are getting upsold on new bearings with their new rotors and insist on the old bearings being reused. I suspect the rotor manufacturers know this and put in garbage races, knowing they will just be driven out and discarded anyway.

If you are going to use your old bearing, go ahead and drive out the old race and install it in the new hub.

If you are going to use a new bearing, buy a new race as well [or a SET] and install it.

 

[FZ1]

Always,new bearings,races,etc. You don't want have to do that again.

 

[yonyon]

Keep the ABS tone ring dry. If you get any grease on it, wipe that off. You do not want it to collect metallic particles.

 

[TomYoung]

Originally Posted By: 440Magnum
If the old bearing inner race or rollers don't show any pitting or other visible wear, it should be OK. I did it that way several times back in "the old days."

For what its worth, I would *never* toss a good wheel bearing. Aftermarket replacement quality has gone to heck in a handbasket over the last 10 years, so many of them are made offshore instead of in the US or Mexico anymore. I miss the days when I could bypass a 'made in Mexico' bearing most of the time :-/

i am no fan of the spotty quality of aftermarket parts. That said, there remain plenty of high quality parts on the market but maybe not at autozone. Never tossing a good wheel bearing is not a good standard. This is a wear item, and you have already done the disassembly. Even though I acknowledge that in this application these parts cost money, cough it up and be done with it.

 

[Lyman]

Don't reuse old bearings on new races. They will fail, Just a matter of when. Go buy a new bearing and race SET. Yeah it's a little more work but it's the right way to do the job.

 

[andyd]

Meh, I mixed and matched all the time on the Grand Wags. Never had a bit of trouble. Cleaned them up bright and shiny, then hand packed them with axle grease. The BMWs have one time use hubs. I have yet to change one. I am not looking forward to working on the Rube Goldberg front axles in the Rat. Its day will come, I'm sure. Real 4 WDs have solid axles.

 

[airbatica]

Let me tell you about my experience with new hubs with races already pressed in. Ditch the pressed in races, and the old bearing and use a new, matched set. I learned the hard way and didn't. Six months later, I was redoing it with a new matched set because the bearing failed. Thankfully not catastrophically.

 

[440Magnum]

Originally Posted By: TomYoung
Originally Posted By: 440Magnum
If the old bearing inner race or rollers don't show any pitting or other visible wear, it should be OK. I did it that way several times back in "the old days."

For what its worth, I would *never* toss a good wheel bearing. Aftermarket replacement quality has gone to heck in a handbasket over the last 10 years, so many of them are made offshore instead of in the US or Mexico anymore. I miss the days when I could bypass a 'made in Mexico' bearing most of the time :-/

i am no fan of the spotty quality of aftermarket parts. That said, there remain plenty of high quality parts on the market but maybe not at autozone. Never tossing a good wheel bearing is not a good standard. This is a wear item, and you have already done the disassembly. Even though I acknowledge that in this application these parts cost money, cough it up and be done with it.


I don't consider a greasable wheel bearing to be a "wear item." Its a service item that should be maintained properly, but if that's done the bearing itself may well last the life of the car. Brake pads, disk rotors, shock absorbers, and sealed FWD-type wheel bearings/hubs are wear items, not old-syle tapered roller re-greasable bearings.

IMO, the biggest single reason those types of bearings fail (even more common than shoddy offshore parts) is improper installation. My advice to anyone re-greasing wheel bearings is to follow the book tightening procedure TO THE LETTER, and resist the urge to leave the nut too tight! When it says "back off xx of a turn, it MEANS back it off, even if instinct says its too loose. You're setting a clearance, not torquing a fastener.

 

[bdcardinal]

Originally Posted By: Blkstanger
Don't reuse old bearings on new races. They will fail, Just a matter of when. Go buy a new bearing and race SET. Yeah it's a little more work but it's the right way to do the job.


FWIW Ford sells the races and bearings separately on the taper roller style. So they are not a matched set from the manufacturer. There are a couple applications where they are, but that is usually on certain pinion bearings on 8.8 models, especially newer Mustangs.

 

[Kestas]

Originally Posted By: airbatica
Let me tell you about my experience with new hubs with races already pressed in. Ditch the pressed in races, and the old bearing and use a new, matched set. I learned the hard way and didn't. Six months later, I was redoing it with a new matched set because the bearing failed. Thankfully not catastrophically.

How do you know the races are a matched set?

The number one reason for bearing failures of this type is because of poor installation practices.

 

[Lyman]

Originally Posted By: bdcardinal
Originally Posted By: Blkstanger
Don't reuse old bearings on new races. They will fail, Just a matter of when. Go buy a new bearing and race SET. Yeah it's a little more work but it's the right way to do the job.


FWIW Ford sells the races and bearings separately on the taper roller style. So they are not a matched set from the manufacturer. There are a couple applications where they are, but that is usually on certain pinion bearings on 8.8 models, especially newer Mustangs.
The problem is not all people will get the parts at a dealer. So cheap chinese parts mixed with OEM don't mix well.