Front Wheel Bearings

[David53]

I'm having trouble with front wheel bearings. After chewing through a couple of sets from ESM i tried some high quality sealed bearings but after only 3,000 miles the right hand ones have already started to rumble.

Does anyone have any tips on fitting bearings in the MM style hubs?

Does it matter which way round they are fitted? I thought this only applied to tapered bearings

How tightly do you have to tighten the hub nut? Do you need to leave a little space for expansion under heat?

Any recommendations for good quality bearings which won't wear out?

Many thanks

[Scott]

The bearings have a thrust side. It's critical that they're fitted the right way around otherwise they can separate & you can lose the hub/wheel off the car.
The stamped side needs to go against the spacer.

The nut needs to be tight, wheel nut tight is fine unless you have a torque setting handy. No need for expansion as it's only clamping against the inside bearing races. It has no affect on the rollers themselves.

[David53]

Thank you. But are you sure the MM style hubs use a thrust bearing? The ones I took out are the same on both sides. They don't have a thin outer race one side and a thick one on the other. They are both thick.

[smithskids]

as Scott says, put the writing on the inside. some older type bearings were more open on one side than the other.If the bearing tightens up when you torque the hub nut up the spacer is too small. If the wheel is still slack, the spacer needs a few thous machined off it

[Scott]

Thank you. But are you sure the MM style hubs use a thrust bearing? The ones I took out are the same on both sides. They don't have a thin outer race one side and a thick one on the other. They are both thick.

Yes, all ball type roller wheel bearings are thrust bearings. There will be a slight difference in the races.

Can you see one side of the bearing is stamped?