I found the two posts by Bob Adler (that guy wrote over 950 posts to Ole
Trucks!) that you're thinking of:
I would stay away from tapered rollers on pre 1960 trucks. You lose the
self
aligning feature of ball bearings.
Bob ADler
and:
Bob, Can you elaborate on the self aligning feature? >>
When trucks were built with ball bearings, the hubs were machined to
less
exacting tolerances than hubs built for tapered roller bearings. Balls
will
accept misalignment much easier than rollers. So they emphasize this as
a
self aligning feature. During AD years all front wheels got balls
except 2
ton. I think they were sized adequately. I also believe the problem
came
from the chinese made bearings that were circulating in parts supplies.
Do
not accept bearings made in far east. they are inferior quality. Stick
to
name brand bearings. This goes for tapered rollers also. Using modern
wheel
bearing grease should keep balls alive and happy for many years of hard
use.
Remember to torque to 33 ft lbs, then back off at least 1/12 turn, not
more
than 1/6 turn, according to shop manual. I just took pictures of this
for
'This Old Truck" future article. Title will be something like
"Maintenance
from Hell". Balls want some preload, but rollers do not.
Bob ADler
...me again. I think good quality ball bearings are very strong; I do
notice that all the disk brake conversion kits recommend doing the
roller bearing conversion, though. Why? And are bearings for the
upgrade kits available at NAPA for less than the hundred bucks a side
that ball bearings cost? Good quality ones, that is, no plastic cage
garbage.
I'm hoping mine just keep working fine and I don't have to worry about
it very much, though the disk brake conversion sounds nice.
Ed Miller
'58 Apache Short Fleetside
Allen wrote:
I'm curious as to why you say the tapered bearings will provide better
lateral support/stability. I remember an email a few years back from
Bob
Adler saying the ball bearings were better if the front axle was stock,
but
can't remember why -- perhaps I am remembering wrong. Is yours? I used
the
stock ball bearings in my '50 and have been very happy with their
performance and I cruise on the hwy up to 80 mph (thanks to Patrick's
3.55
ratio). The truck is very solid cornering. I can maybe see where
tapered
bearings might be a good idea for disk brakes, but don't have any hard
evidence to back that up.
Keep looking around for your part numbers. I've seen them published
here
and there -- in fact, you might check the archives as this subject has
arisen a couple of times before.
Allen in Seattle
oletrucks is devoted to Chevy and GM trucks built between 1941 and 1959
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