Replacing S30 Rear Wheel Bearings

[the_unknown]

I measured the old one and it was out of spec by about 0.02 mm. We also created some distance pieces on the lathe that were within spec. I measured the "new" used ones and they are square and measured in at 52.52mm and 52.50.

 

I swear if this doesn't fix it I'm gonna go 5250... amirite?!?

 

I'll see myself out. 

[Captain Obvious]

Haha!!  Good luck!

So out of curiosity, what year are you working on anyway?

[the_unknown]

She's a 72, # 55375 If I recall correctly. Bought her in the fall of 17 in Californina and drove her sight unseen home across the country to VA

[Captain Obvious]

22 hours ago, the_unknown said:

Bought her in the fall of 17 in Californina and drove her sight unseen home across the country to VA

Oh wow! That's cool. And brave!!

Those sort of journeys are often good stories. Was it an entertaining eventful journey, or was it a smooth sailing boring story?

[the_unknown]

Thanks ?

I had a friend that lived in Mammoth Lakes CA, only a couple hours from it. He's a pretty good mechanic and said it would make the journey with some basic maintenance. We ended up just changing fluids, bleeding brakes, new thermostat, and tried adjusting the clutch to get it to stop slipping at load in 4th and 5th. We decided to try the journey to SLC and if there were any major issues, just get it towed the rest of the way. He followed me to my brothers house in SLC and we had no issues. I rolled the dice and got it home the rest of the way weith the slipping clutch. It should have been scary and I shouldn't have made it in hindsight but it ended up being a boring story. Nothing broke save for a fuse that wasn't making good contact in the fuse block. It has a L28 with twin SUs and a 5 speed, it's seems pretty damn bullet proof!

[the_unknown]

Well we put the new axle and bearing into the hub and everything is great! It was likely a bearing issue at this point, but I haven't had a chance to rule out the stub. There is a tiny gap that you can see light through on the bad stub between the collar of the bearing and the seating surface. I can barely get my thinnest feeler gauge through it which is 0.0016. I think it just never got fully seated. It doesn't explain why it was binding in the same spot when rotated though. I'm gonna pull the bearing off for the 5th time now and really inspect that surface to see if I can figure it out.At least I have an extra set of hubs and bearings just in case now ?

 

Thanks again for all the help and advice!

Edited May 4, 2019 by the_unknown

[Captain Obvious]

I'm glad the story was that boring! Although a harrowing hair raising saga would have been much more entertaining!    

And I'm also glad that you've got a set of hubs put together now that are issue-free. And if you've got a gap between the flange and the outboard bearing, that's definitely a raging clue as to the previous issue.  1.6 thousandths can be a LOT when talking about bearings.

Just for forensic analysis... See if you can determine if that gap is the same all the way around the bearing. If it's the same all the way around, in theory it shouldn't cause what you saw. But if it's .0016 on one side and zero on the other (which is what I suspect), then it's indicative that something is bent or you got some piece of grit or metal shaving trapped under the bearing race. In any event, it's almost definitely related to the problem.

[the_unknown]

This is the gap. It is even on all sides which would make sense. I'd imagine it would be difficult to get it that far onto the seating surface if it was ****-eyed. I'm thinking the distance piece at this point was too long and binding the balls against the outer races. I pulled the bearing off last night and everything seemed ok. Nothing there that it should have bound on. I'm just glad I got to drive it some after it's been sitting on blocks for nearly a month.

 

The only "exciting" part of the story was coming back through Morgantown WV on I68 in the pouring rain and having the clutch slip going up the mountain passes. It got a little nerve wracking but I knew I was almost home and could easily get a tow at that point.

I've still got some work to do to her but the suspension and brakes are basically done now. I still need to powdercoat the mustache bar but the big oven at my local makerspace isn't quite ready yet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 5, 2019 by the_unknown

[Blitzed]

Hi All,

So the only way to remove the rear wheel bearing locknuts is cut off the top pinched section? What a cluster! One time use parts? 

[Patcon]

Yes. The original ones are one use parts. After you do the hubs once, you won't really want to do it again. Besides it's been 45 years on the first ones! The 280zx nut is a self locking nut and could possible be used again. Although a lot of people advise against. So buyer beware!

[240260280]

I first used a dremel tool to cut away the peened/staked part of the nut, but having changed many wheel bearings since, I just get a very small cold chisel and wedge it between the  bolt and the nut to push the deformed part outward. Works great.

Tip... use a grinder to keep the cold chisel tip in good form.

[Dave WM]

I am surprised the peened part even needs to be addressed. With a larger breaker I would have guessed it just pushes out of the way. I assumed it was there to keep the nut from loosening from vibration, not the blunt force of a breaker bar.