"Michael D. Porter" wrote:
> "R. Ashford Little II" wrote:
> >
> > How often or at what interval should the wheel bearings be replaced?
> > I've got a TR6.
>
> Depends to a considerable extent on degree and type of maintenance,
> driving conditions and on the type of lubricants used. --
Mike's comments on bearing life agrees completely with my limited knowledge of
the subject. There is one more aspect of bearing life that I learned during the
several years that I worked with engineers who were designing transmissions and
rear axles. That aspect is "preload", something that is very difficult to
achieve
properly on our front spindles, but which is important for all taperd roller
bearings, including our front wheel bearings and such thoings as pinion bearings
and TR6 rear hubs.
Timken has done a huge amount of research in this are and has amassed a mountain
of data, because the relationship between proload of a bearing and its life can
only be determined empirically (that means with a lot of testing), not
theoretically. If you test a whole lot of identical bearings, running them lots
of hours with lots of load, but testing each one with a different axial preload,
you find that when you plot the data you get a curve not unlike a bell curve.
That is, if you consstruct a graph with the preload on the horizontal axis and
the life on the vertical axis, there is a range of preload in the middle that
gives the longest life.
Bottom line of all that jargon is that if the bearing is too tight or too loose,
it will not live as long as it will if it's "just right".
That is why we can get away with loose bearings or tight bearings for awhile,
but
they just won't last as long. That is also the reason for "cruxshable" spacers,
like between pinion bearings or TR6 rear hub bearings -- the crush of the spacer
provides the proper preload.
All normal folks can now wake up again -- we technofreaks are
finished.............
uncle jack
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