Quote:
Originally Posted by Brian Carlton
Can you describe the failure mode after 10K? Can you determine if it was related to the outer race in any way? On the side of the road, you might have simply put a preload into the rollers..........a guarantee of an early failure, independent of outer race.
I'd like to see some evidence of whether the "shortcut" has any detrimental long term effects, at the theory promulgates.
|
Yes, you could tell by looking that the race was no longer smooth. It looked to me like the mode of failure was overheating due to grease meltage, which allowed the bearing to go dry. I may have preloaded them, don't know for sure. With limited tools, on the side of the road I'm more interested in quick, than correct.
I agree that if your race shows no signs of wear that it may be ok to re-use it. In my experience replacing both at the same time gets the longest life. My Brother in Law who is a certified mechanic replaced the bearing on the rear axle of my Plymouth Acclaim at 130k miles, and they were still good at 250k when I quit driving it. He was a firm believer in replacing the race at the same time. He maintains Fire Engines for a mjor SW city, so I trust his judgment.
I am not a mechanic and don't pretend to be. I didn't even sleep at a Holliday Inn Express last night.
__________________
1979 240D, 4spd manual, Power Sunroof, manual windows, 147k miles, Pastel gray/Black MB Tex.
1991 300D 2.5 - Smokes like it's on Crack!
