Rear wheel bearing mystery

I repacked the CV joints and replace the rear wheel bearings on my '73 Superbeetle.

The problem is that when I have the bearings and spacers all in place on the starboard side, the last spacer doesn't project out far enough to ride on the seal. If I install the drum, the outer seal will ride on the rough surface of the drum casting, instead of the smooth surface of the spacer, and that's no good. The port side has the same problem, but not quite so bad. The seal just contacts the spacer.

The spacer look good, no wear or rust. I got another outer spacer from my local VW parts man, and it looks just the same.

What do I do now?

Mike. Portland, OR. '73 Super.

Reply to
Michael.A.Rees
Loading thread data ...

Article on assembling on my web site here:

formatting link
I bet you already know what you're doing...)and a link to the assembly pic. You have a straight roller bearing on the outside, right? And a ball bearing on the inside, right?

And the inner Circlip is holding the ball bearing in place so it can't shift in or out?

How about comparing the width of the old bearings to the new ones?

I can't think of any way the axle can be assembled incorrectly to do what you have.

Speedy Jim

formatting link

Reply to
Speedy Jim

Port? starboard?

is it an ACVW or a ship?

Reply to
Karls Vladimir Peña

I *have* seen Herbie float...

Reply to
Michael Cecil

"The problem is that when I have the bearings and spacers all in place on the starboard side, the last spacer doesn't project out far enough to ride on the seal. If I install the drum, the outer seal will ride on the rough surface of the drum casting, instead of the smooth surface of the spacer, and that's no good."

The only way I can see this happening is if the inboard ball bearing is not fully seated in the bore, which would effectively 'shfit' everything inward and prevent the outer spacer from riding in the seal. The inner ball bearing is retained by a big snap ring that has to be installed before you install the inner seal. I would ensure that the snap ring is seated in it's groove correctly. After that you have the rather wide inner spacer, then the inner race for the outer bearing, and finally the outer spacer that rides within the outer grease seal.

The only other possibility(and I'm not even sure it can happen) is that you left the inner race out of the outer roller bearing. I've never tested the fit of the outer spacer to see if it would fit inside the rollers of the outer bearing, but if it does fit that could also be your problem. The outer bearing is a two-piece affair so you can slip the inner spacer in place first, then install the race in the outer bearing, and then install the final spacer that rides in the grease seal.

Let us know what you find out.

Chris

Reply to
Hal

Thanks, RAMVA guys, for your replies.

I have messed with this some more, and here is what I find.

The bearings are undamaged. The axle nut seemed to be fully torqued when I took it off. None of the parts seem to have a huge amount of wear. All the spacers and bearing parts are there. The circlip was in place.

The outboard spacer bears on the inner surface of the grease seal about

2 or 3 mm from the outboard end of the spacer. I can see this from the mark on the spacer and from measuring all the parts. It seems to me that the spacer should project out farther and get the brake drum casting farther from the seal.

The seal kit I bought has two paper gaskets, one for each side of the brake plate. There were no paper gaskets found in there when I took it apart. If I put it together with the gaskets, it will move the seal another 0.4mm outboard. How important are these gaskets? If I used them, I'm sure I will end up with the brake drum casting rubbing on the seal.

If anybody wants to compare my parts to yours parts, these are the measurements, taken with a cheap vernier caliper:

inner bearing 16.0mm spacer sleeve 57.0mm outer bearing 16.0mm outer spacer 12.0mm

total 101.0mm

measurement from outboard side of circlip to seal bearing surface: 98 mm +/- .3 (Parts assembled on workbench without paper gaskets on brake plate.)

The innermost part of the seal is what I'm measuring to. It contacts with spacer with a pretty sharp edge.

With the bearing cap, seal installed, placed flat on the workbench with the inboard side down, it measures 19.5mm from the workbench to the bearing surface of the seal.

The outboard spacer I got from my VW parts guy was used (can you even get them new?), and it had a mark where the seal rode on it about 6 mm from the outboard end, which seems more reasonable to me.

Is there something defective here? What should I do? Mill down the bearing cap? Put in an extra little spacer? Buy new or newer spacers? Put it back together and forget about it?

Mike. Portland, Oregon. '73 Super.

Reply to
Michael.A.Rees

I like the idea of the extra little spacer.

You can leave the paper gaskets out on IRS; the grease has a tough time getting out. Or...just smear a thin film of sealant on the surfaces.

Speedy Jim

formatting link

Reply to
Speedy Jim

hmmm I will ask did you look at both sides to compare? When I converted my 66 Type 1 to 4 bolt drums I had a machine shop machine down the rear drums. They made a mistake and machined down the INSIDE area of the drum. OUCH. They proceeded to machine the outside area and then made me some spacers to replace the area they machined off the inside. Worked well so you could actually make some metal spacers if you can't find something that will provide you with the clearance needed.

JMHO later, dave (One out of many daves)

Reply to
One out of many daves

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.