Why do I keep cycling though wheel bearings on my RR?
09-13-2005, 07:28 PM
#3
Judging from what I have been reading on these forums...
I would guess that the bearing housing is not properly sized in relationship to the shaft and bearing.
My company uses a lot of very expensive, high-speed, electric motors. We used to due all of our own bearing work until I was forced to find a solution to what seemed to be nothing but problems (premature bearing failure).
I started to use a small electric motor shop run by an ex-military guy. He came off as very knowledgeable regarding my situation. I gave him a few projects and have used them exclusively for the past 6 years. What's the magic? Sizing the bearing properly for both the application type and fit. You can't just buy a bearing by part number and just "press it in". Everything is made to a tolerance: the bearing, the shaft that goes through it, and the housing it's pressed into. If any of these are off a little, the bearing goes bad. It can either spin in the housing because it's too loose, or run tight because the press fit is too much. Thousandths of an inch matter a LOT. Mostly the press fit is too tight and squeezes the bearing too much. This creates heat and premature bearing failure. My motor shop will even order several of the same bearing part (about 4) and proceed to check all dimesions of the application and use the bearing that best fits the desired tolerances.
I say this because I've learned my lesson and it works. We have a very high success rate, which has saved my company a boat load of money.
Just a thought.
My company uses a lot of very expensive, high-speed, electric motors. We used to due all of our own bearing work until I was forced to find a solution to what seemed to be nothing but problems (premature bearing failure).
I started to use a small electric motor shop run by an ex-military guy. He came off as very knowledgeable regarding my situation. I gave him a few projects and have used them exclusively for the past 6 years. What's the magic? Sizing the bearing properly for both the application type and fit. You can't just buy a bearing by part number and just "press it in". Everything is made to a tolerance: the bearing, the shaft that goes through it, and the housing it's pressed into. If any of these are off a little, the bearing goes bad. It can either spin in the housing because it's too loose, or run tight because the press fit is too much. Thousandths of an inch matter a LOT. Mostly the press fit is too tight and squeezes the bearing too much. This creates heat and premature bearing failure. My motor shop will even order several of the same bearing part (about 4) and proceed to check all dimesions of the application and use the bearing that best fits the desired tolerances.
I say this because I've learned my lesson and it works. We have a very high success rate, which has saved my company a boat load of money.
Just a thought.
09-14-2005, 02:55 AM
#7
The point was to match the tolerances between the housing, shaft, and bearing. I never said I had
any talent. The best bearing is the one that best fits your car. Maybe the housing would need to be opened up because it was manufactured on the small side and none of the bearings would work. Cherry picking just the bearing won't do it. How would I know which one? But hey, I'm a nice guy. You send a sh*t load of bearings my way, and I'll pick the best ones and send them back to you...trust me
