# Wheel Bearings



## film495 (Nov 1, 2013)

Ariens S-12

I noticed today one of my front wheels had about a good 1/4" inch play in it if you put a jack under the tractor and then pull the wheel in and out. I had planned to grease the wheel bearings soon, but have never done that job before. 

My questions are, should I just find and put all new bearings in there if I'm going to go through the trouble to get the dust caps off etc? I think there is a seal on the inside bearing, should these get replaced when the wheel comes off one way or another? or is that likely to be good?

Most of these jobs I've never done before. It is sort of a hassle, but also rewarding when it works.


----------



## Mickey (Aug 14, 2010)

Personally, I don't like throwing money at a problem before I know what the problem actually is.

Your bearings may be OK but I would definitely be looking at why the end play you are seeing. Are you sure you have to partially disassemble to grease the bearings? No grease zerk to aid in the job?


----------



## film495 (Nov 1, 2013)

yea, no zerk. the same model a couple years later they added a zerk for those front bearings, but on this one, you have to pull the dust cap and take the wheel off to grease the bearings. sadly, it looks to me like that dust cap hasn't been taken off in 40 years, so it will be an adventure to get off I'm sure.


----------



## film495 (Nov 1, 2013)

Well, put this of for 2 years, and never did it - started to hear a metal grinding sound coming from one of the front wheels, so I pulled the wheel off and the inner bearing had started to eat itself; there was no seal, and also no grease. now to figure out what parts I need - and how to put it together correctly.

63 bearing cup 054070 / 2 for each wheel

28 seal 056074 / 1 each wheel
29 bearing 054069 / 2 each wheel
34 washer 064029 / 1 for each wheel
35 nut slotter 065102, hex - 1"
60 codder pin
36 cap, 031087

The only pieces I think are workable are the washer and the slotted nut, what they are calling a bearing cup in the manual I believe is sort of melded into the wheel and I don't see the point in trying to remove it. searching the internet to match the old part numbers is an adventure as always.


----------



## film495 (Nov 1, 2013)

http://www.pacifictrailers.com/Trailer-Bearing-Kit-1-Spindle-L44643/L44643-Bearings-12192/

Well, I found this - wonder if it would work well.

fyi - I've never done a job like this in my life, so I have no background to know how to do this other than mucking around with stuff and figuring it out. any tips are appreciated, I'm not even sure how tight to make the nut when I put it back together.

this is the orginal part # for the bearing, which looks different. hmmm
http://www.partstree.com/parts/gravely/parts/05406900/


----------



## film495 (Nov 1, 2013)

http://www.repairclinic.com/PartDetail/Bearing/05406900/1764021
this is the bearing I took out of it, although the one I had says r at the end


----------



## gman51 (Mar 22, 2016)

Anytime you have in and out bearing play or hearing grinding noise you are asking for bigger expense{ never mind personal injury}. If the play can't be adjusted out by tightening the nut then replace the bearing and race immediately.
Whenever a bearing is bad and has to be replaced then the cup/bearing race must also be replaced. If you don't replace the race then it will or can destroy the new bearing. The cup or race does fit very tight into the wheel hub. You will have to pound it out and pound a new one back in. You must be sure you have seated the race till it stops against the inner hub surface.
Be sure and grease the new bearing very well and get the locking nut adjusted correctly. To tight it will ruin the bearing. To loose is just as bad. Tighten the nut down with little pressure and turn the wheel to seat the bearing into the race. Then back off the nut maybe a 1/4 turn and insert the cotter pin. You might check on how much to back off the locking nut. You should have free wheel movement but no side play when adjusted correctly.
Bearings and matching races are often bought in a single box. If you install the wrong race for a bearing then you will most likely have a quick failure if you can even get the wheel back on.
You can possibly drill a hole into the hub and install a grease zerk. Some say don't do this because it can cause overheating if over greased. Personally I think it is okay to do it.
Usually a cone{bearing} has a higher number than the cup{race}. IE: bearing 594--cup/race 592. Make absolutely sure you have the correct bearing and race because you can destroy the spindle or hub or both if wrong bearing/race is used.
The inner wheel bearing is usually larger than the outer wheel bearing. You should replace the seal and they are usually dirt cheap anyway.


----------



## film495 (Nov 1, 2013)

Thanks gman51 for the input. Think I'm going to order this kit

http://www.southwestwheel.com/store...ductID=184&SEName=bearing-kit-for-bt8-spindle

has all the parts I should need to do both wheels and have a few extra parts. The two things I'm unsure of to do this job are 1. The spindle seems to have some scoring on the inner side, not sure how to smooth that out, I could use a metal file? 2. a littlle worried about damaging the wheel trying to knock the races out, but figure they should come out, also not sure how to get the new ones in - do I need a special tool or press?


----------



## film495 (Nov 1, 2013)

I was able to pop the races out - interesting to do. not that I know how to get the new ones in when I get them. One thing I noticed was the spindles do not have a flat end any longer, well the inside end that has a lip of approx 1/8" - it has become beveled to about 45 degrees over the years. each side has this to a lesser degree. one side has a very heavy washer that has the exact same bevel, apparently it was turning together an making a matching surface. the other side was put together the same way, but the washer was a softer metal and took most of the beating. question is, will the inner side of the bearing now not fit correctly against the inner stop of the spindle? I could put a the washer back to make a more stable surface to push against. Maybe there is a fix for this and I just don't know what it is?


----------



## gman51 (Mar 22, 2016)

Take a good pic of the spindle so we can see what you have for damage if any to the spindle bearing surface area.
Check this video out...it shows how to do most of it. Only thing I would add is after knocking the race in using the old race I would then use the punch bar and tap along the race edge to make sure the bottom of race has bottomed out inside the hub.
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wL9hm3Mx5hg[/ame]


----------



## TraderMark (Nov 15, 2011)

You can also put the races in a freezer overnight if you have one close to the tractor.
Freezing the races will make them contract, usually enough that they will slip right in with just pressure from your hand if you get them from the freezer to the housing quickly enough.


----------



## film495 (Nov 1, 2013)

this is the spindle and the washer that was on the inside of the wheel. there was no grease seal. There was supposed to be, but alas. The edge used to be flat and you can see how the washer is worn to a beveled edge and the lip on the spindle matches that perfectly.


----------



## gman51 (Mar 22, 2016)

I brightened up the spindle photo and I doubt your new seal will have a surface to seal to. Also the spindle looks pitted and worn pretty bad. When you get your bearing and seal check to see if the bearings fit the spindle without any play and if the seal has a surface to fit snug over.
It appears someone had no idea what they were doing since they put the washers on the inner part of the spindle. Mistakes do happen though. I am surprised the hub was even able to be installed and the lock nut put on. I am even more surprised the spindle wasn't totally trashed out because of that. Well actually it does appear needing to be replaced.
Also when you get the new cup/race check to see they have to be forced into the hub. If they fit loosely into the hub then the hub is bad also because the race will/can spin in the hub.
You might check price and availability for a used or new spindle. The good thing about tractors is they don't travel at high speed so a wheel falling off isn't as dangerous "usually" as say on a car. At least you are making a good effort not to bubba the repair. Kudos to you for that.


----------



## film495 (Nov 1, 2013)

I'll get the bearing kits and see what happens. It can't be worse than what I took off of there anyway .. ha


----------



## film495 (Nov 1, 2013)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ariens-GT-1...c9c94e9a5:g:yBMAAOSwyQtVgw3i&autorefresh=true

I'm pretty sure these would fit my tractor. Thinking about it.

Never did that job before either. Look like you would have to just pop a roll pin out and disconnect the steering, not in that particular order.


----------



## film495 (Nov 1, 2013)

I did get the kit and put it all together. One of the hubs I thought I would never get the new races into, but I mucked with it for a while and eventually go them in. It did seem like the grease seal fit solid, so I guess I'm good. I get to mow tomorrow.

The one hub must have been warped or bent a little bit. One of the races did not pop out, it actually shattered after pounding it forever and fell out of the hub in pieces. I had to work the new races for this hub pretty hard to get the to go in, but they're in.

The videos and tips were very helpful - thanks much


----------



## film495 (Nov 1, 2013)

well, it's been working ... that one wheel makes me wonder, but for the light use I put on this machine, might last for 10 years the way I did it .. think the oil seal still fit pretty decent.


----------

