GoBigEmma Pan-American Roadtrip log

[bertie-bus]

[cdennisg]

[GoBigEmma]

Hey guys, time for an update. We're cozily holed up for the weekend, thanks to the awesome TheBusAndUs (just drove from Alaska to Argentina in a Bay and are back now, you might have heard of them Oh wait, I already mentioned them before. Nevermind.)

Yesterday we had a very sorry and unsuccessful attempt on the bearings in a trailhead parking lot in the rain, got as far as CV joints off, one fell apart and as this was the first time I had seen one from the inside, we spend the rest of the day getting it back together (needless to say, I felt pretty stupid. Well, now I know how they work and can repack them good and nicely later this weekend).

Got much further today, currently trying to get the old bearings out. They resist quite a bit, but I'm sure they'll give up eventually. We also have a little bit of an issue with the circlip (the inner one, don't have an outer one), it's stuck on one side between the inner bearing and the housing. I can squeeze it together fine, but it won't come out. I'm sure we'll get it out eventually, but it looks like it shouldn't be that way. Does that just happen sometimes?

Hope to get it done tomorrow, will let you know!
Sven
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1975 Bus "Big Emma", 1.8 FI, Hydraulic lifters
Interrupting our Pan-American Roadtrip for post-flood repairs: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=657738
Follow the trip on our blog: http://www.gobigemma.com

[Abscate]

Sven..it's possible to get the CVs back together but not right. There is a correct orientation of the inner and outer races. It's easy to test, the joint will move easily over all angles of to tilt when correct( not too much or your balls fall off)



If it's wrong they lock up.

That bearing clip and parts will yield yo up your efforts tomorrow
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.ssS!

[williamM]

Big tapered C-clips can be a bitch- but it is broke loose, so produce a gap and put a flat screwdriver in it and work it round the ring in a circular motion till its free.- sometimes a good smack on the bearing -back into the hub will release it.
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some days I get up and just sit and think. Some days I just sit.

opinion untempered by fact is ignorance.

Don't step in any!

[GoBigEmma]

[GoBigEmma]

Okay, we've found the (likely) culprit of our noise, the outer bearing's races look pretty beat-up.

Here's another quick in-progress question over lunch: The housing has some grooves where the inner bearing sits in (see pic). Additionally, the stub axle has a tiny groove where the inner bearing sits on it as well (see other pic). The bearing itself seemed fine (but is getting replaced now, as we have a new one), but these grooves make me wonder. Are these grooves something I should be worried about when I reuse the axle and put everything with the new bearing back into the housing? Or is there something I can do to further protect them?

Inside of bearing housing

Stub axle

Thanks as always!
Sven
_________________
1975 Bus "Big Emma", 1.8 FI, Hydraulic lifters
Interrupting our Pan-American Roadtrip for post-flood repairs: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=657738
Follow the trip on our blog: http://www.gobigemma.com

[busdaddy]

The stub axle doesn't look horrible, but that housing has some real issues, if it's loose enough to cause spalling like that it's really worn and can't be trusted as is. If you can't find a replacement as well as a qualified shop to do a rear wheel alignment after installation you need to explore some of the repair chemicals available for heavy equipment with similar damage. Locktite has a range of specialized products for glueing a bearing back into an oversized bore for example, there must be a mining or earth mover supply store close to you with a solution.
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Rust NEVER sleeps and stock never goes out of style.

Please don't PM technical questions, ask your problem in public so everyone can play along. If you think it's too stupid post it here
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[Abscate]

Looks like the bearing has been spinning in the hub? Bad. A new bearing needs to be locked in tight. I guess if you don't mind risking the price of a bearing you could JB weld it in and monitor it.

Have someone here fab a good spindle and bearing as a backup and get ready to send it out if that's in your budget
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.ssS!

[Brian]

[busdaddy]

[Brian]

[Amskeptic]

Sven and Emma,

That does not look to me like operational damage in the wheel bearing housing. It looks like someone was hitting the housing with a drift punch at an angle going around and around.

You will know if the bearing risks rotation in the housing when you seat it during installation. It will resist your tapping it in until the last 5mm or so, then it suddenly loosens and seats against the shoulder of the wheel bearing housing. IF it is loose in that final moment, you need to decide if you want to:

a) make it stationary by tapping it back out 10mm or so, then applying stud and bearing mount (LocTite red) to very clean housing surface where the bearing seats, then tap in bearing to final location.

b) allow that the bearing may rotate in the housing and just make sure that the bearing and the housing are well-greased.


I just did rear wheel bearings last week in Portland OR and CVs the day before yesterday in Eureka CA. We're representin' . . .
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www.itinerant-air-cooled.com

[GoBigEmma]

[williamM]

All thread. big washers and the socket- your off to the races.- bearing that is.
_________________
some days I get up and just sit and think. Some days I just sit.

opinion untempered by fact is ignorance.

Don't step in any!

[Abscate]

There's a good reason william is repeating this post.


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.ssS!

[sodbuster]

[cdennisg]

^^^ I have used that on a loose crank pulley sand seal. Good stuff!
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nothing

[Abscate]

Number 640 official listing

Extemded Mount Mollifier Adhesive
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.ssS!

[GoBigEmma]

Hey guys,

whohoo, we are reporting from the road again! We had a few frustrating hours yesterday morning when trying to get that outer seal in. We rented a bearing drive set from O'Reilly, built a makeshift press, but it was too fiddely, tilted a lot a wanted to drive the bearing in crooked. We thought there might be a tiny lip in the housing that the bearing wouldn't want to go over, so we filed a little bit on the edge (just on the very edge, not where the bearing actually sits), then we found a torch, heated the housing, but nothing worked. Emma happened to be on the phone with Robbie (asiab3 around here), Dillon and I tried to get the bearing in another time, the heat maybe had widened the housing finally, and then Dillon just punched it a little harder and in it went, straight, no problems, like there had never been a problem. I don't know which of these things it actually was, but the combined bus power somehow made that bearing comply.
Anyway, after that it was all pretty straight reassembly and later in the afternoon we rolled out of the driveway. Driving it so far feel great, no whoo-ing, no howling. We are happy to be back on the road. After all the mechanical stuff, expect some travel pics again in the coming posts!
Thanks everybody for your help and patience with us!

Sven
_________________
1975 Bus "Big Emma", 1.8 FI, Hydraulic lifters
Interrupting our Pan-American Roadtrip for post-flood repairs: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=657738
Follow the trip on our blog: http://www.gobigemma.com