Re: 1951 wheel bearing

Posted by DavidPackard On 2022/9/19 21:30:35

“Wheel off the ground” also means more tire to wheel well clearance, so you might remove the wheel and look for witness marks. The last forum member that had a one per rev noise in a rear wheel it ended-up a brake drum with a bend (repairable) in the diaphragm, so with the wheel off look for a ‘true-running’ drum. Actually, before you remove the wheel let’s go with your first instinct and grab onto the tire and try to feel any ‘slop’ in the bearing.

To answer your first question changing an outboard rear axle bearing is quite doable, but sometimes getting the hub to release from the axle can be challenging. R&R of the bearing itself requires a shop press. I believe the axle bearings are different junior to senior, and also believe both are available from Timken. Even a simple brake inspection requires the hub/drum to be removed. I suggest you use the ‘Advanced Search’ feature to read a few threads on the subject. If you find a failed bearing and replace it, you will become a student in the subject of ensuring the correct bearing clearance has been achieved. This site has a lot of documentation on the subject, and the job itself is quite straight forward.

dp