repeated rear wheel bearing fail..any ideas?

[steveo3002]

well update time- cant be much more than 6 weeks and one side has play again

anymore thoughts folks

pretty sure i havent bought that many dud /fake bearings
im confident ive pushed them in ONLY on the outer race
the nut was cranked up damn tight

really cant see what im doing wrong ...i span the drum while tightening as per the haynes ,although youtube videos just roar it up without spinning it

 

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

Check the suspension bushes at the rear end.
If one has gone it may lead to loading on that hub.
Check the hub is true and square, it may have worn that a new bearing is not running true.

 

[steveo3002]

if the hub was bent then if the bearing /drum would still fit wouldnt it be killing tyres too if the wheel was sitting like / ? (not arguing just asking)

it had the original working bearings at one point , they was replaced due to it having new shoes and drums , not because of bearing failure

 

[Shox Dr]

Also bearings dont always come propery greased, just enough to stop them going rusty in the shiping container.

Yup, The grease bearings come in is transit grease, intended to stop it from going rusty before installation.

It should be degreased and packed with the correct new grease before fitted.

 

[steveo3002]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2X-REAR-WHEEL-BEARING-FORD-FOCUS-98-05-FIESTA-01-09-FUSION-02-on-NEW-/161382250401?fits=Model:Focus&epid=1332281243&hash=item259321b7a1:g:b5oAAOSwT6pVzw6M

its not a 2 peice taper bearing...comes like the the one in the link (random link for picture i used fag /skf) so see the 2 inner races , you roar the nut up to clamp those together tightly so they dont spin on the axle

for what its worth i think i will try and prise out the seal and roar some grease into the next one

i just dont see whats going wrong , 100s of these cars about and i cant be the only diy chap to have fitted one

 

[Robotstar5]

...it had the original working bearings at one point , they was replaced due to it having new shoes and drums , not because of bearing failure

Is there a problem with the new drums?, manufacturing defect, bearing housing machined slightly out?.

 

[steveo3002]

dunno does make you wonder .. bearing pushes in as you would expect , no extreme force needed , no strange tell tale marks when ive removed the failed ones

i keep thinking am i under or overtightening them ,but surley anything above nipped up ought to work and i doubt anyone can overtighten one to the extent theyre deforming the inner races ?

 

[normspanners]

Check the dia of the stub axle all along its length, if it is a smaller dia where a bearing may have seized and spun at some time but has been 'strapped' with emery to clean it, this may mean that the two bearings are running slightly out of line with each other

 

[steveo3002]

Check the dia of the stub axle all along its length, if it is a smaller dia where a bearing may have seized and spun at some time but has been 'strapped' with emery to clean it, this may mean that the two bearings are running slightly out of line with each other

has never been touched until i got at it ...was orig factory fit never been off , can see the machine marks on the stubby

 

[normspanners]

i keep thinking am i under or overtightening them ,but surley anything above nipped up ought to work and i doubt anyone can overtighten one to the extent theyre deforming the inner races ?

the tightness doesnt alter the bearing clearance at all it just needs to be tight enough to clamp them all you would do by putting extra torque on them would be damaging the stubs.

 

[normspanners]

has never been touched until i got at it ...was orig factory fit never been off , can see the machine marks on the stubby

How can you be sure its not be touched ?
maybe ok on top have you looked under ? also it maybe that it was undersize from new, how tight are the inner races on the shaft when you slide them on ?

 

[steveo3002]

How can you be sure its not be touched ?
maybe ok on top have you looked under ? also it maybe that it was undersize from new, how tight are the inner races on the shaft when you slide them on ?

will have to have a look when i do it ...

what im getting at though the car had done like 120-130k and was fine until smarty pants decided to "maintain" the rear brakes , the torque is 170ft lb odd so i really cant see im overdoing it , nut still tight when i redo them , new nut used each time

any thoughts on spinning the drum as i tighten? manual says so - youtubers dont bother although most harldy look like experts either

 

[normspanners]

spinning wont do any harm, it just proves that the bearings arnt cocked when tightening coz if they where ( very unlikely ) the drum would start to get tight.
one thought are you fitting it then for some reason taking it off again because some double race single outer bearings have an internal clip that hold the inner races together so when you take them off the clip can dislodge and then prevent the two inner races coming together again
this is VERY unlikely and usually is evident by the nut going on as far
one point check that there is clearance at the end of the stub it could be that you are tightening the nut on the stub not the bearing maybe there is a bearing washer missing or the after market bearing kit has the wrong nut with no built in washernut or the first garage omitted the washer.

 

[Johnseat]

Can you take a picture of the hub and stub axle please, just want to see how the bearings are arranged in the hub to how they sit on the stub axle.

EDIT

Just seen on the first post it's a mk1 focus so am I presuming correctly it's got rear disc brakes with a single large bearing pressed into the hub?
If so what torque setting are you tightening the 30mm hub nut to? From what I've been reading the nut should be tightened to 235nm, under torqued will cause too much play in the bearings and they'll fail.

 

[steveo3002]

no ive not taken it off again for any reason , although im sure it would be fine to service the brakes , only mention is only use the hub nut 4 times

johnseat can get pics , will tackle it during the week- you can see the layout of the set up on this video

 

[Johnseat]

With you stating you don't know if you are under or over torquing suggest you haven't torqued it or don't know the correct torque setting.

 

[normspanners]

they are the self locking multi layer nuts with inbuilt washer

 

[normspanners]

Just seen on the first post it's a mk1 focus so am I presuming correctly it's got rear disc brakes with a single large bearing pressed into the hub?

if you read the first post it said it had drums !!

 

[Spark plug]

A friend of mine has a garage, he has had lots of issues with transit front wheel bearing. He has tried bearings from various motor factors and bearing suppliers, non of witch have lasted but if genuine ford bearings are used they last.

It doesn't make sense as you would think a decent FAG / SKF bearing would be as good as the ford offering. All I can think is the OEM bearing have an odd clearance or preload.

 

[Johnseat]

if you read the first post it said it had drums !!

My bad, regardless though as they use the same type of bearing so I reckon it's something to do with the torque setting.