Rear wheel bearings

[Davidb]

So I spent two wonderful days last week replacing the rear wheel bearings-interesting adventure!

Then today I was talking with a very experienced Elan owner/restorer/racer/professional mechanic and he asked what bearings I had used. "SKF 6206 RS" I was able to say immediately since I had to track them down-(not difficult). He is concerned that these will not have enough grease in them to last very long at all. He says they are for industrial applications not automotive and suggests finding a way of pumping grease into the sealed bearings-a needle fitting on a grease gun was suggested.

Any comments from this group?

[512BB]

Well firstly David, what strut housings are you using, issue 16 or 18 ?

To my knowledge, Lotus went from 16 to 18 because of failure of one of the bearings, not due to a lubrication problem, but because 2 x 6206 were not man enough to do the job under certain conditions. After they changed the housing and moved to a combination of a wide and a narrow bearing, there were no further problems.

Having said that, there are 1000s of early Elans running about quite happily on 2 narrow bearings. Don't worry about it, yours will to, unless you are going racing.

Leslie

[Paul Chapman]

David

I believe that the SKF 2 x RS bearings are designed to have a life in the range of 50,000 hours ( 5+ years of constant use ). if run within their designed loading and temperature range etc.

Also remember that an over greased bearing can have a shorter life than one that is correctly lubricated.

[rgh0]

There is no difference between "automotive" sealed bearings and general "industrial" sealed bearings except perhaps the mark up is less on industrial bearings and potentially industrial bearings will be of better quality when made by SKF or similar companies rather than by a no name supplier to a car company that is putting extreme pressure on them for price reductions.

The amount of grease in a sealed bearing is carefully determined to provide the correct lubrication to much or to little will cause problems

cheers
Rohan

[el-saturn]

i'd say industrial applications are much more demanding - a wheel doesn't rotate at the speed a packaging/printing application would require PLUS they only get really hot when in need of replacement!! sandy

[elanman999]

From my experience the prime reason of failure is the ingress of water. And that's just bad luck.
Cheers
John

[gus]

The improved inner bearing is really just more seal

I have not yet changed a rear wheel bearing due to wear

Thought I was going to once, but it turned out the stub axle had failed!

Modern high quality [IE not China] bearings are much better quality than those of the 60's, so they seem to last much better once replaced.

next time I replace mine[no doubt for some other reason the assembly is apart] it will be time for new housings, as i have been on loctite for some years

[Davidb]

Thank you gentlemen. I feel better now!

[RichardHawkins]

I agree with John elan man 999. water ingress is the primary cause of failure. If you look at other cars of the same era such as a cortina, or corsair, they only had one bearing per side, and it was a 6206, if I remember correctly. The life was good despite the car being heavier. The main difference was a solid axle design that made water ingress more difficult.

Richard Hawkins

[nomad]

I don't think I would damage a good bearing with the grease needle under or through the seal. I have however used a grease needle to extend the life of noisy bearings on farm equipment many times. If you have slightly noisy bearings and are brave and not going far from home I'd consider one!

Kurt.

[Davidb]

Thank you Nomad-somehow Lotus Elans and South Dakota don't seem a natural mix!

The only time I have been there I was driving through, in my 1966 289 Mercury Comet station wagon, loaded down with an Elva Formula Junior that was totally dismantled, shredded almost. This was 1979/80. I was coming from Philadelphia, back to Vancouver-6000 mile round trip. A Ford dealership had replaced the clutch in Philadelphia, although that wasn't the problem, a U joint was the problem. Anyway, they had failed to replace the oil in the gearbox and about midpoint in South Dakota the gearbox siezed-at maximum engine torque and about 70 mph! Fortunately there was not another vehicle nearby-(sh** there wasn't another vehicle for miles!). The engine turned over, the driveshaft almost knotted itself and the differential wasn't happy either. I got out of the car and all I could hear was the sighing of the wind in the long grass beside the highway.
It was the beginning of a long week-eventually the wagon was towed to a tiny town that had a garage. The guys put the wagon up on the hoist and, between spits of chewing tobacco juice into 50 gallon drums, placed apparently for the purpose, would sidle under the Mercury to pronounce "Yup! Hawgsheads cracked..." After hearing this four or five times I had one of them show me the cracked "Hawgshead". It was of course the belhousing...
A week later they had combed the surrounding countryside and found parts and had replaced the entire driveline--the bill was $350 they sheepishly told me.

Pardon my ramble, but whenever I hear of someone from the Dakotas I have intense flashbacks!

[nomad]

Well, as of now I believe there are 2 Elan's in So Dak. I live in the eastern part of the state but have traveled across it many times so I am familiar with how sparse things get in the middle of the state. Want to point out that you probably got better work and cheaper out of those good ol boys than you got back east!

A couple of years after your adventure I took off for California in my 55 Chevy Nomad. A friend and I left the same day we dropped the rebuilt engine in and had similar adventure's on Route 66. Some resulting in a great appreciation of my fellow man and some not! [Its possible to drive across the dry desert southwest by moonlight!]

Kurt

[nomad]

Whoops, just reread your post David. My route 66 adventure was in 68. Can relate to the sound of the wind through the prairie grass. One of my favorite sports car drives is about a hundred miles to the west of me where I always stop on a high hill and shut off the engine. Just sit and listen for a while to nothing but the wind and the birds! Surprising how pleasant the 'sound of silence' can be in the modern world! [You kinda have to experience it at the same place to appreciate it, I suppose! ]

PS, by 79 and 80 South Dakota was getting down right civilized and a little crowded!

Kurt
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