MTFCA Forum

I have a 1914 Model T and I was replacing the grease seals and noticed some scratching and pitting on one of the outer wheel bearings. Since it was apart I decided to replace the bearings. When I try to order new outer rear wheel bearings I find the new ones do not have the grease grooves. Do you know of anyone carrying grooved bearings?? If they are no longer available, how good are the new non-grooved bearings?

Thank you....

The Hyatt type grooved bearings are not being reproduced. The solid roller replacements are not generally recommended for regular use. The best solution is to source original bearings with as little wear as possible. Tnhe best ones are found on the inner ends of the axles where the load is less and the lubrication is better.
Good luck in your hunt.

Allan from down under.

Condition of the bearing often mimics the condition of the axle and bearing sleeve, those may need to be replaced too. Those are not grease grooves in the rollers, they are made that way by rolling flat bar into a spool that results in a roller that is like a spring and can bend. Modern bearings are made from round stock and lack the spring like qualities. Modern reproduction sleeves are good replacements, and modern reproduction axles are good replacements, but as Allen wrote, the modern repo bearings are not good. Good used bearings can be found at swap meets for $5-$25 each. Take a micrometer and measure both ends.

What do you think of the new Modern Sealed Bearings ??

The original hyatt bearings were essentially springs. They spread the load over the length of the bearing. A modern ball bearing creates a shear line where the bearing ends & the axle protrudes. I have seen a ball bearing converted axle sheared on a national tour.
Look on ebay. Used hyatt's show up occasionally. Ask for dimensions. Rarely do sellers provide or claim to be able to provide. (New rollers were .500") I would run worn used. .495" is my limit. (thats .010" slop) Look for smooth wear, minimal pitting & no flaking of bearing surface. Some of the new bearing sleeves are thicker than others & take up for some of that extra wear.

Sure, why not?

Steve

It works just fine. I have done it and used spray adhesive on about 1/3 of the shim, on the leading edge of rotation of the sleeve as installed. It stayed put during installation and has given zero trouble in use.

The Hyatt bearing should have at least .005 inch clearance, which was recommended by a Hyatt engineer.
Art Mirtes

I did the original post...Thank you for all the responses....I called some of the suppliers and they also feel the original bearings were the best. One of my bearings is basically perfect and the other only had some minor pitting and wear on one end. What I am thinking of doing is buying a new sleeve and turning the bearing around so the slightly pitted end will be inward and not taking the load near the end of the axle as it was before. The pitting is fairly minor and only on the end of a couple of the rollers so I should be able to drive it until I find a replacement.

The .005" is wear from the new standard of .500" roller diameter to .495". That .005 bearing clearance you mention is built into the case diameter & sleeve thickness. As mentioned, some new replacement sleeves are thicker than others, & can compensate for some bearing wear. The idea is to maintain that original .005 total clearance. Dont forget that a little axle shaft wear adds to the total looseness as well.

bdtutton- A bit of wear as described will be ok. I speak in the language of dimensions. The wear #'s tell me what needs adjusting for. Your solution of turning the best side of the bearing out & replacing the sleeves is a good one. Most wear occurs on the sleeves. Notice how easy the bearing slips back in. They should push in with a little resistance. You may not need to address this issue again for a long time. Find a few good original bearings to have on hand for the next T. Good luck

Adding to the mix of differing dimensions caused by wear to the bearings and axle, is the fact that the bore in the axle housings varies also, by as much as .008" when I was making floating bearing kits. So you have quite a range of possibilities with which to play. In a perfect world, with new replacement axles, somewhat thicker reproduction sleeves, a choice of axle housings, and little worn bearings, you might be able to get close to the optimal combination.

Allan from down under.