MTFCA Forum

By the attached photos, the outer cup developed a crack and had to be replaced. Once the old one was removed, I dry fitted the new cup.
My question is this, does the cup need to be pressed in. Mine just dropped in and has a great deal of slack. Note the toothpick sticking in the gap.

Purchased the complete set, from a very knowledgeable vendor.

George
Elkhorn, Ne

The same force that split the bearing cup also stretched the hub. Sorry to say, that hub is toast. I'm willing to bet that you can't put a hubcap on it either, since the threads will be stretched way too big for the cap to thread on.

George, was that hub modified for a Model A wheel?

Your front hub must be cracked or badly worn, that cup should be a light press fit. I see that you are using 1928-29 Model A wire wheel adapters and those adapters are heavy. I would find better front hubs because those cups must be tight in the hub.

The thread issue is tough, but you can use loctite 660 to set the bearing.
I have had excellent success with that on W/W hubs.

Always short on money, trying to do a lot on a shoestring budget, I often take short cuts that are not widely recommended (and not recommended for good reasons!). I repair things other people wouldn't. Use shims where many say they shouldn't be. The fact is, a lot of good advice is "safe" advice by people that don't want to be blamed if something goes bad. A lot of those shortcuts are not dangerous IF the circumstances allow it and repairs are reasonably well done.
SOMETIMES, for any of a variety of reasons, the hub (softer metal) will wear due to an ill-fitting bearing (often a long past cheap replacement?). IF (capital letters BIG IF) the wear is minor? A carefully fitted steel shim and proper Loctite could be a decent repair. Or not depending upon a good assessment of the wear damage.
ON THE OTHER HAND?
IF (big IF again!), the outer bearing area of the hub has in fact stretched? Repairing it should not be considered. The stretched metal will have microfractures and have become brittle. Almost any repair by any home shop will have a serious risk of catastrophic failure.

The tricky part is knowing when and where one can take a short cut? And when and where NOT to.

speedytinc wrote: ↑

Wed May 29, 2024 10:40 pm

The thread issue is tough, but you can use loctite 660 to set the bearing.
I have had excellent success with that on W/W hubs.

He has a whole toothpick in the gap between the new bearing cup and the hub. Loctite 660 will not fill that gap and it certainly won't center it. The hub is junk...

I too think that gap was way too wide for a Loktite product to work. In John's defence, if his W/W refers to wire wheels, there may be a use for it. Those hubs are constricted by the wheel centre, and are a relatively neat fit, so they are not likely to ever stretch as much as this one has, and of course there is no hubcap to thread on.

Allan from down under.

Puzzled.... What is this "hub" supposed to be for? Looks like this Model T Wood to Model A Wire Wheel Adapter not a "hub" per se.
Pictures of it front & back without the race to understand what it is would be helpful
So is the adapter supposed to slide over the existing hub withe the race inside the existing hub.
Like about it https://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/8 ... 1260576894
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-- Yours --
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T wood to A wire wheel adapter (see link above)
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What I see of the toothpick is the tip in the gap not the full diameter.
The gap aint that big. I would not use the 660 if the gap was out of the listed range.
The 660 does self center when used properly. It solidifies from the metal surfaces inwardly as you rotate the race during the quick cure.
I just serviced the front wire wheel bearings ahead of the San Diego national tour to repack the bearings & check the races. Still holding strong after some 10K miles. It may be a bigger than average job to remove the races if that time ever comes. (BTW I had a split race same as OP showed.)
Locktite 660 is a terrific product.

IF the outer portion of the hub is solid (especially @ the race base pocket) & no cracks, It is repairable. Threads could be re cut.
IF the hub was rare off a 1903 Flitabout, it would be worth saving.

Since good front hubs are plentiful & cheap, I agree, I would find a better one. Why take a chance on a $5 part?
Also considering the adaptation of unsupported A wheels (speedster?)
The demand/strain/speed is much greater than the original hubs were designed for.
Talk of repairing this one is more of a think piece.

George, I sent you a PM. I found this hub in my stash if you want it.