C-1 rear wheel bearings

[Don Y.]

I pressed the rear axle bearings off of the axles for my '57, man were they tight! The new bearings have a retainer ring that is significantly thinner and smaller than the originals. It does not seem to have any function with regard to locating the axle in the housing but the difference in thickness is very noticeable, is this any cause for concern or just the way the replacement bearings are made?
Don Yesacavage

[David B.]

Re: C-1 rear wheel bearings

Don,

It's just the way they are made. It won't affect anything so long as the bearings are the correct width.

You should be using RW307R bearings for the rear. The retainer will be a little narrower, depending on the mfgr (JAF is narrower vs NOS).

I couldn't press my retainers off and had to cut them off. The 12 ton press wouldn't do it. But the new ones pressed on fine and work well. I did warm them a little before pressing. There is no way to get enough lateral forces to get them to move once pressed on (even though some racers did spot weld them).

Dave Banwarth

[James F.]

Re: C-1 rear wheel bearings- Don

Don, '56 had the thin retainer ring. I believe that most of the '57's did as well. I think the thicker retainer ring began around the time of the Positracton rear end. Late '57's had Posi offered The job of the the thin or thick retainer ring is to hold the axle within the carrier. And this is somewhat critical. I think there is some difference in the pressed steel axle retainer profile that bolts to the four mounting holes in the carrier ends due to the the thickness differences of the retainer ring.I used the thin style retainer on my '56. It pressed on very hard as well. Hope some of this helps. Regards

[Don Y.]

Re: C-1 rear wheel bearings- Don

Thanks for the feedback guys. The car does have an early posi rear in it original to the car. I will carry on with the thin rings in the kit. It's nice to hear from other board members that have been there already.