Thaks as always to the list for the suggestions.
I fixed it for about $.30. The reason that there was so much play in the
hub was that the outer bearing shells were too close together in the hub
compared to the distance the inner races were held apart by the spacer.
When tightened, the inner races should push the balls up against the bearing
surface of the outer races. Instead, when I torqued down the axle nut, the
balls were not yet firm against the outer races. This allowed the
noticeable 'slop' I was trying to get rid of.
NOTE: Yes, I carefully determined the 'thrust' face of both bearings and
made sure they were correctly positioned.
Since the stack comprised of the inner races and the spacer is too 'tall'
compared to the distance between the outer bearing races, I need to either
shorten the spacer or widen the space between the outer races. The easiest
fix I could devise was to cut a 0.005" brass shim washer to fit the bottom
of the pocket the outer bearing pushes into. Now when torquing down the
axle nut, all is skittles and beer! The hub turns smoothly with no trace of
the wobbly slop. The shim should bear no significant load to worry about.
If you've got a wobbly front wheel that seems to be due to the hub bearings
instead of the fulcrum pin, check to see if the play is in the bearings. If
new bearings don't remove the wobble, give this a try. I got the shim brass
from the K$S metals rack at the hardware store and cut the shim with a pair
of scissors after tracing the bearing diameter with a pencil. Cut out the
hole in the middle bigger than the diameter of the inner race.
The shim brass pack has four different thicknesses so you cay choose a shim
that pre-loads the bearings just right. (PN #258, one piece each of .001,
.002, .003, and .005, about $3.00)
The left hub feels so good now, I'm going to post this and head out to the
garage to check the other side.
Regards,
Glen Byrns
59 Bugeye
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