Classic Alfa Forums

I did a pair for Keith today so thought it may be of interest for some of you guys to see what's involved once the hub is removed, a quick "how to" guide and all that...

As we know there is an odd nut on the rear that holds the bearings in. I have looked at this nut before and considered buying a 55mm socket but never really had the need to change any....Tom came through with a genuine Alfa factory socket that is made for the job. A very shallow one that fits like a glove. Maybe a multi-point one would do the job too?
Said nut is pretty tight so to undo it requires the hub to be held firm, best way to do that is in a vice on the workbench. Guess on the car would do also but as the hub needs to be off!..
To stop the hub rotating in the vice just screw in a pair of wheel bolts which will stop it turning when they reach the vice jaws.
Once you have the nut off you need to draw off the hub from the drive flange, you could use a press to do this but would need some strong and thin flat pieces to hold it in place, probably some thick angle iron sections would do. I used a simple 3 leg puller as it isn't that tight so no need to get too complicated.
This leaves you with the hub itself containing the bearing.
On the front face is the seal retainer, the 3 bolts need to be removed as this is the direction that the old bearing needs to come out from.

The old bearing with its 30 year old grease is pretty rough, well due a change.
This is the stage where a press is needed. I know folks have done the next stages with a large hammer but it really does need to be done with a degree of control that you can't always get with a 2lb hammer!
Simply force the old bearing out towards the front of the hub, making sure that it has space to come out. It handily sticks out a few mm so is easy to align plates to get it in position to press safely.
The hub stripped down, note the step in the inner face where the new bearing seats down to, this of course sets exactly where the new bearing will get pressed down to.

So now the old bearing is removed it's time to prepare the new one. They come nice and clean but that's not the condition it needs to be in, this one needs greasing. Newer bearing designs are fully sealed so are ready to press in..
One half of the outer race is taken out and the grease provided is smeared all over the ball bearings, working the bearing races to make sure the grease gets all over the internals. Messy job but very necessary.
The bearing with both halves greased ready to be pressed into place.

Note the little plastic sleeve in the centre which handily grips both inner halves and helps greatly to keep them in place, don't just throw this piece away!

Time for the press again.
Things to note here is the large socket that is placed under the hub. It is vital when pressing things like this that everything is square on to the ram. With the suspension mounting points etc you can't just simply lay the hub down flat, this is where a bit of lateral thinking comes in with trying to level things up but being firm enough to support everything through the pressing process. Sockets or old bearing cases make great supports, this one is actually a 65mm socket that we use for Ford Transit bearing...handily the perfect size!

You will also notice that I am using the old bearing to press against the new bearing. This allows me more freedom over where the ram forces things down as I can't then damage the new bearing. Of course using the old bearing ensures a really accurate face to face so the chances of it slipping are minimal.

The new bearing in place. Again note the plastic sleeve still in place on the inner races, to stop it falling apart! Plus it sticking proud of the hub face, as per the original one.
Seal carrier refitted with the new grease seal. Pays to smear a little grease on the seal lip before assembly to help things go smoothly.
Time now to press the drive flange back in. This stage could be done with a hammer and drift but a bit more control is gained from using a press.
Important thing to note here is that I'm pressing this time against the inner race as it's this that you are trying to re-locate against the drive flange. If you pressed against the outer wall of the bearing case the danger is the bearing pulls itself apart. Vital that you control where and when you press against the inner and outer sections.
I used an old bearing section to press against the new one as it allows the plastic connector to come up inside it during the process.
You should then end up with this..

Last job then is to tighten the nut...helps that I have access to some proper torque wrenches, usually used to tighten lorry wheel nuts!

With the nut tight simply peen over the lack tab section into the notches of the drive flange and you're done

Ready for another 30 years!


Hope you guys find this useful.
The process is pretty much the same for any pressed in bearing, steps are the same just sometimes they go out the rear of the hub, sometimes they have circlips at one end, even get them with circlips both ends. But basically the steps here can be repeated for any given hub.
I will finish on the most important note though, just be careful and logical about which part you press against at each stage. At no point should force be put through the bearing itself when pressing. In that I mean that if pressing the bearing assembly into a hub then the force needs to be going through the outer wall. If you are pressing the drive flange back into the bearing then the inner race needs to get the force. Think of it in that whichever piece is getting pressed then the section of bearing nearest to what you're fitting is where the force needs to be exerted.

Hi KevJTD, now you put this up after I've been struggling with mines for quite some time

Of course just kidding, very handy for some members I guess. Did you replace the seals and the nut? These parts are hard to come by, but since the nut has to be deformed after assembling theoretically a new nut is required. In m case the seals were assembled so tight that they got damaged during disassembly.

It took me quite a while to find appropiate bearings. From the factory FAG was pressed in, the service sets were made by SKF and they're not that easy to find. These days the replacement bearings are made by Bendix and some other brands. Since I insisted on having "decent" bearings it took me some time to find 2 SKF sets, but in the rnd succceeded.

Thanks fot the "how to", will be appreciated/used by several people I suppose.

You didn't stat the torque with which you assembled the nut. That's an important item. This nut has fine pitch thread and should be assembled with a pretty high torque (can't remember the value at the moment though).

Thanks for that Kev.

It shows the importance of having a press.

I looked at the task when mine needed replacing and put it into the too hard to do category so I took the hub off and took it to Ferdi's and left it with him.

I nipped into Blackpool and when I got back it was done.

Very good guide Kev.

I couldnt find a suitable socket so in the end my brother-in-law made one for me!
I found gripping the flange to undo the nut quite difficult so i got a thick piece of metal , drilled a hole for the centre and holes for the wheelnuts. The metal was oblong so i put the holes at one end leavinga "tail" to grip in the vice.

I think hub nut should be tightened to:
209 - 260 lb/ft
284 - 353 Nm
29 - 35 KgM

Thanks RSfruitbat

dave.armstrong wrote: I looked at the task when mine needed replacing and put it into the too hard to do category.

Me too Dave. Had the bearings but not the ability so left alone. As I acquired two spare hubs I thought I would get the bearings fitted for the future. Original ones are fine but I may as well use new ones if I have them.

Thanks for sorting that for me Kev. Should be useful for other members.

Glad it's been a useful exercise, not easy with greasy fingers to take pictures!

Thanks also to the omission of the torque settings, and Ade for posting them. They are as per the Alfa workshop manual so yes mate, you are correct.

Pleasure to help out Keith, and thanks for the gift tonight, not needed but thanks all the same. Very generous

There was no way I could have done that at work Kev.Experience on your behalf shows where some of us having a go may have buggered it up. Nice touch using the old bits to push on.

Very clear and many thanks for the lesson Kev.

Glad it's been a help guys. The process is pretty much exactly the same for any hub bearing replacement so it's just a matter off looking at what needs pushing out and following the same steps. Sometimes there are circlips to remove and the direction of release will change but they are all about the same to do.
I do keep most of the old bearings that I change as they are great for pressing in new ones.

To answer Alfa-Japans' earlier question yes the grease seal was replaced with new but the nut is the original. The area where the lock tab is peened over was still in excellent condition and easily withstood being re-fitted. New nuts are pretty much impossible to find now I'd guess?

Nice "How to" Kev - many thanks.

Kev,

This task is now due for the Sprint. Any idea where I go for new Sprint S3 bearings?

Steve

Steve,
I got the kits from my local parts / motor factor. It came with the seal kit and grease as well as the bearings.
Keith.

Kev - do you favour one make over another and any to avoid?

Cheers, Keith.

My local independent claims they can't find the bearings anywhere. I'll get them and supply the garage. That'll save me the 50% markup!

Steve

I am lucky in that I have a helpful Motor factors, and one guy in particular, has a soft spot for Suds (He owned a Sprint himself) and loves going the extra mile to cross reference tricky stuff for me. We even bought stuff listed for a 145 boxer as Suds and 33's are not always listed in their parts books. Some of the other guys only want to go back as far as a 156 or 147 or newer. He also tries to get me the best quality items available first.

SKF, Quinton Hazell (now defunct) or FAG are all as good as OE.
There are quite a few smaller brands around like First Line but I suspect they are only buying the bearings in and not actually manufacturing, but equally they seem to be OK.


Choice doesn't seem to be out there to be too picky though....

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/311448836709? ... EBIDX%3AIT


Any good ?

Sorry, just noticed it is in France.

Kegsti66 wrote:Sorry, just noticed it is in France.

still only £6-50 postage kiethy, doesn't usually take more than a couple days more than uk stuff to get home

Sud front bearings are different size to 33 fronts, - they have to be Sud ones, - now very difficult to find !
John.

Hi John,
So is this identified simply by inboard or outboard mounted brakes?

yes, hubs are different for in board or out board brakes, - and series 3 33 bearings are different to early 33 / Sprint though the hubs look the same externally.
John.

justsuds wrote:yes, hubs are different for in board or out board brakes, - and series 3 33 bearings are different to early 33 / Sprint though the hubs look the same externally.
John.

interesting that john, I assumed that the difference was only inboard or outboard, didn't know there was two types of outer hub bearings

I was very lucky! I purchased the Sprint off Alfadave with a bunch of parts including 2 x hubs. These popped straight on and the car is back on the road. I hope I don't have to face this problem again!

Steve

Glad to hear that Steve.
Dave

So as the torque setting is a range where should it be set?
Rsfruitbat