I have noticed that some hubs/rotors have the bearing race already pressed in, but the do not come with the bearings. I always thought that the bearings and race were a matched pair. Have I been wrong all along? Can I just slap a new set of bearings into the existing race of a new hub/rotor?
If the spindle and race are in good shape, yes.
,but, could the bearings have worn without wear, or damage, to the races?
Probably not.
Sorry, I guess I have not explained myself correctly. I have bought a new hub/rotor and it has a race already pressed into it. I have also bought new bearings and they came with a new race as well. Do I need to have the race that is pressed into the new hub/rotor removed and have the race that came with the bearings pressed in, or can I discard the race that came with the new set of bearrings and use the already pressed in race that is in the hub/rotor?
You should be able to use the race that came with the hub. Save the one that came with the bearing, just in case.
Thank you! You just saved me an extra trip to a machine shop.
I would ALWAYS use the race that came with the bearing…You KNOW those two are compatible. If you use the race in the hub, you are HOPING they are compatible…Since these are low speed bearings, you can probably get away with it…
As long as the bearing is new and the race is new, they can be used together.
All bearings are manufactured to certain specifications. So if it’s SKF bearing and Timken race, they’ll work together. It’s called standardization.
Tester
Thanks everyone. I put on the new hubs and bearings this morning. Feels like brand new!