Fiat 126p Front Bearing Replacement

[welshdresser]

Hi,

I'm attempting to change the front bearings (during conversion to disc brakes) and managed to get the old ones out of the hub. I've put new ones in, but when I attempt to reattach the hubs and tighten the axle stub nut the hub seems to get really tight and hard to turn - that was without even tightening up the stub nuts very tightly. It seems that the bearing seals are turning as well.

Any ideas of what I might have done wrong?

Cheers

[Gadge]

Hi are you sure you have pressed the bearings in far enough to into the hub?

[welshdresser]

Hi Gadge,

I'm not 100% sure to be honest - I'll go give them another whack with a hammer to make sure then!
Is there a special tool for doing this? I bought a bearing puller but obviously doesn't help much when trying to get them in.

Thanks for the tip!

[Gadge]

There are some Speedo tools available. You can buy bearing drifts which are basically a selection of thick aluminium discs that you can use to place over the bearing race and strike or press on to so the bearing goes in more evenly. Inside the hub there is a raised lip and it’s that lip you need to butt the bearing up to

[welshdresser]

I ended up just cutting a few pieces of wood to fit into the holes in the hub and then squeezing them in with a sash clamp (Ideal tool for the job LOL)!

I missed the bit in the haynes manual, which said to tighten the nuts as much as possible with a wrench and then slacken them off by 30 degrees - that seemed to do the job and get everything seated properly leaving me with a hub that actually turns!

[Gadge]

Excellent