The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Roller Bearing for 1/2 Ton?

I was reading the message boards about
roller bearings for 3/4 ton '55.
Was wondering if anyone as changed '53
1/2 ton pickup to roller bearings? Can it be
done using the stock front brake drums/hubs?

I did it on my 50 2-Ton.
Talk to the older guy in your oldest
auto parts store in town.

DON

Hi Don,
Around here most all the old auto part
dealers are gone, been replaced by Auto Zone, Auto Supermarket, Advanced Auto, and so
on. Dad brought up one problem I hadn't con-
sidered, there would be no place for the seal
to run. Oh well, I figure on staying with
regular width tires, shouldn't be a problem.

I'm running them with a '51 front suspension. I think I just got them from Napa. I'll check today to see if I have a receipt. You replace the race too. No problem with the seal.

Make that Chevy Duty.

Hi DennisM,
Is your '5l a half ton? On my truck the
lip of seal runs on the rear bearing inner
race. The inner race has a shoulder for the
seal to run on.
I guess it might be possible to have some
sort of a sleeve made for the seal to run on.
John :confused:

I checked out Chevy Duty.com. It is a great site. Seen where they sold kits for
converting to roller bearings.

Whitelightning, I have a '51 axle/spindles on my '40. I don't remember anything special about the seal. When you go with the tapered, you also replace the race. Maybe that's the difference.

So does anyone have part numbers???
Last time I redid my bearings it was $100/wheel!!! That includes 2 roller bearings and the seals necessary.
The last time I redid a car with roller bearings it was around $15/wheel (it was a '62 buick, so I know the price isn't just year related).
Thanks
-alfie

Hi DennisM,
I guess what I'm saying is that the seal
used in the original hub would not work with
roller bearings. The seal used with the ball
bearing rides on the inner race of the rear
bearing. When you replace the ball bearing
with the roller bearing the original seal
would have nothing to ride on. Chevy Duty
must sell a seal that can ride on the
spindle directly.
Anyway I think for the price I'll probably
use my ball bearing as long as they are
good. It good to know that roller bearing
can be used in place of the ball bearings
thou. If the ball bearings give me trouble
then I'll switch them to roller bearings.
Does anyone know if you can still get
short fiber wheel bearing grease? It's
what the Chevy Repair manual says to use.

The roller bearings available from Chevy Duty use the original seals. The seal rides on the bearing race just like the original.