The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Balls or rollers

Are a lot of you guys still running the Ball Bearings on your front end ?The axle is being dropped 3 inches now ,so this would be a good time to do it why I have it apart . there does not seem to be anything wrong with my Ball bearings both inner and outer.I am going to run 390 in the rear with a t-5 Will they hold up fine at 70 mph are would you recomend installing the roller bearings ?This is a 1946 1/2 ton
Thanks

As long as they are properly adjusted and lubed, the ball bearing set up will work fine. Tapered roller would be better in my opinion, but I still have the original ball bearing set up in my 58 1/2 ton. Drives fine down the road at 65 and 70mph.

I check them periodically to make sure they are soing fine.

It depends on what you have to spend. The ball bearings in my truck lasted exactly 50 years. I just converted over to rollers in the past 2 weeks. It was really simple & didn't cost much.

They are safer at handling side loads, but lets be honest - these trucks are not race cars & we don't usually punch into a corner at full throttle.

My opinion - balls are good enough - rollers are better.

This topic was of great concern to me at one time. About 12-13 years ago I had a ball bearing let go and it felt as though my wheel was coming off. I replaced it two more times until I put roller bearings in it. I drive my truck hard and haven't thought about those bearings other than to grease them once in a while. The original ball bearings need to be greased every 1,000 miles or so as the rollers don't need near the attention. I would put rollers in hands down from my personal experience. I also think it's worth the extra money.

"They" say if you go to discs you need rollers. I'd say if you need bearings go to rollers. It won't cost much more. But if your bearings are good and you are running drums, no need to change.

I've had ball bearings in mine for the 30+ years I've owned it without any problems. It has been my daily driver quite a few times over that period of time, and I've taken it on many trips. I keep my truck stock, and have no plans to change to rollers.
Samantha

The ball type bearings do not have to be greased every 1000 miles. The original owner's manual specifies when to redo them.

The 1000 mile greasing interval was for the grease of the day. These intervals can be a lot longer with modern grease. If your ball bearings are good, why risk replacing them with some off shore junk. There are Chinese roller replacements out there.

It's not about where its made - its about the quality that it is built with.

What I mean is - if you do convert as I did - don't buy the cheapest set you can find on eBay. Buy a quality bearing with a quality brand. They may all be made in China - but a quality brand will stand behind what they build.