Hubs bearings and drive shafts

[sam.pej]

I have recently had a rear wheel bearing go for the second time in under 3000 miles of driving. I decided to replace the hub and bearing carrier as they looked a bit pitted and I thought the hub may have damaged the seal on the bearing. Unfortunately neither Ford nor my local motor factors can supply new ones. I have bought a pair off ebay that seem in reasonable condition but have noticed that the flange on the hub is thicker and has only two holes in it as opposed to four in the old one. Consequently it is heavier than the one on the other rear wheel. Should I change both to keep them balanced? The other wheel bearing has given no trouble so I wanted to leave well alone but I am worried about having two hubs of different weights.
I also wanted a new drive shaft but new and reconditioned ones are also unavailable. I took my old one in to be reconditioned but was told it was beyond repair. That surprised me as I thought it was OK but was just having it recoditioned as a precaution. Now I am wondering whether it was faulty and caused the bearing to go or whether when the bearing went it caused damage to the driveshaft. I have seen a pair on ebay but can\'t be sure about condition. Does anyone have any ideas?

[dogoncrazy]

Re: Hubs bearings and drive shafts

Paul
Maybe the hubs are different for drum and disc brake vehicles.I would talk to some one such as kitfit as they should have the knowledge and can supply most of these parts reconditioned.Phone 01522778877

[sam.pej]

Re: Hubs bearings and drive shafts

Thanks for that Alan, I\'ll give them a ring. I forgot to say that all parts are Sierra based and I have drum rear brakes and was told the new hubs had come from a drum brake car. Incidentally, is the website clock wrong? I posted my original message after 6pm and you seem to have done some late night browsing!!

[CosworthCabrioLee]

Re: Hubs bearings and drive shafts

Hi Paul give Bob jackson a call the roadster rep he has a full set for sale.
regards
Lee

[keith_h]

Re: Hubs bearings and drive shafts

Hi Paul,

I have a Sierra GLS based Roadster which I believe has the same rear disk assembly as the 4x4 and Granada. The drive shafts are tougher. If you want me to measure anything to help you determine what you have let me know

All the best

Keith

[sam.pej]

Re: Hubs bearings and drive shafts

Thanks Lee and Keith. I have had a chat with Bob and am sending him some measurements so we can match up what he has for sale. Nothing is as simple as it seems.... I managed to pick up a pair of hubs and carriers from ebay and they appear to be in good condition but...

The photos attached show my old hubs and the new ones I bought from ebay. The old one is on the left in each picture and its flange is thinner, contoured and has two more holes in it than the old one. All other dimensions appear to be the same and both will fit the splines on my existing driveshaft. The new hub is about 1lb heavier and I think it comes from a later model Sierra (mine was 1983) but still with rear drum brakes. The bearing carriers that I got with them seem identical to my old ones. I am not sure whether the two hubs are interchangable or whether the heavier ones need later driveshafts.

My old drive shafts, as shown in the last photo, have the following dimensions.

Total length left hand side 79cm and right hand side 83cm (allow slight errors for measurement)
Shaft diameter between the CV joints 27mm
Spline diameter differential end 28.6mm
Spline diameter wheel end 30.4mm
Number of splines diff end 26
number of splines wheel end 28
Both sides have a right hand threaded nut at the wheel end.

I believe later driveshafts had a left hand thread on the left hand side and my Ford dealer says there is a driveshaft listed (but not available!) with 28 and 23 splines on the ends. I don\'t know if any of the later driveshafts will fit my existing differential. If I have to change the differential will my prop shaft still fit?....and so on.
If you know any answers I\'d be very grateful.
Cheers
Paul

[sam.pej]

Re: Hubs bearings and drive shafts

Ooops! Hopefully the photos.

[sam.pej]

Re: Hubs bearings and drive shafts

maybe one at a time?

[sam.pej]

Re: Hubs bearings and drive shafts

..or maybe a different format

[Mike]

Re: Hubs bearings and drive shafts

Paul
I am no expert on Sierra back ends, but John at Kitfit is the man to talk to. He really does know his stuff. He will be able to supply you with refurbished / new parts ,and at sensible prices. I am sure it is possible to swap from drum to disc drive shafts which are heavier duty (bigger diameter)and have a different type of drive transfer, but do not know if it means you also have to switch the brakes as well - ask John - he\'s very knowlegable about Sierras.
Mike

[sam.pej]

Re: Hubs bearings and drive shafts

Thanks Alan and Mike for the suggestion of contacting John at Kitfit. I did and he certainly knows his stuff. He has taken all my old bits plus those I bought on ebay and will make up two good driveshafts with the hubs and bearings already fitted for me. This includes sand blasting and repainting. All I will have to do is fit the driveshafts through the hole in the wheel/brake backplate, push them into the differential and bolt up the hub crriers to the backplate. Simple!

[keith_h]

Re: Hubs bearings and drive shafts

Make sure the holes in the back plate can take the heavier duty drive shaft. I think I had the very first Sierra kit that was intended to use disks all round and the drive shafts wouldn\'t fit into the back plate plus the diff. alignment was different. The attached diagram shows the problem and YKC had to make a completely new back end for me

[keith_h]

Re: Hubs bearings and drive shafts

Where did the diagram go?

[keith_h]

Re: Hubs bearings and drive shafts

I\'ve double checked and the diagram is a jpeg and only 78k so I can\'t see why it isn\'t uploading. If it doesn\'t show this time and you want a copy email me keithhowell(at)tesco(dot)net

[sam.pej]

Re: Hubs bearings and drive shafts

I had the same problem with my photos! Thanks for the tip about the holes in the back plate but John at Kitfit was aware of this and will hopefully make up drive shafts to fit. The problem is the metal cover on the CV joint and John says he has got hold of smaller diameter ones that are not generally available on the open market. When I get them back in a couple of weeks I\'ll update this thread - hopefully with a satisfactory conclusion.