The placement of a spacer between the right and left bearings of a wheel hub is an important detail that a lot of people don't pay much attention to; much less take the time and effort to install properly. If you want your wheel bearings to last; a spacer is an absolute necessity. If the spacer is too long your bearing won't fully seat into the ends of the hub. If it's too short it will serve no purpose at all and you may as well not go through the trouble of installing one. In this tutorial I will describe a relatively easy procedure that will allow you to properly install a spacer with an accuracy that is within one thousandth of an inch. Overkill you say? Perhaps. But when you're in your garage with a big hammer trying to remove your old chewed up bearings old OGY will be out riding his minibike. Let's begin: Picture #1 below shows the hub, spacer, and bearings that need to be installed. Start by inserting (preferably using a hydraulic press) a bearing into one end of your hub like in pic #2. Next measure the dimension between the inner face of the external retaining ring and the inner face of the bearing as shown in pic #3. Then find a piece of scrap (I used aluminum) that is the same thickness as the dimension you just measured and make a washer pic #4 with a center hole that is the same diameter as the axle you will be using. After that you will need to find a piece of steel rod that is the same diameter as your axle and cut it so that it is just a little longer than the distance from one end of your hub to the other. See pic #5. To be continued.
Installing Spacers Properly
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Insert the axle stub into the already installed bearing (step #2 above) as shown in pic #6. Then slide your spacer over the axle stub like in pic #7 and place the aluminum bushing you made earlier on top of it. If your spacer is too long the aluminum bushing will stick up past the end of your hub...see pic #8. Now you can proceed to trim your spacer (preferably with a lathe) until the top of the aluminum bushing is flush with the end of your hub like in pic #9. Remove the aluminum bushing and leaving the axle stub in place; insert your second bearing and seat it into place with your hydraulic press...pic #10 To be continued.
Pic #11 shows the hub with both bearings fully seated and with the retaining rings tight up against the ends of the hub. If you've done this correctly the spacer will stay in place, nicely seated between both inner faces of the bearings and not rattle around inside your hub. Pic #12 shows my ten completed front hubs with the bearings and spacers installed. Good luck. Ogy
I believe he just cuts lengthwise a groove. So when you look down the hole you can angle the screwdriver and set it in the groove. I like that. Great idea.
This is a great thread. I was at Windber 2 years ago and had a bearing blow on my trike. Easy swap but I didn't have a spacer. Fortunately Leon had an old pair of handle bars he cut a section out of as a temporary spacer on my 3/4" bearings.... 2 years later, it is still a great temporary spacer...lol
This is a great thread. I was at Windber 2 years ago and had a bearing blow on my trike. Easy swap but I didn't have a spacer. Fortunately Leon had an old pair of handle bars he cut a section out of as a temporary spacer on my 3/4" bearings.... 2 years later, it is still a great temporary spacer...lol
Forgive me for pestering you Biker, but I've been thinking about your method for determining the length of a spacer. I understand how you're going about it; but once you have calculated the length do you then have to knock out one of the bearings, insert the spacer, and then re-insert the bearing that was removed? Ogy
Yes, no problems.... as long as the measurments are done correctly it pretty much has no choice but to be right. The only thing that may take a little time is if, on a wheel, the bearing surface is below the wheel lip, you have to sit it on something that rests just on the bearing. A Lil Indian wheel is a good example.
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