Stemco wheel seals

[Hammerhead]

(10-05-2017 )dhirocz Wrote:  I'll be doing mine when I get home for my 34. I don't plan on reusing the spacers unless the directions tell me to. I just can't see how I can precisely set end play with those things in there, but I could be mistaken.

I have to agree, it looks like a way to keep your average hack from screwing the job up. Lots of liability in wheel bearings.

Like you say "it looks like a way to keep your average hack from screwing the job up", but I can't believe there aren't shims to adjust end play. I mean bearing manufacturers have damn good machines, but do they really repeatedly make millions of one part with 0.000" tolerance?
Like you say, there's an awful lot of liability there.
That's probably why they say to throw them away.

Timken makes the bearing sets I use when building Harley engines. The bearings come in a complete kit; a pair of tapered bearings & races, a spacer ring for the inner races and a spacer "snap" ring that requires a special tool to install. The spacer snap ring locks into the case and the "narrow" end of the races get installed against the spacer snap ring. The combination of these two rings sets the endplay precisely. The instructions with the kit explicitly states NEVER intermix parts from different kits. There isn't nearly the liability there that I can see.
That's the left case main bearing set, not a wheel bearing set on a Class 8 truck, so I would have to see it in the instructions to re-use the spacer with different bearings...which is why I'm dumbfounded there isn't shim kits for them.

I honestly can't say I'd recommend ever re-using that spacer.
It just doesn't seem right to me, but wtf do I know.