Re: alfa-digest V7 #285

[Rodney Tidwell <rodneygt@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

McLeodWW@domain.elided wrote:

> hi all,
> i'm about to embark on a 1500 mile trip in a somewhat new-to-me '87
> milano
> gold w/64k on the clock. perhaps not surprisingly, i'm a bit nervous -
>
> particularly about the state of the front wheel bearings... i'm not
> 100% sure
> but the car seems kind of loud; it's difficult to tell with unfamiliar
> tires
> (firestone something or other). the guy i bought the car from (about
> 600 miles
> ago), told me that he replaced the wheel bearings less than a 1000
> miles
> ago.... and, indeed, the old wheel bearings were in the console of the
> car
> when i bought it! hmmmm? any thoughts? what's the worst case scenario
> given my
> planned jaunt? any and all insight appreciated. hope that everyone has
> a nice
> holiday!
> regards,
> joe

For some reason mostly unkown to me I eventually had to replace the
front bearings on each side of my first milano.  I have likewise had to
replace the front bearings on the driver's side of my present milano.
On the otherhand, I've never had to change the bearings on my GTV6 I've
had  since '88 and it has ~80K on the clock - go figure.  I'm guessing
Alfa either changed bearing (or grease seal) suppliers, grease suppliers
or I've just been lucky with the 6.  The bad bearings tended to be
fairly dry with the grease remaining on the bearing having become
tacky.  When I R&R I used Slick 51 grease which basically appears to be
the same bearing grease as used in boat trailers.

If your bearings where packed with grease before install then they
should be okay.  It is possible that a first timer installed the
bearings without properly packing them.  In that case you would get
noise and need to redo the job.  I suppose it's also possible that
whomever changed the bearings didn't change the race (the only part of
the job that approaches work) and the old race was bad.

Worst case scenario:  Bearing disintegrates, spindle and hub get messed
up, big wreck at high speeds, full scale nuclear war :-)

Without actually hearing/feeling it, it's hard to say.  The bearings
generally give fair warning prior to failure. If your worried, go ahead
and change them (don't forget the seals), it's not that big of a job.

Good Luck
Rodney
McComb, MS

------------------------------