RE: Bearings

[Chris Attias <cattias@domain.elided>]

I recently had a problem with loose bearings...Could tell they were loose
because they would allow the brake rotor to contact the pads and make brake
pad vibration noises (not a squeal, more like rubbing your wet finger
around the edge of a wine glass) when making turns.  Problem was on the
right side--made noises on left turns.  I probably could have tightened the
nut and been done with it, but thought I'd replace the bearing for the hell
of it, and because people had been telling me how fragile GTV-6 bearings
were.  Followed manual assembly instructions, used torque wrench.  Found
that the noise and looseness returned, and had to retorque after a couple
of hundred miles.

The frustrating thing about any bearing where the preload is determined by
torque setting and castle nut holes is that you never quite know if you've
got it right.  I did a similar job on my MGB, where things are a little
more clear cut--it depends on a spacer and adjusting shims between the
bearings, and you can assemble it "dry" to feel for drag, binding, and
wobble before adding grease.  The SGK bearing set I got for the Alfa came
with a special nut, which I'm guessing is meant to be deformed after
torquing to lock the setting.  I'm tempted to look for the adjustable
Mercedes nuts that people have mentioned in previous postings.

Chris Attias
'84 GTV-6

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