Green Wheel bearing help

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BobbyY

Old Mopar guy
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I'm sure I must be the only person on the form that doesn't know what a green rear wheel bearing is or how to tell if you do or don't have one. My rear end is a 8 3/4 with Dutchman axles. I am thinking about doing a rear disk swap and some kits say it must have green wheel bearings.

Bobby
 
Check to see if your pass side has an axle end play adjuster nut. If it does, you do not have green bearings. Green bearings are a solid roller bearing. The factory used a tapered bearing that needed adjustment.
 
Ever work on/deal with a 9" Ford? A Green bearing basically uses the same style bearing just fitting a mopar. It is non adjustable (factory is).
 
May not be true if the adjuster is missing. I bought a rear where the adjuster was missing and had the factory bearings.
 
it will be a sealed bearing with either a snap ring on the outside or it will have a flange that is fixed to the outer bearing shell. they make 2 different styles.
 
pntastar69 said:
May not be true if the adjuster is missing. I bought a rear where the adjuster was missing and had the factory bearings.
Click to expand...

What was keeping them tight w/o all kinds of end play? I have NEVER seen tapered bearing without some kind of adjustment. Not if put together correctly
 
Thanks for the info, now I just need to go see if I can find a adjuster nut on the passenger side. Is this something I can see with the brake drum still on or do I need to remove it.
 
You will need the drum off. You will see a larger threaded area around the axle, and a ring of sorts, that is threaded on to it with a locking tab to hold it in place.
 
But are all the sealed bearings of the ball type on newer vehicles?
 
here is what the adjuster looks like..

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green bearings..

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Thanks a bunch. I will pull the drum off tomorrow and then I will know. Does anyone know why most of the disk conversions say must use green bearing.
 
BobbyY said:
Thanks a bunch. I will pull the drum off tomorrow and then I will know. Does anyone know why most of the disk conversions say must use green bearing.
Click to expand...

With the adjustable factory type tapered roller bearings, when your moving the adjuster in or out to adjust preload on the bearings, your actually moving your axle flange in or out also.
The aftermarket disk setups use a fixed caliper, which you will shim as neccesary to get it centered on the disk when you mount it. With green bearings the axle flange and disk will always be in the same place.
When adjusting the tapered bearings, where you get the proper preload, may not be where the disk lines up with the caliper.
hope that makes sense.
Maybe someone else can explain it better.
 
BobbyY said:
Thanks a bunch. I will pull the drum off tomorrow and then I will know. Does anyone know why most of the disk conversions say must use green bearing.
Click to expand...

because the adjustable tapered bearings allow for a small amount of bearing lash. the bearings are adjustable thus not have a fixed location. this would allow the rotor to move from side to side making it impossible to center a caliper on the rotor unless you have a sliding caliper. with the sealed bearings the axle is set in a fixed position that is easy to center a caliper on.
 
Well I thought I would go just pop off the drums and take a look. That has turned out to be much easier said than done. The drums, both sides are free enough to wiggle around and slide in and out 1/8 inch or so but neither will come off. I have hit around on the edge of the face with a mallet but that hasn't done anything. Then I decided to loosen up on the adjusters, but I found that there is a steel plug/plate covering the adjuster hole from the inside. I have tried using a rather large screwdriver and the mallet to see if it would pop out. This also did not work, I did not unleash a full swing with the BFH on it for fear of damaging something. I also dressed the edge of the axle where it comes through the drum just to ensure that there was not a rough edge holding it on. Ideas please.

Bobby
 
Does the drum at least come off the hub? If so you can use a slide hammer to get it off.
 
What nobody has yet mentioned is that GREEN is a company name like Kleenex orB.F Goodrich. The "Green bearings" are not roller bearings like a soda can, but BALL bearings. They are absolutely nowhere near as durable as the factory style tapered bearings manufactured by the TIMKEN corporation. They will never last 100,000 miles like the Timkens. They will not last if you enjoy road racing or any type of cornering. They are okay for drag race cars that spent 99% of the time in a straight line.
The only advantage these inferior bearings have over the factory stuff is that they need no adjustment. The adjustment takes a few minutes. You are not gaining anything by switching. I didn't know about the weakness of the ball bearing design until 2 years ago when my "Green" bearings started failing after 7000 miles. I would have installed the Timkens but my axle shafts have been cut too short to utilize the factory setup. I went with Mopar performance bearings that are essentially the same as the "Green" versions. When these fail, I'll order new axle shafts and go with the Timkens again. I like to cut corners rather than drive in a straight line.
There are rear disc brake kits that work with the Timken bearings. Contact Doctor Diff. He sells brake kits at reasonable prices. I have his 10.7" kit on the Charger. It uses Toyota rotors, Mustang calipers and pads and a custom bracket to mount it all.
 
Don't try to force the drum off. There is a worn lip holding it on. You will tear up your shoe linings if you yank it. Back off the adjuster wheel, thru the thin slots in the bottom of the backing plate. Requires 2 screwdrivers or "brake levers". Search youtube and such.

I just replaced the seals in my C-body's 8.75" rear. I hate when they leak. Fortunately, I caught it early because the gear oil washes away the bearing grease, which can make them fail. I understand that is one advantage of Green roller bearings - they have a face seal and don't rely on the axle seal. My passenger side adjuster nut was boogered up, being cross-threaded. It is a fine thread, so that can happen easily. I had to play with it a long time with the axle off, and couldn't back the nut out fully with the bearing installed, to get the threads started right. I think I got it back straight, and adjusted play to the factory 15 mil. I had the rear bearings replaced ~1997 and didn't notice the adjuster when I re-installed them. I should have read the manual carefully.

I don't see an adjuster on either side of my 64 Valiant 7.25" rear-end. The factory manual for my 65 Dart discusses the adjuster, but the drawings show it only on the Coronet (B-body). I'm not going to remove the wheels and drums just to look. Perhaps the 7.25" rears have ball bearings instead.
 
The 7 1/4 axle is a totally different animal. The axles ride on non tapered roller bearings pressed into the axle housing. There is no adjustment.
The axles are kept in place with C clips at the inner end of the axle shafts.
 
Bill G and others, Getting the Drum off is my current issue to see what I have. What should be the slot to allow for loosing the adjuster has a steel plug/plate on the inside. I am afraid to use a BFH and chisel to try and knock it out and hitting it firmly did not do it. No I am not hitting the drum but the plug/plate that is covering the oval slot.
 
If you go to green bearings you will need to remove the spacer
inside the rear end. The spacer was used so the old type axle
could be adjusted.
 
The differential thrust block can be left intact when snap-ring style Green bearings are used with a stock housing, stock axles, and stock brakes.
 
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