Front Wheel Bearing Spacer Question

[jwoell]

ok so I'm putting my front wheel back on after getting new tires and while I was at it I am replacing the bearings. My question is about the bearing spacer that is positioned between the bearings. By looking at it I would think that the inner races of the bearings would both be touching the spacer in between them in order to create the center "tube" that takes the side load from torquing down the front axle.

Well I've got about a quarter inch gap between the right bearing and the axle spacer. Is that the way it is supposed to be? I should have taken pictures while I was removing the old bearing, my bad. But I just wanted to double check. By looking at it, there isn't supposed to be that side load on the bearings.

The gal at the parts store isn't the brightest in the world, there is definitely the chance that I have th wrong bearing. Although I compared it to the original and it seemed identical.

What do you guys think?

[79XS11F]

That spacer is to be in lite contact with the bearings. Your bearings are likely not completely seated. Tap them in all the way until they bottom out. Work evenly around the outer race with a drift and a lite hammer. Move the drift often so the bearing goes in squarely. DO NOT HIT THE BEARING SEAL or the inner race. TAP TAP .. no "hammering"
Rob

[prometheus578]

"I agree that the bearings aren't all the way seated."

Drift pin is one method...
Placing a socket which is the same size as the outer rim of the bearing (but smaller than the wheel hub hole) and tapping that with a hammer is better, I feel. Less chance of slipping and puncturing the grease seal.
What's perfect is... taking the old bearing to a grinding wheel and thinning down the side of it. This is the perfect fit against the outer race of the new bearing, you can hammer on it all day, and it's now thin enough to not stick in the wheel hub. Any time you replace bearings; wheel, steering, etc, always keep the old "modified" ones to use in pressing in new ones later.
That being said... A bearing not fully seated will place a sidewards stress on the inner race of the bearing. The rim/inner lip of the wheel hub is there to ensure that the bearing stops when it's in far enough.
Now then... it is possible still to drive the bearing in too far, placing an outward stress on the inner race. If, after you've pressed the bearing in you find that it won't spin... you've gone too far. Take a drift pin or something, stick it in the hole and pry back and forth on the spacer tube in the center. This will shift and force the bearing out a little allowing it to spin freely.
As an example... years back, Victory had problems with bikes were the rear rims were being destroyed. Finally figger'd out that the spacer wasn't long enough... sideward stress would destroy the bearing... then the bearing destroyed the rim. They then shipped out slightly longer spacers.
Moral o' da story... Spacer must make solid contact with the bearings.

[Bonz]

I replaced the right rear bearing in my new to me 80 SG Special, and there was no way the bearing would seat any further in the wheel.

I cut the old bearing and used it as the driver for the new bearing. The new bearing decidedly bottomed out, as the tone the hammer made when it struck the "driver bearing" was telling me it was hitting an immovable object (i.e. no more room to go in further). I may as well have been hammering the driver bearing on a metal plate that was sitting on concrete. NO movement.

BUT there is a gap as well between the bearing and spacer just like jwoell described. I could not hit this thing harder (within reason) and I made no progress by taking a drift and screwdriver on the outer edge of the new bearing to try and coax it in further. Just kept bouncing off like I was hitting a solid object.

Everything went back to together fine, and the circlip went in fine as well, which would tell me that the bearing was in far enough. Make sense?

Is it possible with what I described that I am just worrying about nothing, or do I have something to worry about?

When I took the old bearing out, the spacer had enough side play at the end to be pushed aside so I could hit the bearing to get it the heck out of the wheel. If it was lightly touching, it would not have moved anywhere near the amount it did.

While I'm at it, does the spacer flange sit flush with the end of the spacer, or should it slide down onto the spacer any amount? My flange is just a hair past flush down on the spacer.

You guys are making me neurotic! BUT still want to be safer vs. sorry.