I'm replacing the front end wheel bearings tonight. Have the mainenance manual and have done this before on other cars, but if anyone knows of "things to do/NOT to do" please advise. I know you don't want to preload them, saw that service bulletin. Thanks in advance.

I finally broke down and bought one of those cone-shaped bearing packers for my last set. Man, that is a really cool invention.

Unless you really like the feeling of a big 'ol wad of grease in your hand.

My disk brake conversion instructions also suggested test fitting the bearings dry and using sanding cloth on the spindle if the fit was too snug. Never heard that before, but thought it was good advice.

Salmon, actually th 68 maintenance manual also states to sand (actually it says polish) if the fit is tight. I do have the BEARING PACKER TOOL FROM RONCO!!, it does make things less of a mess. Worried about getting grease in the wrong spots but I think I'll be okay. That first (during re-installation) grease seal just gets tapped in, yes?

Till it is flush with the machined edge of the hub, yes. Must have found the whoops.

first grease seal?
yes the grease seal gets tapped in. if you dont have a race/seal installer, a block of wood may help if the seal is not wanting to go in straight.

you are using new seals and new races to go with the new bearings and new grease? and new cotter pins?

I 2nd the suggestion of the block of wood for getting the seal in straight and flush.

Have new everything, but are the races a separate item from the seals and bearings? Help me out here....

New races always come in the boxes with the bearings. The inner seal comes in a separate box.

You will have to take the drum or rotor to a shop and have the front and rear races removed and installed unless you have the tools.

I did not have this problem as it was a brake conversion for me and MP Brakes was kind enough to install the races in the rotors for me. :p

The bearings come in two parts, basically. For the sake of description we'll call the two parts "rollers" and "race." The "race" is the part that the rollers fit into, and they are usually mounted in the rotor hub. If they are not pulled out during a bearing job, you are using "old" races with "new" rollers. I think Scott is advising you to pull the old races, too.

Just to qualify: I don't have a 68 Firebird. I haven't done the bearings on my 69 Firebird. I am quoting from my GTO experience.

Q

Darn it Salmon ... you beat me by a minute because I was editing!

Q

actually, you can buy bearings and races separately on many applications. they do this because new rotors nearly always come with the races in them. hubbed drums usually dont (like on VWs).

they are sold under the names of "cone" and "cup", with the bearing being the cone and the race being the cup.

you dont need special tools. all you need is a hammer and a punch. s'poda use a brass bunch for installing (if you dont have the race driver kit). i have never had luck with the brass punch. i was just real careful. now i have the $20 kit.

getting them out is easy. getting the new ones in can take some patience. they have to be seated all the way. i set the hub on plywood while hammering in races. the hammer-hit makes a different sound when the race is seated all the way.

Q- TOHCan beat me by a minute too. curse my editing nature.

Now I gotcha. I've replaced bearings and seals without doing the races in the past, on other cars. Is it an absolute no-no for the firebird or just a real good idea to replace the races? You all know where I'm going here......

according to some, it is an absolute no-no on any vehicle. they say the bearings and races are matched. but then you get new rotors with new races, and reuse old bearings, so.....

other than that, if the bearing went bad, the race probably is not in fine shape. if it has any stripes, or discoloration, or anything other than a smooth, unmarked surface, it should be replaced.

i have replaced bearings without races before, but if it is because the bearing is bad, i replace the race no matter how it looks.

Ya know - it's kinda like the no-no of replacing just the lifters and not the cam or vice versa. Or replacing brake pads and not machining the rotors or drums.

I firmly believe in replacing/machining both surfaces so you start fresh. Replacing one without the other is asking for much faster wear.

You know what mamma always said, "If your going to do it; do it right".

And Q - gottcha at the light! :p

of course, making your rotors or drums thinner when you dont have to is not necessarily desireable either. GM now advises against it unless absolutely necessary.

and replacing good bearings when replacing said thin rotor with a new one which comes with new races is an unecessary expense IMO.

papa always said "dont fix what aint broke"

those two never could agree.

had ta mention machining rotors... didnt ya?.
GMs new policy (circa ~1990) is kinda weird. DO NOT machine rotor unless grooves exceed .060", or thickness variation or runout is not within tolerence.
if the groove is that deep, the rotor is below spec. if you have a thickness variation, it's gonna come back about half the time, unless you just replace the rotor, in my experience.
then they say if you do turn it, it's on-car only.
block sanding is permitted.
this aint word for word. i dont wanna find the TSB, but you can if you want to. i'm sure it's more applicable to the new cars than the old ones, but i consider a variation of it a good policy for all cars, and it has significantly reduced my comeback complaints to almost zero, and MTBF is down.

Oh for christs sake you guys are making me feel guilty as hell about this! LUCKILY, I got home late and could not complete the project half-*** ! Okay, sorry to sound so ignorant earlier prior to LOOKING at what you all had spoken of. All boxed inner/outer bearing assemblies now come with races, I had the new races in the box all along. NOW, do I skip that and just plug the new bearings and seals in, since there really was no concern of damage or wear??

Well.... I can't do that now due to all your posts about Doing it Right the first time, can I? I'll have my local garage properly seat the races in the morning and pick up where I left off. You guys are great, thanks for keeping me focused. Still worried about that 350 degree lithium grease though................ :rolleyes:

use high temp disc wheel bearing grease.

Or synthetic.