Wheel Bearing Races Secured with Permatex Bearing Mount

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fj4068

fj4068

10 Year
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The recent discussion in the aftermarket spindle thread got me thinking about this topic again but I didn't want to de-rail that thread any further.

I'm currently using some Permatex #68050, Bearing Mount for Relaxed Fits, to help ensure the security of the inner (spindle-side) race on all four front wheel bearings because I thought I could see slight evidence of the races walking in a circle despite being torqued and re-torqued @~15,000 mile intervals. I'm hoping that this can be a reasonable alternative to staking, and perhaps even a reasonable prophylactic. Does anyone see any downside to using it, or have any experience with this or a similar product?

Description & application instructions:
http://www.permatex.com/component/d...rmat=raw&filename=68050.pdf&market=automotive
 
Full disclosure - I work for Loctite

Retaining coumpounds, as they are called, are simply high strength thread lockers. If you want to ensure your races do not "walk" then, by all means, use a retaining compound. If you are concerned about needing to heat the race to remove it, then I would say use a blue (medium strength) thread locker instead of the retaining compound. It's just a weaker version.
 
About 15 years ago I had loose races in the hubs of my boat trailer. Poor quality hubs from Stainless Steel Brakes Inc.

I used product from Locktite (#555 as I recall) which was very dark green, designed to harden in the absent of air. There were different products based upon the size of the gaps. Normal thread locking products would not work because the gap was to large and would not harden. It worked very well after it cured for several days before reassembly of the hubs. Last time I repaked the bearings the races were still in place and showed no signs of wear so I have not tried to remove them. I'm guessing about 30k miles on the trailer after doing this.
 
Thanks to all for the info and data points.
 
On a project for another vehicle, I found a broken flange for a critical transmission bearing (mainshaft!) and brought the rare case to a high end machine shop. They measured it and looked it over for some time before telling me that they'd recommend the OP's Permatex bearing retainer product rather than machining the case. They use it all the time with zero failures.

I used the product and it worked beautifully. Wouldn't worry at all about using it on the Cruiser's wheel bearings.

DougM
 
I actually used Loctite 609 on my front spindles. I only put it on the outside race. For one thing, that was the only race that appeared to be walking. Also, I don't think I could get to the inner race with heat if necessary.

I did do some testing you may be interested in. With an old spindle, I put the bearing on the spindle with Loctite 609 and let it dry overnight. The next day it was really stuck in place. I couldn't budge it by hand or by tapping with a brass hammer (I used an old bearing too that I didn't care about destroying). For that reason, I don't think this stuff will allow a bearing to walk. It seriously felt like it was welded to the spindle.

Then, I applied heat with a heat gun for about 5 minutes. The spindle got pretty hot. Hot enough to sizzle water. As it was heating up, I put on an oven mitt and tried to pull off the bearing. It didn't budge until I saw the grease start to smoke a little bit. Then it pulled right off.

Then, I cleaned the spindle and put the bearing on again with Loctite 609 and let it set overnight. Again, it wouldn't budge by hand or by tapping with a hammer. This time, I set up a small gear puller I got at Harbor Freight on the spindle. To my surprise, with no heat, the bearing pulled off with only moderate effort. It didn't feel like it was going to move, and then all of a sudden it popped right off. So, when it comes time to remove my hubs, I'm going to set up a gear puller on the hub and hope for the best. I'd prefer not to use heat, but as a last resort, that seems like it should work.

I don't really do expeditions or hardcore offroading, so I'm not concerned about having to remove my hubs on a trail. However, if you have this concern, you may want to figure out how you're going to get a gear puller on the hub and bring it with you on the trail. Either that, or bring a torch. Otherwise, I don't think you're going to get the hub off.

Also, Loctite makes a lower strength retaining compound (641) which has a shear strength of 1700 psi as opposed to 2300 psi for Loctite 609. That may pull off easier. Both have a temperature rating of 300 deg F. I'd probably use that if I were buying it again, but 609 seems like it should come off with the right effort. I'm in the process of doing my rear axle and it's definitely walking and not allowing me to get the right preload. I'm going to use this in the rear as well. I'm still a bit scared that I won't be able to get the hubs off, but I figure as a last resort heat will get the job done.

http://www.useloctite.com/filephotos/documents/Retaining_Solutions_Guide.pdf
 
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