December 8, 200916 yr Thanks to the good people on this forum, I bought some EMPI axles, put my big boy pants on, and started the swap. When I got the old axle out, I found this...... The grease on the end was a brown, rustish color. I've read in the searches that the grease is supposed to be red. Would it be wishful thinking to say this was red? I cleaned it up further, and found this......... It's not burred, but I suspect the discoloration could be considered "scored." I'm guessing this probably isn't good either. So what started out as an axle swap, is going to turn into something completely different. I guess I'll carry my butt out there and take it apart the rest of the way and see what I'm dealing with. If everything is still intact, I may just repack them and call it good. I hate doing anything half way, but trying to find a 6207 C3 bearing around here is not going to be fun, and I really wanted to drive this thing today. Anyway, the point of my diatribe, (aside from venting) is to thank you guys for all the write up's and pictures. I know what I need to do, and how to do it, I'm just not fond of the idea right now Dan
December 8, 200916 yr I wouldn't worry about the discoloration, but, it really is a good practice to replace the bearings and seals while your doing an axle job.
December 8, 200916 yr I just re-read your post. The bearing is also used in a lot of lawn and garden equipment, snowmobiles, and even in some harley transmisions. if your auto parts stores don't have them, try equipment repair shops and maybe a call to a bike shop. It may prove harder to get the seals. You need two bearings.
December 8, 200916 yr just go to a bearing shop..........they should be able to find them at resources you normally would not think of.cheers, brian
December 8, 200916 yr Author I got the seal off with out damaging it, and found the innards were clean. A little dry, but clean none the less. No sign of the redish brown stuff. Now to the next question. I got the axle in with no problems (thanks again USMB) and the inner boot looks like this...... I read something in my travels about relieving vacuum or some such? I tried it with a screwdriver and had no luck. Will this hurt anything or do I need to undo the clamp and straighten the boot. Dan
December 8, 200916 yr Don't worry about it - when you put the car back on the ground it will compress the axle and that will go away after it's run for a bit. GD
December 8, 200916 yr Author Don't worry about it - when you put the car back on the ground it will compress the axle and that will go away after it's run for a bit. GD GD, I'm sure you hear this a lot, but you are my personal hero. My buddy showed up with beer, and logical thinking went out the window. My sincerest apologies for inquiring about what should have been obvious. I searched until I thought I wasn't "that guy." Damnit..... Dan
December 9, 200916 yr Glad you got it fixed up. BTW - the rust and discoloration you see on the old axle shaft is called "fretting" and is caused by vibration between the axle shaft the inner bearing race. This always happens to some extent - what's going on is complex, but basically the two peices vibrating or rubbing across each other (were talking a matter of thousanths of an inch here) creates a place where there is no corrosion protection (no grease, no protective rust barrier, etc) and this results in rust formation and pitting of the metal in that area. They aren't moving relative to each other - if they were it would be called scoring and you would have MUCH bigger issues anyway. One of the side-effects of fretting is that new axles very often just slip in without the zero-clearance fit that new bearings will have with new axles. But that's ok. GD
December 9, 200916 yr well i used to get real jdm ( Subaru Loyal Fort wheel BEARING kit ) off ebay for 13.00 bucks 2 barning 2 seals but cant find it
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