Converting tapered wheel bearings for sealed, ball bearings in a "91 Festiva?

[k718cougar]

I'll throw out a question. I have a '91 Festiva and it has started eating the left, outer wheel bearing about every 500 miles. I noticed during the last bearing R&R that the hub appears to have some slight damage much like a bearing let go for the previous owner. Now, I'm sure the damaged bearing surface on the hub is not the best and I am almost certain that it is responsible for the lower than average bearing mileage, but has anyone entertained the idea of replacing the tapered wheel bearings for sealed, ball bearings? If so, was it successful and what bearing numbers did you use? And please don't reply "go the parts guy and ask him to look it up." Done that...

Thanks...

[Tommychu]

If you've been changing the races at every R&R I'll assume that the damage you speak of is to the knuckle itself, in which case you should replace the knuckle. If your race is not sitting in a perfectly round bore it will destroy bearings. You also risk cracking the knuckle in this situation; remember that these are cast iron and that cast iron is brittle. That would be very bad.
If you haven't then the damage would be to the race. So change the races out and make sure you have the right preload spacer.

Switching to ball bearings would be a VERY bad idea, especially as an improvised bandaid solution to a problem like this. Standard ball bearings can't handle the axial loads seen in this application very well, and they don't much like the speeds a wheel bearing encounters either. That leaves the High Angular Contact style of ball bearing, which is even worse at the higher speeds. It's just bad news. Tapered rollers make for the best wheel bearings 9 times out of ten. A lot of FWD vehicles use ball bearings but yours was designed for tapered rollers and I know for a fact that neither of us is a better engineer than the (presumably) old Japanese guy in a Mazda labcoat that decided to put them in there in the first place.

So in closing, fix the root of your problem. Don't try to re-engineer your way around it.

[crazyrog17]

Converting tapered wheel bearings for sealed, ball bearings in a "91 Festiva?

You wrote all my thoughts out a million times better than I could have. I was thinking of all the lateral load on wheel bearings and how a ball bearing wouldn't be able to handle them.

[Tommychu]

Like I said, a High Angular Contact ball bearing can. Some actually handle axial load better than tapered rollers. But they fail very quickly in high speed applications because of the extra friction inherent to their design (essentially one part of the ball is always dragging against the race). My Nissan had them, and I had to repack at every other oil change to keep them in good shape. Such a pain.

[Tommychu]

Another factor as well is the fact that it's popssible to vary the axial vs. radial load handling characteristics by using a specific taper angle in a tapered roller, which you can't do in a HAC Ball bearing. This means that your OEM bearings are "tuned" to your application, and a ball bearing that would fit may not be "big" enough to meet both of those requirements. That would also result in shortened bearing life and a potential for catastrophic failure.

[Tommychu]

But if you're looking for a simple solution that allows you to stand up, crack a beer (or Sprite if that's your preference) and say "There I F'n fixed it" while feeling like Mister Awesome Mechanic (which IMHO is the best type of solution to any problem) you should do an Aspire swap (which coincidentally is the best solution to any brake/suspension/bearing/knuckle issue in a Festy)

[Rocketman]

I've looked into running a more modern single sealed bearing, instead of the preloaded dual opposed taper rollers. You'd need to have the knuckle machined to accept a single bearing unit which presents a few problems, the main one being there isn't enough meat there for it. (the sealed units are usually wider dia than the two single bearings)

This requires a custom knuckle casting or housing. You'd be better off trying to adapt a knuckle from a different car, at that point lol

There's no other bearing that's going to fit into the existing casting/space unfortunately

[k718cougar]

The knuckle is fine. The gouge itself is in the wheel hub. To paint a better picture of the bearing riding on the hub, imagine a piston rod attached to a crankshaft without its bearing. That is an exaggerated description. There is some clearance between the bearing and the mating surface. Not a lot of clearance, but some none the less. I've been searching for a hub, but can't seem to find one...in good shape. The ball bearing thing was just an idea as some of the newer cars and trucks are coming with them. Also, just trying to keep it simple by replacing the hub.

[FestYboy]

have you thought of using a sleave? that would restore the interferance fit of the inner races to the hub.

[blkfordsedan]

Most newer cars and some trucks have been using ball bearings in the front for many years without issues. They are indeed double row angular contact, and are usually made as an integral part of the hub. Speed is not really an issue, we're not talking about a lot of RPM on a wheel. Most high speed industrial spindles use angular contact ball bearings.....Tapered rollers are actually more speed limited due to line contact as opposed to point contact.
There are millions of Tauruses running around with the original ball bearing wheel bearings. My '02 had 150k and never had them replaced. That said, I would take a TRB design over a Ball bearing any day. Most failures of bearings are due to lubrication. Over greasing is just as bad, hence the inherent advantage of a sealed-for-life bearing.
The Dodge Ram is probably the best argument against ball bearing hubs, lol. I agree with everyone else, you just need to source another hub and stick with the OEM design. This is a prime opportunity for an Aspire swap!

[k718cougar]

Actually, I am now thinking about the Aspire swap (front and rear). I have found a lot of info about the swap, but what I can't find is if the stock Festiva axle fits in the Aspire hub. This is a daily driver Festiva and I don't want to stray too far from its base. I have read that I need the spindles, rotors, hubs, calipers, outer tie rods, and rear drum brake assemblies, but what else will I need? Do all years of Aspires fit my '91?

[FestYboy]

wait wait... you didn't read enough about the swap, if you did, then you'd know that the axles fit both hubs (festy and aspire), as well as 323 and capri hubs too...
also, you'd know that the rear axle beam MUST accompany the rear drums, they won't swap onto the festy rear axle. all years will swap to all years.

[k718cougar]

Good to know, that's why I'm asking questions in this forum. Is the needed "rear beam" only from the Aspire? What years of 323s and Capri's should I include in my search list? And finally, I also understand that the current Festiva wheels won't fit due to bolt hole spacing.

[Larry Hampton]

The Aspire rear beam has a different bolt pattern for the axle stubs.

[k718cougar]

Ok, another question. I saw that wheel replacement was required for this swap. Is this because the bolt pattern/size is different or the stock 12" wheel diameter won't clear the new calipers? I currently have 13" aftermarket aluminum wheels on my ride now.