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Author Topic: HOW-TO: Capri Wheel Bearings  (Read 111659 times)

Rocketman

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HOW-TO: Capri Wheel Bearings
« on: March 31, 2010, 07:02:00 PM »

[UPDATE 4/5/2023]

Eshepherd came to my shop with his knuckles, with his help we replaced his bearings and filmed the important parts of the process. This is a correct version of the process. Link to the video:

https://youtu.be/F8bqpZ_I_Jk


OLD POST:

Hey all. I've heard way too many stories of bearing jobs gone bad on BF's, I figured I'd do a little guide. I'm not claiming this as the proper way to do them, there are some tools that will make it easier so take it as you may, YMMV. I used what tools I happened to have on hand.

We'll start off with the knuckle removed. You should know how to get here, brief rundown: 2x 14mm caliper bolts. 1 1/8" axle nut (unstake first). 2x 17mm bolts on strut. 1x 17mm castle nut on tie-rod end, gentle heat to arm helps to free stud, don't mash the stud with a hammer. 1x 14mm balljoint retaining bolt. Think that covers it.

You'll have something similar to the following picture, your rotors are probably different as I have done the Galant brake upgrade.
 


Rotor removed. You can leave yours bolted to the hub.
 


The hub should come out of the knuckle fairly easily. If not a socket and a few gentle taps from a hammer from behind should free it.
 


THIS IS THE BEARING SPACER. DO NOT LOSE, SWAP, OR DISCARD THIS. The spacer determines bearing preload, and is matched to the hub. Without it, or with the incorrect one, the bearings will self-destruct.
 


Moving on... I used a good flathead screwdriver to gently tap the old races out of the knuckle. If you use this method, keep the tip under control, don't score the bore.
 


All the way out, flip over and do the other side too.
 


Theres a couple ways to get this bearing off the hub, I decided to try a grinder. I ran out of grinding when so ended up using a propane torch to heat the race & a chisel to seperate it.
 


Cage removed.
 
« Last Edit: April 05, 2023, 11:12:01 PM by Rocketman »
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Rocketman

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HOW-TO: Capri Wheel Bearings
« Reply #1 on: March 31, 2010, 07:03:00 PM »

Here's the race. Bearing seperator would work best if you've got one. (I need to get one!)
 


Race on it's way off. Little tricky, don't damage the hub's shaft
 


Install the new seal on the hub - don't forget it!
 


Gently start the bearing onto the hub shaft
 


I found a section of pipe to use to seat the bearing. Gentle taps! Use a press if you have access to one.
 


Gently start the race into the knuckle.
 


Send it home, gently, don't score the bore
 


Install the race in the other side
 
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Rocketman

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HOW-TO: Capri Wheel Bearings
« Reply #2 on: March 31, 2010, 07:03:00 PM »

Pack the bearing, set into place. Install the axle seal, I used a flat piece of heavy aluminum to seat it.
 


Reinstall the bearing spacer - don't forget it!
 


At this point you can install the hub back into the knuckle. Pack the bearing...
 


Flip over
 


I had to gently tap the other bearing to get it to seat nice on the hub shaft
 


Just about seated all the way
 


Reinstall onto the car!
 


Use the axle nut to tighten it down the rest of the way. FSM recommends torquing 116-174 ft-lbs, I dont think it needs quite that much, torque to your heart's content
 


That should be it, I don't think I missed anything, hope this helps everyone

-Rocketman
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Gostlrs

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HOW-TO: Capri Wheel Bearings
« Reply #3 on: April 01, 2010, 01:32:00 AM »

nice write up
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bhazard

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HOW-TO: Capri Wheel Bearings
« Reply #4 on: April 01, 2010, 04:06:00 PM »

My machinist charged $30 to do both sides. I was short on cash but didnt feel like trashing my hubs...
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Rocketman

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HOW-TO: Capri Wheel Bearings
« Reply #5 on: April 02, 2010, 03:22:00 PM »

$30 aint bad... I'd hate to know what a dealer would charge...

Be glad we can do bearings!! On my Isuzu Impulse the rear wheel bearings are non-replaceable or rebuildable...the only option at the moment is junkyard bearings, terrible! No longer available from Isuzu.
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bhazard

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HOW-TO: Capri Wheel Bearings
« Reply #6 on: April 02, 2010, 04:00:00 PM »

Not even available at rockauto?
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93 Festiva L, lotsa miles, BP+T/G25MR swap, Rocketchip
Best ET 12.99, Best MPH 109.8, 22\\" slicks
88 T-bird Turbo Coupe, 182k miles, slightly modded, 14.71 @ 92.4mph 2.02 60\\\', end of the road

Rocketman

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HOW-TO: Capri Wheel Bearings
« Reply #7 on: April 02, 2010, 04:08:00 PM »

Nope. The rear hubs are sealed units - designed to be non-serviceable, when they wear out you replace them. Isuzu stopped making cars, and stopped making replacement parts (there were only 800 RS's sent to North America anyway)

The hub and housing are actually the races themselves, with more or less loose ball bearings inside. The races wear out and being that they are integral with the hub and the housing they cannot be serviced. Sucks! I'm going to be working with one of the guys to cast a new, oversized housing to to try to fit a nice sealed bearing in there.
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PCFree

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HOW-TO: Capri Wheel Bearings
« Reply #8 on: September 19, 2011, 04:42:00 AM »

You installed the outer seal backwards and don't even show seating it all the way (which would be impossible with the stock rotors installed) plus the spacer is not determined by the hub, it is determined by the bearings. If you look at the center hub after the inner bearing is installed, the end doesn't reach past the inner bearing race. Thus, then the outer CV joint presses against the inner race and the hub presses against the outer bearing's inner race, it becomes a clamp that can only press the bearings together as far as the spacer allows. Any hub you use will only be a clamp and have no impact as to how close the bearings are to each other. Thus, when bearings are changed, preload must be checked to find the proper shim thickness. If you just use the same shim and the bearings are from a different manufacturer than the old ones, you may end up with loose bearings or over-tight ones and both situations will burn up bearings. My replacement of bearings moved the shim thickness from a #12 shim to a #9. Shims can be ordered through a Mazda dealership. We have one here in West Michigan that specializes in finding Capri and Probe parts.
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350boatracing

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Re: HOW-TO: Capri Wheel Bearings
« Reply #9 on: August 03, 2014, 09:40:48 PM »

PCFree, how did you know what shim to size to use. Those spacers are internal when the hub is installed on the car. How did you measure?
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Capri-guy

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Rocketman

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Re: HOW-TO: Capri Wheel Bearings
« Reply #11 on: August 06, 2014, 08:21:27 AM »

PCFree, how did you know what shim to size to use. Those spacers are internal when the hub is installed on the car. How did you measure?
There's a Ford SST used to torque the bearings to spec prior to pressing the hub in - once torqued you use a in-lb to measure how much resistance there is. You match the resistance you measured to the chart in the FSM and you can tell if you're within spec, or need to go up/down in spacer side.

Not sure where my old reply or edits went, but here goes:
The outer seal is not installed backwards, and it did seat most of the way once the hub was pressed in. I've found a much better method of installing the hub that seats everything nicely, and the next time I have to do one I'll document things & take new pictures. No-one has offered up any pictures or write-ups of their own, so these will stay for the time being - it at least shows the basic process & how everything goes together, which is a source of much confusion with the Capri.

Now - the spacer is MATCHED TO THE KNUCKLE, folks. The hubs are all the same, the new bearings should be close to each other - there is a very fine tolerance on bearings, it should not change the spacer size much or all all.

Why? Here's my educated guess/theory/whatever. There is a ridge inside the hub, where the bearing races seat opposing each other. The knuckle is an iron casting or forging - and the most difficult to machine. The thickness of this ridge inside the bore determines how far apart the bearings sit. This seems to vary a bit from knuckle to knuckle - and directly corresponds to which size preload spacer is needed (presumably because of the fixturing/steps/difficulty in machining an odd piece like this)

The ridge is visible in this picture, below the race:
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Rocketman

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Re: HOW-TO: Capri Wheel Bearings
« Reply #12 on: August 06, 2014, 08:30:33 AM »

are you sure rear wheel bearings for an Isuzu Impulse are no longer availagle?

http://www.karlautoparts.com/catalog-1/subcategory/rear-wheel-bearings-and-seals/isuzu/_/impulse

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/NATIONAL-BEARING-511018-REAR-Wheel-Bearing-ISUZU-IMPULSE-/270887495129

http://www.amazon.com/512171-Bearing-Assembly-Non-Driven-without/dp/B00A7BZHUA

https://www.google.nl/search?q=rear+wheel+bearings+Isuzu+Impulse&rlz=1C1GGGE_nlNL494NL494&es_sm=93&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=WwjiU5OoMsWbPfrsgMAP&ved=0CB8QsAQ&biw=1346&bih=615#imgdii=_
(if there are pic available of a rear wheel bearing, the bearing itself also is avalable, i think  :)
or am i mistaken?  ::)

Absolutely positive. There have been a few New Old Stock that have popped up out of Japan, they were $900 a piece or so.

Link #1 is for the First gen RWD (different chassis)
Link #2 is also for the first gen RWD impulse
Link #3 is for the correct year, but for the FWD version. The problem is with the AWD impulses, the rear bearings have an axle that goes through them same way you'd see on the front

The problem is the AWD version was very short production to begin with, and GM promptly cancelled isuzu's passenger car program before proper replacements were actually needed
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greywolf27030

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Re: HOW-TO: Capri Wheel Bearings
« Reply #13 on: August 06, 2014, 09:23:44 AM »

Nice write-up.  I'm guessing rebuilding a Festiva knuckle would be about the same?  Also, I'm not familiar with a bearing separator, what is that?

Thanks for you input, Jack Byrd
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Jack Byrd

350boatracing

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Re: HOW-TO: Capri Wheel Bearings
« Reply #14 on: August 06, 2014, 05:32:02 PM »

PCFree, how did you know what shim to size to use. Those spacers are internal when the hub is installed on the car. How did you measure?
There's a Ford SST used to torque the bearings to spec prior to pressing the hub in - once torqued you use a in-lb to measure how much resistance there is. You match the resistance you measured to the chart in the FSM and you can tell if you're within spec, or need to go up/down in spacer side.

Not sure where my old reply or edits went, but here goes:
The outer seal is not installed backwards, and it did seat most of the way once the hub was pressed in. I've found a much better method of installing the hub that seats everything nicely, and the next time I have to do one I'll document things & take new pictures. No-one has offered up any pictures or write-ups of their own, so these will stay for the time being - it at least shows the basic process & how everything goes together, which is a source of much confusion with the Capri.

Now - the spacer is MATCHED TO THE KNUCKLE, folks. The hubs are all the same, the new bearings should be close to each other - there is a very fine tolerance on bearings, it should not change the spacer size much or all all.

Why? Here's my educated guess/theory/whatever. There is a ridge inside the hub, where the bearing races seat opposing each other. The knuckle is an iron casting or forging - and the most difficult to machine. The thickness of this ridge inside the bore determines how far apart the bearings sit. This seems to vary a bit from knuckle to knuckle - and directly corresponds to which size preload spacer is needed (presumably because of the fixturing/steps/difficulty in machining an odd piece like this)

The ridge is visible in this picture, below the race:


Thanks for the explanation.
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