Spray metal repairs

[oldford]

I put a "Parts Wanted" ad on the Horseless Carriage forum below looking for bearings for my 1908 Reo, and had a few good responses. I began to think of the possibility of repair rather than replace. These are ball and cup type bearings that Timkin says was obsolete when it was new in the car and they have no source for them. The balls are replaceable from McMaster-Carr, but the cups and cones are galled beyond use. Has anyone had parts repaired using the spray metal technique and can anyone recommend a reputable place to do the repair? I'm thinking of something similar to crankshaft repairs with spray metal. Any thoughts?

Frank

[nickelroadster]

To remanufacture the bearing races would be a very tall order. I think I would start to contact people experienced with old car bearings. I'm sure you could machine the parts to use other bearings. Try Olcar bearing in North Carolina 910-693-3324 for some info.

[oldford]

I tried Olcar, he doesn't hold out much hope, but he's looking. Why do you think the repair is such a tall order?

Frank

[jdome]

Have you asked this question on REO forums or contacted any long time REO owners? Some cleaver hobbiest/machinest has figured out how to machine the spindles and hubs of most all popular 1 & 2-Cyl cars to convert to modern, off the shelf (cheaper & better) tappered bearings.

[JV Puleo]

Bearing races are much too hard and much too precise to be repaired by metal spraying. The originals would have been turned, heat treated and finish ground, all on specialized machines, for the most part, unique to that industry. Setting up to do a small run or a custom job would be prohibitively expensive even if you could convince a bearing maker to do it... and I doubt any would be interested.

You don't say which bearings they are. Many years ago I replaced most of the bearings in a 4 cylinder 1910 Reo "R" that I owned. If I remember correctly, the only one that had replaceable balls was the large bearing at the front of the transmission. The rear axels had Hyatt-type bearings and the front wheels had tapered rollers. None were still available but I was able to make some modifications that allowed me to use off-the-shelf bearings. I didn't need to replace the races in the big transmission bearing but I think, had it been badly galled as your bearings are, something could have been worked out though it would have required designing and making some custom parts.

[W_Higgins]

You won't be money ahead to do a spray repair on a simple part like this because you still have to re-machine afterward. It's easier to just cut a new one. It's economical for things like crankshafts because making a new crankshaft is so complex.

Call REMPCO:

Rempco, Inc - Quality Replacement Parts for Industrial Machinery

.... and talk to Gilbert. He'll get you on the right track.

[Ovalrace25]

This is where it really pays to know who has the local machine shop in his garage. Some fabrication/machinework to allow the use of available bearings is what needs to be done.

BUT, I must agree, we need to know which bearing we are dealing with.....

[oldford]

I guess I forgot to mention (at least in this thread) that these are the inner and outer front wheel bearings. I have found modern replacements, but they will need hub modifications, which I was trying to avoid. I thought I would explore other possibilities before going that route.

Frank

[oldford]

I just spoke with a gent that specializes in spray metal repair of small parts used in the aircraft industry. He informed me that this technique is not suited to bearing repair, due to the high point stresses associated with bearings. Looks like my only option is to rework the hubs to accept new style bearings....

Frank

[W_Higgins]

Looks like my only option is to rework the hubs to accept new style bearings....

Or try contacting the place I mentioned above....

[nickelroadster]

On the whole I think you have gotten good advice here. If you machine the hubs to take a different bearing than you should be able to replace it from here on out.

[RU22]

Frank

I would second the 'modify hub' suggestion

I bet hubs are easier to find than NOS original bearings

Please make sure the new bearings are not going to fade away too in a few years.

I designed some custom connecting rods a few years to fit an insert that went obsolete eventually...... not good. We ended up going back and re-designing the rods using Dodge Colt bearings. This is a ''World car'' and has given us more time for now. You don't want this to happen to you.

[oldford]

Thanks for all the good advice here. I think I've made my decision... I will modify the hubs (both inner and outer bearing surfaces) to accept modern bearings. The inner will use a Model T roller bearing and the outer will use a Model A roller bearing. The only other modification will be to turn the inner spindle surface down by .025" to accept the Model T race. This way, I figure, I can use a common bearing that has relatively small cost of replacement. Now I'm off to the machinist (Mr. Wizard)...

Frank