How good or bad were the wheel bearings in the old cars?

[DDTJRAC]

 

Say this car. Looks like the wheel bearings were similar to what they used in a trailer with exposed dust / grease cap. Did the bearings hold up pretty good back then or was there a lot of maintenance?

Edited September 2 by DDTJRAC (see edit history)

[JV Puleo]

A lot depends on what was used. Tapered Roller bearings were just appearing on the market in the brass era. Early on they were used almost exclusively in big, expensive cars. They were so  expensive that most mid and low price makers simply didn't use them. What we do see a lot of are drawn-cup "bicycle" ball bearings. Those had been around for ages. I've spent a huge amount of time replacing them on my car because they were in terrible shape...most of the bearing cups were actually broken. Like all parts of a brass-era car, bearings needed regular maintenance. The period literature often covers cleaning and repacking them and recommending it be done far more often than would be the case today. What we think of a roller bearings were also a headache since the most popular type was the Hyatt bearing with rollers made from rolled metal strips. Those were used largely because they were cheap and they allowed for a certain amount of misalignment. You see them in rear axles and torque tubes. They would take a lot of abuse but when they were common they were not expensive or hard to replace.

 

Keep in mind that cars had a very short life expectancy. In most cases they wouldn't wear out during that time frame and no one expected a car to last 20 years much less 100.

 

And...that's a hub cap. Calling it a dust or grease cap is another idiotic ebayism from folks who don't know what they are.

Edited September 2 by JV Puleo (see edit history)

[Ben Bruce aka First Born]

My 1950 is still running ball bearings.  I don't know if they were replaced in the first 95,000 mi or not. A one owner, prior to me, with  130,000 mi now.

 

  Ben

Edited September 2 by Ben Bruce aka First Born (see edit history)

[mobileparts]

If you want a sweet price on a set of *** N.OS. *** U.S.A.  made *** Ball Bearings & Seals --- let me know.....Craig....

[DonMicheletti]

Lubricant quality had a lot to do with longevity.

I'm with Ben. I have had ball bearigs last a lot longer than 100K miles

[TexRiv_63]

My 1960 was the last Buick to use ball bearings in the front. The key is maintenance and lubrication.

[Rusty_OToole]

Early cars like 1920 and earlier that were used on the bad dirt roads of the time, had the wheel bearings, king pins, steering, springs etc pounded to death by rough roads. From the mid 20s on, roads improved and later cars could go much farther before they wore out especially if they were lubricated regularly.

[nat]

     The ball bearings used for front wheels are "angular contact" bearings which have "L" shaped races that allow them to take more thrust than the circular grooves of a radial ball bearing.  Most  all modern front wheel drive cars still use them.   

     The Timken bearing company bought the assets of Gilliam Manufacturing in 1925.  My 24' Dodge had Gilliam bearings that are still in good shape.

 

 

Edited September 3 by nat
. (see edit history)