kingslandkid
Member
On my Ford 545C loader tractor, I was replacing the front wheel bearings and found the original inside cup is .010 oversize on the o.d.. It is a Timken and has the same part number as the replacement bigger and the replacement fall into the hub bore. The only possible give away on the bearing is an "X" letter about 90 degrees from the part number. I've searched the internet for an answer and consulted my Timken bearing manual and found nothing. Has anyone ever ran into this situation. Short of using bearing mount to take up the clearance I'm contemplating using the old cone. In the bean time I will call a bearing supplier in Fort Wayne for advice. BTW I have 4 of these X45 series tractors and have never encountered this except when I overhauled my 3550 the machine shop doing the work called an said one of the cam bearing bores was way oversize. I went so far as calling FoMoCo in England and they said they never use oversize bearings in new engines. The machine shop said it had Ford's logo on the one they took out but threw it away before they realized it was custom fit to my engine. I realize that occasionally mistakes happen and fitting a non standard bearing to repair a block is common practice and maybe the same with the front hub. The hub on a 545 is the big one with 8 bolts so it's probably worth repairing with an oversize bearing but where would I ever get a replacement? I just wish Ford would have acknowledged the practice.