Tatum Midboard Service

Wejaz28

Wejaz28

Member
Joined
May 9, 2021
Messages
65
Reaction score
28
Need to service my midboard bearings. Prior to the board crash, I think Someone(JApler, LRS, ?..) posted a step by step or video for this. 

Wondering if it could be reposted for assistance.   Thanks

 
I can list a couple of tips that i do, 

Unbolt the CV bolts, but not all the way, tapping the cv bolt will knock out the rear boot flange,  

If you have to remove the inner race, with the cap off the cap bolts go all the way through, so running in the cap bolts should knock the inner race out,   

 
we made a part to knock out the seals,  

It is a Half Moon of flat plate, 1/4 thick it slides between the seal and the bearing,  then we smack the plate with a hammer to knock the seals out, 

 
nice trick....Ill be getting to them next week.

 
I had posted countless threads on the old site with lots of pics documenting the process. I'd say it's simple but I do numerous sets of midboard hubs each month, so I'm used to them.

Don't be surprised when you remove the bearing carrier from the hub and see a layer of sand caked in between. That's standard for all Tatum midboard hubs. There shouldn't be any sand in the bearings, as is usually the case. If you're trying to do this and get in another trip to Glamis, or have an Idaho or Oklahoma trip planned for this summer you may have difficulty finding new seals. Kartek, Mckenzie's, and Tatum were all backordered for several months when I checked few weeks ago. Fortunately a good friend owns a NAPA and he found me 6 seals in Tennessee so I bought them all and had them shipped to me. 

If you do need bearings get the Timken from a reputable vendor. Lots of counterfeit bearings out there. Be prepared to drop some $$$ on them. Last set I bought from Kartek was around $3k for Timken bearings and races. 

 
@L.R.S.

This was posted by LRS Pre Crash.  It had a much better format, and I am sure that I am missing a few things (I abbreviate to save page space)

Same here but I use Swepco Moly 101 to pack the CV's and then a layer of BelRay Anti Seize over that on each side of the CV. I also fill the trans cups and micro stub cups with BelRay. If I'm doing mid-boards I put a layer of grease on the outer CV before putting the cap on.

1.jpg

[SIZE=11pt]I use a needle tip on my grease gun to pack the CV with Swepco.[/SIZE]

2.jpg

[SIZE=11pt]I'm very careful to not get any grease on the face of the CV body. If I do I clean if off using a Q tip. We think of CV grease as a fluid but it's actually a solid and solids cannot be compressed. If there is CV grease on the face it will eventually work its way out via centrifugal force or when it gets hot. Once the grease is gone there's now a space and that's what causes CV bolts to come loose.[/SIZE]

3.jpg

[SIZE=11pt]I switch to BelRay and use a caulking gun to put a layer on top of the Swepco. Some people put both greases into a plastic bag and mix them up. I ain't got time for all that. They'll mix just fine on their own.[/SIZE]

4.jpg5.jpg

[SIZE=12pt]I clean out the trans flanges and then fill them with BelRay before bolting on the CV.[/SIZE]

 
Last edited by a moderator:
6.jpg

7.jpg

[SIZE=12pt]Using the needle again I pack the CV in the hub with Swepco and put a layer of BelRay on top of that.[/SIZE]

8.jpg

[SIZE=12pt]All bolted up. I get the boots on and tighten them down and the CV's and axles are done.[/SIZE]

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Thanks for all the help. Should be easier now....

 
L.R.S. said:
I had posted countless threads on the old site with lots of pics documenting the process. I'd say it's simple but I do numerous sets of midboard hubs each month, so I'm used to them.

Don't be surprised when you remove the bearing carrier from the hub and see a layer of sand caked in between. That's standard for all Tatum midboard hubs. There shouldn't be any sand in the bearings, as is usually the case. If you're trying to do this and get in another trip to Glamis, or have an Idaho or Oklahoma trip planned for this summer you may have difficulty finding new seals. Kartek, Mckenzie's, and Tatum were all backordered for several months when I checked few weeks ago. Fortunately a good friend owns a NAPA and he found me 6 seals in Tennessee so I bought them all and had them shipped to me. 

If you do need bearings get the Timken from a reputable vendor. Lots of counterfeit bearings out there. Be prepared to drop some $$$ on them. Last set I bought from Kartek was around $3k for Timken bearings and races. 
Click to expand...
Does gear one use the same seals / bearings? Was considering servicing my hubs this off season, and mine are gear one mid boards. 
 

do you recommend servicing the hubs? Or is this one of those, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it type of scenarios. 

 
Last edited by a moderator:
EmpirE231 said:
Does gear one use the same seals / bearings? Was considering servicing my hubs this off season, and mine are gear one mid boards. 
 

do you recommend servicing the hubs? Or is this one of those, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it type of scenarios. 
Click to expand...
The Bearing are the same, due to them fitting over the CV,  Gray Area and Tatum use the same seals, The Proaam has a Dual seal one on the inside and one on the outside, but the Tatum and Gray only have one seal, the Tatum and Gray use a inner lip seal, really not a true grease seal, so you need to rebuild them more because sand gets inside them,  

 
EmpirE231 said:
Does gear one use the same seals / bearings? Was considering servicing my hubs this off season, and mine are gear one mid boards. 
 

do you recommend servicing the hubs? Or is this one of those, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it type of scenarios. 
Click to expand...
This approach will leave you with a very expensive bill. I see it all the time. Personally I recommend tearing apart inspecting, re greasing and assembling every summer, obviously depends on how much fuel you burn each season. . CV grease isn't I deal with it every week. one of the reasons it is so important to keep up on service the Timken ll225749/10 bearings are around $450 per bearing and race set there are 2 bearings in each hub. If you buy Timken's make sure you buy from a reputable source. There was a guy on race dezert selling counterfeit Timken's for a while. and counterfeit bearings are a huge problem( if you believe you have purchased counterfeit bearings contact me and I will get my Timken rep involved.) There are great shops like @L.R.S.that can complete this service or you can ship them in and I can do them.

 
parker@gearone said:
This approach will leave you with a very expensive bill. I see it all the time. Personally I recommend tearing apart inspecting, re greasing and assembling every summer, obviously depends on how much fuel you burn each season. . CV grease isn't I deal with it every week. one of the reasons it is so important to keep up on service the Timken ll225749/10 bearings are around $450 per bearing and race set there are 2 bearings in each hub. If you buy Timken's make sure you buy from a reputable source. There was a guy on race dezert selling counterfeit Timken's for a while. and counterfeit bearings are a huge problem( if you believe you have purchased counterfeit bearings contact me and I will get my Timken rep involved.) There are great shops like @L.R.S.that can complete this service or you can ship them in and I can do them.
Click to expand...
Sorry for getting off topic but yes servicing your hubs is very important, would you run your engine without ever changing the oil? would you never change the fluid in your transaxle?

 
parker@gearone said:
This approach will leave you with a very expensive bill. I see it all the time. Personally I recommend tearing apart inspecting, re greasing and assembling every summer, obviously depends on how much fuel you burn each season. . CV grease isn't I deal with it every week. one of the reasons it is so important to keep up on service the Timken ll225749/10 bearings are around $450 per bearing and race set there are 2 bearings in each hub. If you buy Timken's make sure you buy from a reputable source. There was a guy on race dezert selling counterfeit Timken's for a while. and counterfeit bearings are a huge problem( if you believe you have purchased counterfeit bearings contact me and I will get my Timken rep involved.) There are great shops like @L.R.S.that can complete this service or you can ship them in and I can do them.
Click to expand...
definitely have the CV's serviced every season, just never knew what the interval service should be for hubs... but sounds like it's on the list this summer.  Do the bearings usually always get replaced? or is it more often just the seals? Thanks for the info. 

 
J Alper said:
The Bearing are the same, due to them fitting over the CV,  Gray Area and Tatum use the same seals, The Proaam has a Dual seal one on the inside and one on the outside, but the Tatum and Gray only have one seal, the Tatum and Gray use a inner lip seal, really not a true grease seal, so you need to rebuild them more because sand gets inside them,  
Click to expand...
gear one use the same seals as tatum?

 
EmpirE231 said:
definitely have the CV's serviced every season, just never knew what the interval service should be for hubs... but sounds like it's on the list this summer.  Do the bearings usually always get replaced? or is it more often just the seals? Thanks for the info. 
Click to expand...
The bearings don't always need to be replaced. Lots of factors to service intervals, hours in the sand, driving style, car weight, HP, etc. One way to check the bearings is jack the wheel off the ground and move it side to side. There should be zero play. Same can be done for the front wheels to check the hub bearings and heims. 

I do my wheel bearings each season but have plenty of clients that will go 2 or even 3 seasons without having me do the wheel bearings. 

I recently worked on a Tatum prerunner that had the hub lock up. Car was a recent purchase and supposedly 'prepped'. There was almost no grease in the bearings and it was black like old engne oil. The bearing carrier got so hot and misshapen that the race just fell out when I disassembled it. New race just fell right in so the client had to buy a new bearing carrier from Tatum. That was an expensive prep for two hubs and all new bearings and races and a bearing carrier.

 
L.R.S. said:
The bearings don't always need to be replaced. Lots of factors to service intervals, hours in the sand, driving style, car weight, HP, etc. One way to check the bearings is jack the wheel off the ground and move it side to side. There should be zero play. Same can be done for the front wheels to check the hub bearings and heims. 

I do my wheel bearings each season but have plenty of clients that will go 2 or even 3 seasons without having me do the wheel bearings. 

I recently worked on a Tatum prerunner that had the hub lock up. Car was a recent purchase and supposedly 'prepped'. There was almost no grease in the bearings and it was black like old engne oil. The bearing carrier got so hot and misshapen that the race just fell out when I disassembled it. New race just fell right in so the client had to buy a new bearing carrier from Tatum. That was an expensive prep for two hubs and all new bearings and races and a bearing carrier.
Click to expand...
Gotcha! I'll be in touch soon to service these things.

yeah I know that tatum... it's my neighbors new to him car... ouch!

 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top