78 280Z rear strut removal

[Zed Head]

I've done a few bearings on a variety of cars and kind of realized that the extra grease just sits there doing nothing.  Only the grease in the vicinity of the bearing does any lubricating.  The rest is essentially a shield and/or a reservoir.  People tend to pack the cap that sits on the front bearings but if you take the cap off 20,000 miles later the grease in the cap hasn't moved.

A shorter answer is that you can kind of eyeball the area and come up with a minimum grease plan.

[Dave WM]

Well I suppose I could start by pulling it apart and assessing the bearing status. If its not damaged is there any real reason to replace? If its open, just clean inspect and replace the grease? If its sealed I suppose you cant really inspect other than by just carefully listening and feel.

[Zed Head]

There's an end play spec.  

[One Way]

The rear axle bearings on my 78 resurrection project were NSK brand on the outer with a seal on the side with the extended inner race and open on the other side.  Inner bearing was a NACHI brand which was open on both sides.  I never thought grease and bearings would generate so many responses.  Have a blessed Resurrection Day tomorrow.  Thanks, John.

[AK260]

The rear axle bearings on my 78 resurrection project were NSK brand on the outer with a seal on the side with the extended inner race and open on the other side.  Inner bearing was a NACHI brand which was open on both sides.  I never thought grease and bearings would generate so many responses.  Have a blessed Resurrection Day tomorrow.  Thanks, John.

 

I literally just did the rear bearings on my driver’s side and despite buying Timken off Rockauto, what came out of the Timken box has SKF stamped on the bearings for the outer ones and NSK for the rear ones!

 

I stressed a lot about pre-load and torque. Turned out to be the grease seal causing friction and here is the thread with the problem solved ...

 

https://zclub.net/community/index.php?threads/companion-flange-nut-torque-rear-hub-turning-force-bearing-replacement-on-my-260z-solved.26848/

 

[One Way]

The bearing industry is certainly a peculiar one and difficult to navigate finding high quality components.  Like so many other industries the company name is bought and sold and often difficult to know if the quality associated with the name went with the sale.  All of the name brands AK260 mentioned in his post are or certainly were high quality products.  Our resurrection project is slowly progressing.  Almost all of the LR axle, control arm, axle/strut housing are cleaned, primed, and painted.  The axle retaining nuts are on their way from NISSANPARTSDEAL-#43262-W1200-best price including shipping.  Still researching the best source for high quality bearings.  I already have the new seals, lug studs, lug nuts, and hardware ready to go.  Thanks again for all the great info, John-Lugoff, SC

[Jeff G 78]

1 hour ago, One Way said:

The bearing industry is certainly a peculiar one and difficult to navigate finding high quality components.  Like so many other industries the company name is bought and sold and often difficult to know if the quality associated with the name went with the sale.  All of the name brands AK260 mentioned in his post are or certainly were high quality products.  Our resurrection project is slowly progressing.  Almost all of the LR axle, control arm, axle/strut housing are cleaned, primed, and painted.  The axle retaining nuts are on their way from NISSANPARTSDEAL-#43262-W1200-best price including shipping.  Still researching the best source for high quality bearings.  I already have the new seals, lug studs, lug nuts, and hardware ready to go.  Thanks again for all the great info, John-Lugoff, SC

I found Rock Auto to be the best deal for the bearings and seals.  I bought Timken, but due to the lockdown, I haven't taken them out of the boxes to see if they are marked as Timken or SKF.

[One Way]

Being the assistant manager at O'REILLY AUTO PARTS, team members get a nice parts discount but a quick look into the bearings did not produce a high quality option.  We have been too busy at our store of late to do any extra checking.  Our team member pricing is almost always better than the ROCK AUTO pricing, plus no shipping costs. Although  ROCK AUTO has had some parts available we were not able to source through O'REILLY in our long term resurrection project.  The amount of time involved to do the rear axle bearings and seal is worth the extra cost of installing high quality parts vs unknown quality of off brands.  Thanks again. John.

[Zed Head]

Wonder what's in the box if you buy a "Genuine" Nissan bearing.

Edit - a local Nissan dealer might let someone take a look - https://www.courtesyparts.com/oem-parts/nissan-brg-rr-ax-in-43210e4100

https://www.courtesyparts.com/oem-parts/nissan-bearng-wheel-43215e4100

http://www.carpartsmanual.com/datsun/Z-1969-1978/axle/rear-axle-drive-shaft

https://www.nissanpartsdeal.com/parts/nissan-brg-rr-ax-in~43210-e4100.html

https://www.nissanpartsdeal.com/parts/nissan-bearng-wheel~43215-e4100.html

Edited April 15, 2020 by Zed Head