SonexBuilders.net

Anyone use this type of bearings?

If those plain are ball bearings, they may not be up to handling the thrust loads which can be considerable. both due to the rapid spread of wheel base as load is suddenly applied on landing, and from cornering and cross wind loads. Ball bearings made specifically for thrust loads must be installed in pairs, and will need a spacer between the inner races to tighten the axle nut. The roller thrust bearings the wheel are designed for are cheap, and Sonex sells some that have built in seals, so do not see any reason to change them.

David A.

I like the idea but prob not much good for the hydraulic brake setup due to side loads.

Thanx for the quick reply. These wheels originally had 5/8 bearings in them, to use them I’m going to have to turn out the race seats to allow for taper bearings.

hi billy,
You will want to use the tapered roller bearings , newer style do have the built in rubber seals. you will still also want to use the large steel washers on the outside. parts can be bought from sonex or azusa online. also the races need to be seated fully down in the wheel hub. new from the factory azusa they are not fully seated. a press works well with a socket. when seated fully down there still will be about a 1/8 in gap at the bottom. this is for a bearing race removal tool. make sure you have the castellated nuts and cotter pins also. and of course grease up (pack) the bearings.
Was nice to meet you at oshkosh eaa and sonex bbq. you had your grandson along.
also: i know the rims say max pressure 30psi. you need to run the tire air pressure at 50psi. if you dont,
the tube will slide with the tire, and will sheer off the valve stem.

best,

WaiexN143NM
Michael

Thanx Michael. Will be putting the tapered bearings in.

hi billy,
one more thing. just looked at the sonex webstore. they dont carry the races. you can get those from azusa online webstore.

have fun,

michael.

WaiexN143NM wrote:hi billy,
one more thing. just looked at the sonex webstore. they dont carry the races. you can get those from azusa online webstore.

have fun,

michael.

I just called okeef aero. They have the bearings and I needed tires also. Thanx Billy

I fitted sealed ball bearings some years ago because I got sick of cleaning and regreasing wheel bearings. I couldn't find sealed tapered roller bearings at the time so machined the bearing housings out to the next larger OD for 3/4" ID bearings and also machined the centre of the hub larger so I could fit a spacer between the bearings. I can't remember the specs but I checked thrust load capacity of the bearings and it looked safe. Since then I have done hundreds of landings and had zero problems and done zero maintenance. I'm really happy with the mod.

Peter

Cautionary note on that "50 PSI" That only applies when using the Sonex standard small tire, not the larger 5.00 x 5 size. The increased area of the sidewall of the larger ones puts much more force on the hubs per PSI than the smaller tires. I find 22.5 to 25 PSI about right with the 5.00 x 5. The same increased force on the hubs from larger sidewall area also provides force to hold the tires and tubes in place at the lower pressure. Think I have about 500 logged landings (bounces not counted) on mine and am on second set of tires with no problems.

David A.