Assignment
With this tried and tested construction, the effort and the costs should be kept to a minimum. Standardised tapered cylinder roller bearings are used to take up the axial- and especially the radial forces. The replacement is, compared to wheel bearings with drive, relatively simple using a wheel puller.
Function
The surface joining the cylinder rollers to the inside- and ouside rings, is a long narrow rectangle, almost a straight line. Although ball bearings are more smooth running, they also have a smaller contact area and can therefore, basically only transport lower amounts of force. If you click on the above figure, you can see the direction of the active forces. The two outer rings are fixed inwards, and the two inner rings of the bearings are fixed outwards.
The wheel bearing play can be adjusted by the nut on the left. The nut should be tightened so much so, that the washer-plate behind it is still slightly movable. Particularly important here, is the nut locking-splint. A cover on the left and an oil-seal on the right prevent the permanent grease filling from escaping and protect the whole construction from dampness and corrosion.
Compared with a wheel bearing with drive the axle stands still, because it is joined to the suspension. Thus, also the inner rings of the wheel bearings also stand still. The outer rings are connected to the wheel hub (brown). In smaller vehicles, for economic reasons, the wheel hub is sometimes left out. In this case, the wheel hub and the - mostly still existing - brake drum are in one. The disadvantage of this solution, is that when replacing the drum, the outer rings of the wheel bearing must also be altered.