Ice Out!

[Brian Crombie]

Greetings all!
The lake ice has finally melted here in southern Minnesota. Amphi time! New rubber shot glasses, lube job and an oil change should get us on the water this weekend. Man, t'was a looooong winter! Last Saturday we had fresh snow on the ground. Today it's about 60 degrees outside. Here we go!

Brian Crombie
Faribault, Mn.

 

[CapnJohn]

Greetings all!
The lake ice has finally melted here in southern Minnesota. Amphi time! New rubber shot glasses, lube job and an oil change should get us on the water this weekend. Man, t'was a looooong winter! Last Saturday we had fresh snow on the ground. Today it's about 60 degrees outside. Here we go!

2 days ago it was 82 and it snowed yeaterday and was only 36, to be 66 today and more snow Monday, but 77 on Sunday.

 

[Brian Crombie]

Last night I had an opportunity to replace my front dust caps with the rubber shot glasses. Of course when I removed the metal caps a bit of water was visible and clearly the Amsoil grease was discolored. Pulled off the castle nut and bearing and found the race and bearing had lots of visible rust. The race is even mildly pitted. Some of the rollers on the bearing won't turn. Napa has new bearings and I hope a light emery cloth will smooth out the race. I replaced the old bearings two years ago when I restored the car. She sat in my heated shop all winter without moving. I knew that water would enter the bearing area with the metal caps but didn't think I would see so much rust after two years of use.
I feel that by replacing the metal caps with the rubber ones (now available on Ebay) water penetration will be zero thus extending the bearing life. I know many of you are using the new rubber caps and wonder if you had removed them to check the condition of your grease and bearings after running them in the water. I intend on doing that about June or July. I should have 5 to 10 dunks in the water by then.
Judging by the condition of my hub parts, these rubber shot glasses appear to be the answer to my problem. Thanks Kamikaze Ken for making them available. I'll let you all know what I see in a couple months.

Brian Crombie
Faribault, Mn.

 

[TORTAK]

We still have lots of ice on our lakes in mid NH hope it’s gone soon. Last
year I went out with a little ice still on the lake and actually hit some
chunks with the props, didn’t hurt them but made a lot of noise.



Tony in NH



From: CapnJohn [mailto:]
Sent: Thursday, April 17, 2008 11:00 AM
To: tonyo@metrocast.net
Subject: RE: [General Amphicar Discussion-t-19950] Re: Ice Out!



Quote:


Originally Posted by Brian Crombie HYPERLINK
"http://www.amphicar770.com/amphicarforum/images/techtwo/buttons/viewpost.gi
f"View Post

Greetings all!
The lake ice has finally melted here in southern Minnesota. Amphi time! New
rubber shot glasses, lube job and an oil change should get us on the water
this weekend. Man, t'was a looooong winter! Last Saturday we had fresh snow
on the ground. Today it's about 60 degrees outside. Here we go!

2 days ago it was 82 and it snowed yeaterday and was only 36, to be 66 today
and more snow Monday, but 77 on Sunday.






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Checked by AVG.
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5:34 PM


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Checked by AVG.
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[amphi_sc]

Not sure how this is really "ice out", but Brian said:
> Some of the rollers on the bearing won't turn. Napa has new
> bearings and I hope a light emery cloth will smooth out the race.

I'd suggest that if you get the new Napa bearings that come complete with a race, that you change out the existing race with the new matched set. Why reuse the old race when you have a new one?
Al

PS. Looking forward to the LBJ Ranch experience in just about week...

 

[LSolheim]

I actually put a dent into Amphi's flank as we moved into some ice during a
Lighted Christmas Boat parade. Sort of scary and the scraping was VERY
loud! Even thin ice doesn't give easily to lateral loading!



--LarryS



From: TORTAK [mailto:]
Sent: Thursday, April 17, 2008 9:31 AM
To: lrsnpark@gmail.com
Subject: RE: [General Amphicar Discussion-t-19950] Re: Ice Out!



We still have lots of ice on our lakes in mid NH hope it's gone soon. Last
year I went out with a little ice still on the lake and actually hit some
chunks with the props, didn't hurt them but made a lot of noise.



Tony in NH



From: CapnJohn [mailto:]
Sent: Thursday, April 17, 2008 11:00 AM
To: tonyo@metrocast.net
Subject: RE: [General Amphicar Discussion-t-19950] Re: Ice Out!



Quote:


Originally Posted by Brian Crombie HYPERLINK
"http://www.amphicar770.com/amphicarf...ns/viewpost.gi
<http://www.amphicar770.com/amphicarforum/images/techtwo/buttons/viewpost.gi
f"View Post

Greetings all!
The lake ice has finally melted here in southern Minnesota. Amphi time! New
rubber shot glasses, lube job and an oil change should get us on the water
this weekend. Man, t'was a looooong winter! Last Saturday we had fresh snow
on the ground. Today it's about 60 degrees outside. Here we go!

2 days ago it was 82 and it snowed yeaterday and was only 36, to be 66 today
and more snow Monday, but 77 on Sunday.






No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG.
Version: 7.5.519 / Virus Database: 269.23.0/1382 - Release Date: 4/16/2008
5:34 PM


No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG.
Version: 7.5.519 / Virus Database: 269.23.0/1382 - Release Date: 4/16/2008
5:34 PM

 

[DavidC]

Re: Ice Out! (rubber hub dust caps)

Mine have been fitted for about 6 months and when checked a couple of weeks ago they are working great. There is definitely less water in there than with the metal cap. The Amsoil is still royal blue colour not sky blue !
Also it is very easy to now remove the front brake drum.
Never change a bearing without changing the race ! If not a matched pair there will be extra friction which will then cause heat and all sorts of problems.

David C in the UK

----- Original Message -----
From: Brian Crombie
To: david@manbus.com
Sent: Thursday, April 17, 2008 5:18 PM
Subject: RE: [General Amphicar Discussion-t-19950] Re: Ice Out!


Last night I had an opportunity to replace my front dust caps with the rubber shot glasses. Of course when I removed the metal caps a bit of water was visible and clearly the Amsoil grease was discolored. Pulled off the castle nut and bearing and found the race and bearing had lots of visible rust. The race is even mildly pitted. Some of the rollers on the bearing won't turn. Napa has new bearings and I hope a light emery cloth will smooth out the race. I replaced the old bearings two years ago when I restored the car. She sat in my heated shop all winter without moving. I knew that water would enter the bearing area with the metal caps but didn't think I would see so much rust after two years of use.
I feel that by replacing the metal caps with the rubber ones (now available on Ebay) water penetration will be zero thus extending the bearing life. I know many of you are using the new rubber caps and wonder if you had removed them to check the condition of your grease and bearings after running them in the water. I intend on doing that about June or July. I should have 5 to 10 dunks in the water by then.
Judging by the condition of my hub parts, these rubber shot glasses appear to be the answer to my problem. Thanks Kamikaze Ken for making them available. I'll let you all know what I see in a couple months.

Brian Crombie
Faribault, Mn.

 

[Brian Crombie]

David,
You state that "there is definetly less water" by using the rubber caps. I'm actually a little surprised that any water gets in there. Did you use a little silicone before installing them? I checked the fit and they go on pretty tight at room temperature.
Al (amphi_sc), the old races are coming off. Thanks for the advice.

Brian Crombie

 

[SplitPersonality]

Re: Ice Out! (rubber hub dust caps)

I keep hearing about the advantages of the rubber spindle covers vs the
metal caps, but I don't hear anything about the use of bearing buddies. Gord
Souter machines down the bearing buddies to a close tolerance press or tap in fit
and believes strongly in them. I'd be interested in the opinions of others
regarding the bearing buddies. Gord says to just put in the proper amount of
grease until youo see the spring loaded portion move out slightly indicating
that it is as full as you want - not to over-grease and expel grease onto the
brake shoes. You can visually see the portion of the bearing buddy move out
and that is when you stop adding any more grease. Gord redid my left front
bearing setup at the Lake Dora show and I saw what he was describing about the
bearing buddy grease situation when he installed it. The bearing buddy comes
with its own rubber cover essentially doing the same job with the bearing
buddies as the covers being discussed do with the amphicar stock set-up which
prevents the entry of water from the outside into the bearing buddy. Vic
Nelson



**************Need a new ride? Check out the largest site for U.S. used car
listings at AOL Autos.
(http://autos.aol.com/used?NCID=aolcmp00300000002851)

 

[DavidC]

Sorry Brian, British Understatement, no water in there at all since the rubber caps fitted.

David C in the UK
----- Original Message -----
From: Brian Crombie
To: david@manbus.com
Sent: Friday, April 18, 2008 9:51 PM
Subject: RE: [General Amphicar Discussion-t-19950] Re: Ice Out!


David,
You state that "there is definetly less water" by using the rubber caps. I'm actually a little surprised that any water gets in there. Did you use a little silicone before installing them? I checked the fit and they go on pretty tight at room temperature.
Al (amphi_sc), the old races are coming off. Thanks for the advice.

Brian Crombie

 

[LSolheim]

Re: Ice Out! (rubber hub dust caps)

Vic, I've have the Bearing Buddies that Roger StJohn used to sell, for 5 or
6 years now and find them very satisfactory. They're clear plastic & sound
about the same as the ones you refer to from Gord.



--Larry



From: SplitPersonality [mailto:]
Sent: Friday, April 18, 2008 2:55 PM
To: lrsnpark@gmail.com
Subject: RE: [General Amphicar Discussion-t-19950] Re: Ice Out! (rubber hub
dust caps)



I keep hearing about the advantages of the rubber spindle covers vs the
metal caps, but I don't hear anything about the use of bearing buddies. Gord

Souter machines down the bearing buddies to a close tolerance press or tap
in fit
and believes strongly in them. I'd be interested in the opinions of others
regarding the bearing buddies. Gord says to just put in the proper amount of

grease until youo see the spring loaded portion move out slightly indicating

that it is as full as you want - not to over-grease and expel grease onto
the
brake shoes. You can visually see the portion of the bearing buddy move out
and that is when you stop adding any more grease. Gord redid my left front
bearing setup at the Lake Dora show and I saw what he was describing about
the
bearing buddy grease situation when he installed it. The bearing buddy comes

with its own rubber cover essentially doing the same job with the bearing
buddies as the covers being discussed do with the amphicar stock set-up
which
prevents the entry of water from the outside into the bearing buddy. Vic
Nelson



**************Need a new ride? Check out the largest site for U.S. used car
listings at AOL Autos.
(http://autos.aol.com/used?NCID=aolcmp00300000002851)

 

[DavidC]

Re: Ice Out! (rubber hub dust caps)

The rubber caps work by ensuring that the pressure is the same inside or outside the hub. This is the way Amphicar was designed orignally.

I did pick up a pair of Bearing Buddies in Celina about 5 years ago when the rubber caps were unavailable and as I had heard good reports I thought I'd give them a go anyway but they didn't work for me.

Bearing Buddies work differently by keeping a positive pressure inside the hub. They were designed for boat trailers. I understand they work well in this application but on Amphicar the large grease seal is fitted backwards so the pressure from the buddy forces grease in to the brake drum as soon as the wheel is turned, you can see how that would happen in the cross section picture in the Amphicar manual.

If you used them with one of the new double lip seals I can see how they then might work, which then just leaves the issue of how to fit them to the hub in a way that the brake drum can still be removed and how to fit them in a way that there is enough hub cap clearance.

Because of use and perhaps tolerance some cars have more issues with water in the bearings, I think mine is one of them, probably because I do a lot of high speed road miles in Amphicar and the river water I normally then drive in to is cold and not always very clean.

David C in the UK





----- Original Message -----
From: LSolheim
To: david@manbus.com
Sent: Saturday, April 19, 2008 12:48 AM
Subject: RE: [General Amphicar Discussion-t-19950] Re: Ice Out! (rubber hub dust caps)


Vic, I've have the Bearing Buddies that Roger StJohn used to sell, for 5 or
6 years now and find them very satisfactory. They're clear plastic & sound
about the same as the ones you refer to from Gord.



--Larry



From: SplitPersonality [mailto:]
Sent: Friday, April 18, 2008 2:55 PM
To: lrsnpark@gmail.com
Subject: RE: [General Amphicar Discussion-t-19950] Re: Ice Out! (rubber hub
dust caps)



I keep hearing about the advantages of the rubber spindle covers vs the
metal caps, but I don't hear anything about the use of bearing buddies. Gord

Souter machines down the bearing buddies to a close tolerance press or tap
in fit
and believes strongly in them. I'd be interested in the opinions of others
regarding the bearing buddies. Gord says to just put in the proper amount of

grease until youo see the spring loaded portion move out slightly indicating

that it is as full as you want - not to over-grease and expel grease onto
the
brake shoes. You can visually see the portion of the bearing buddy move out
and that is when you stop adding any more grease. Gord redid my left front
bearing setup at the Lake Dora show and I saw what he was describing about
the
bearing buddy grease situation when he installed it. The bearing buddy comes

with its own rubber cover essentially doing the same job with the bearing
buddies as the covers being discussed do with the amphicar stock set-up
which
prevents the entry of water from the outside into the bearing buddy. Vic
Nelson



**************Need a new ride? Check out the largest site for U.S. used car
listings at AOL Autos.
(http://autos.aol.com/used?NCID=aolcmp00300000002851)