rolling r Posted October 1, 2013 Share Posted October 1, 2013 Hi, I have a 04 Rapido 942 A class which needs two hella headlights due to rust. Where can I look to replace them? My second subject is wheel bearings - having just returned from Germany and France we had the from off side wheel bearings fail for the second time in 46,000 miles. Could it be that having the weight of gas bottles in that area have a bearing (excuse the pun) on the matter? Any thoughts or comments would be appreciated. *-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest peter Posted October 1, 2013 Share Posted October 1, 2013 Have a look for the part number and contact a Hella agent or google it. As for the wheel bearings, perhaps they weren't replaced properly?. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starvin marvin Posted October 2, 2013 Share Posted October 2, 2013 If yours is a pre X250 Fiat, and its anything like mine was, it ate wheel bearings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolero boy Posted October 2, 2013 Share Posted October 2, 2013 Marvin, the OP stated that the van was on an 04 plate so way too early for an X/250. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
euroserv Posted October 2, 2013 Share Posted October 2, 2013 Marvin is absolutely right. 2002 to 2005 Ducato's do consume front wheel bearings at an alarming rate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pepe63xnotuse Posted October 2, 2013 Share Posted October 2, 2013 euroserv - 2013-10-02 10:56 AM Marvin is absolutely right. 2002 to 2005 Ducato's do consume front wheel bearings at an alarming rate. Just curious Nick..In your view, do they fail because the bearings aren't up to the job or are there some other factors involved? ...and is replacing "like for like", the only option ? (.. I just wonder whether it would be possible to source bearings that are of a similar "physical" size/design but of a "higher" spec?.. via bearing/engineering "specialists"..?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliffy Posted October 2, 2013 Share Posted October 2, 2013 Just had the front bearings replaced on my 2004 Ducatto after growling around Europe for the past month. They lasted for 49000 miles which I thought was reasonable considering they are running fully loaded all summer and stood in storage all winter. At just under £400 to supply (£74) and fit I don't want to be doing it to often. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
euroserv Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 Hello pepe63, I compiled a legthly item about this a long time ago and would refer you to it if I could find it! The bottom line is that the bearings fitted from the 2002 model year were failing too often and were discontinued by Fiat and replaced with what looked like the same bearing but contained a plastic bearing race cage instead of a metal one. There was obviously a small diameter change too because in order to fit the later bearings you were required to fit a replacement hub as well, hence the high cost. Trial and error has taught me that you can, in fact still buy the earlier bearings from after market suppliers and these are of the steel cage type; made by SKF. These bearings can be fitted to either early or later hubs with no detrimental effects and while they still will not last as long as they should (in my opinion) we have proven that you absolutely do not have to fit the new hubs that Fiat recommends, unless of course you have damaged the old ones during the removal of the stub axle or bearing. The old bearings are a pig to remove and require presses with in excess of 50 tonnes of pressure to shift them. (This is not uncommon on any commercial vehicle with pressed-in bearings; speak to anyone who works on Renaults!) The new bearings need to be popped in the freezer for a few hours and the hub needs to be warm (not more than 40 degrees C) for the new bearing to fit in with the minimum of pressure. Our observations on vans travelling 40,000 miles a year showed that vans made in 2003 and 2004 were the worst affected. I could not say for sure why this is but suspect it was down to a different assembly process at the hub supplier. Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pepe63xnotuse Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 Thanks for taking the time to post that Nick....very interesting. ..and I suppose if they're lasting those sorts of mileages, then it's too bad then.... What ever happened to just pulling a split pin out...nippin' the castellated nut up....then backing it off a bit, before refitting the split pin?... (lol) (..mind you, back then, I doubt many cars weren't lasting 40,000 miles, without some major fettlin'..let alone wheel bearings.. (lol) ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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