bearing for spider

[Dale Jordan]

I noticed some carriers have a ball race bearing on the bottom of the spider
instead of the solid one in the photo below is it worth up grading if so can some give me the size and number , Plus will it fit straight onto this one below . Dale

[Lynn Eades]

Dale,From memory 6305-2rs. (2 rubber seals)
Measure the o.d. of the bearing you have(or the housing it fits into)
The spindle is 25 mm. the width is 17, 18, or 19mm. (I can't remember)
Is the o.d 62mm?
If so, 62 x 25 x 17 = 6305. It is a common bearing and your bearing shop should stock it. It is the same as the three that are in the cam plate and rollers.
Please be sure of the sizes, so that I don't put you crook. What ever is the std width for the bearing is correct, as long as the I.D. and O.D. are correct.
Yes it is a direct replacement. Yes it should give you slightly more feel to the steering.
Make sure you line up the two spline parts at the top. both should be marked.

[Ben]

The Aussie bearing and Brit bearing are different sizes, like Lynn says check the size. The Aussie one is easier and much cheaper than the Brit one!!

[Lynn Eades]

Ben, the easy fix, for an easy to find bearing, is to take 0.4mm off your spindle, and obtain the Australian housing, which has a slightly smaller bore.

[Michael R.]

I have no information on other than Ford Windsor production.
Heads up though: On Ford Windsor production, the bearing for the steering column base was changed at Serial number 4942. The original bearing was p/n# C01UC-100305. That bearing was known in Manual FUC-03 as SKF-RM8, with dimensions given as 1 x 2/1/2 x 3/4.

However, due to unavailability of SKF RM8, a bearing kit was supplied with a new bearing, C01UC-100307, complete with a bushing, spacer, and bearing housing. The replacement bearing had fourteen balls vs eleven in the previous design. That replacement bearing kit with the spacer, called a "liner" is on page 192. By the time the No.3 and No.4 Windsor Carrier series were being produced, their FWC-02 manual shows a return to the supply of bearing SKF-RM8 for fitting to the column assembly.

The steering column base bearing should not be confused with the three SKF-6305 steering cam and roller(s) bearings in Ford Windsor Production. You will see the price difference when you order these two different bearings.

[Dale Jordan]

Thanks for the info Lynn . The bearing was $11.00 dollars nice snug fit . Dale



Heres a photo of my new pin I turned up

[Lynn Eades]

Hi Dale, Just trying to help.
The blue looking part in your photo should have a felt seal in it that runs on the out side of the floor mount. It needs a bit of oil in it. so it can make a mess
I think there was probably a washer at the top of the clevis pins fitted in the slotted clevis's, and foldable locking washer under the big bolt in the center of the spider (the other end has a smaller washer, the castle nut, and the split pin at the bottom)
Looking great!! Keep the pics coming.
Thank you.

[Nathan Clark]

Dale, In my opinion the 6305 bearing is NOT the right bearing for your steering spider. All the spiders I have pulled apart have either had a solid steel self aligning plain bearing or a self aligning ball bearing. The point of using a self aligning bearing instead of an ordinary ball bearing like 6305 is that a self aligning bearing will allow a certain level of misalignment between the steering box output shaft and the bottom bearing retainer, where an ordinary bearing will allow little to no misalignment. In a lot of cases the fittings welded in each end of the steering column tubing are not welded perfectly straight anyway so the self aligning bearings allow the steering shafts to turn smoothly in the bottom bearing retainer and will eliminate possible tight spots while turning.

The self aligning bearings that I have pulled out, all have the same details as follows below. A quick check of Google shows that there are modern equivalent for this bearing.

New Departure 2605 Made In USA

Regards, Nathan

[Lynn Eades]

Nathan, your 2605 self aligning bearing is ideal, and yes they were obviously used, but possibly due to shortages of supply or whatever, ordinary 6000 series annular grooved bearings were also used as original. You might find that carriers in your area were fitted with them, but due to supply maybe another manufacturer may never have had them.
Some one recently mentioned that a ball bearing company was set up in Australia during the war to cover a need. That factory only made ball bearings.
It may have been decided after trial, that there were no problems caused by the use of a std ball bearing. Now days you will pay probably 5 times as much for a self aligning bearing.
I Have pulled a couple of spider assys. apart that were likely not meddled with since WWII, and the contained ordinary B.bearings. I have found both kinds in riveted carriers as well, where they are imperial sized.
I have never seen the solid one until Dale's post.