MTFCA Forum

I was repacking my front spindles and noticed the marks on the Spindle. Running a finger nail over the marks, you can feel them.. ( photo ). All of the other surfaces look unscarred, cups, etc.
Should I replace the Spindle or try to resurface it.

George

Those were put there to tighten the bearing fit. If you remove them your bearing will fit sloppy.
If the bearing was not loose, leave them alone. If the bearing was a bit loose, add some more or replace the spindle.

We call that "strawberryed" in this part of the country - I removed a loose crank pulley years ago that had been prick-punched a hundred times - guy's wrist musta been aching !!!

It's a shade tree fix. The raised edges of each punch prick help to make the race firm on the spindle. Fitting the bearing with the appropriate Loktite product should do the trick.
That is the most common spindle used, so finding a correct, unworn replacement would be the best answer. At least, try to locate a replacement for the time a rebuild might be needed.

Allan from down under.

DO NOT use any Loctite type products on your spindle! Loctite should not be used anywhere near Timken style bearings. Even a trace amount can cause them to fail. Timken engineering is familiar with this issue and even has a test for the presence of Loctite type products that they perform on failed bearings when attempting to identify cause.

Also, the regular Timken roller bearing should be a slip fit on that spindle. It should easily and freely slip on and off the spindle, but with very little or no side play.

I'd find another spindle. Punch marking, knurling, or chisel marking a spindle could lead to failure. It probably wouldn't, but if it did, failure would be sudden and catastrophic. Timken bearings, as noted, are not to be locked to the spindle. They should be snug fit, but not tight. It's not apparent to me why Loctite would be a serious problem, but if Timken says it is, I wouldn't argue with them.

I never us Loktite on bearings that fit as they should. In this application, the spindle is worn. The punch marks raise dimples to improve the fit, but this does not address the loose fit elsewhere on the journal. Some Loktite products are made to fill voids to make a better fit. The real answer, as I stated, is to replace the spindle when convenient.

Allan from down under.