330gt wheel bearings

[steve lapp]

Hello Crew (I think of you as a virtual pit crew)

Time for front wheel bearing replacement. Local bearing distributor does not show listing for RIV 608831A for inner large front bearing and we could not locate outer smaller bearing either. I also went online and searched various bearing manufcaturer data bases. Is it truly an oddball size and only available it seem from part suppiers at $$$.$$

Inner bearing 62 mm OD, 32mm ID, 20 mm thick double ball, the etched part number seems to say "KRIV 608831A gar 053", does that ring any bells??

Outer 47mm OD, 20 mm ID, 20.6mm thick double ball - no etched numbers on it

I love the original inner bearing with its riveted machined brass ball cage. The bearing runs smoothly but has developed over 1 mm of radial clearance, quite unusual as by that point they are usually pretty lumpy in the races, I thought the king pins were shot, but just the bearign it seems.

Has anyone replaced the inner bearing with an integrally selaed unit to avoid the felt seal, or is there a mod to replace the felt seal with somethig a tad more sophisticated (leather maybe!!), or how about a real modern viton type!

Is it possible to get a SKF, FAFNIR, NKS, etc. part off the shelf?

Cheers - getting close to being back on the road.