355 C - rear wheel bearings

Although I am not a 355 specialist here is my opinion:

1) unlikely, perhaps you are a faster and more aggressive racer, but wheel bearings should hold race forces as they were designed for it;
2) drive shafts wear? perhaps as in 1) more lateral forces due to more speed in corners;
3) I needed some exotic bearings and SKF made them on request, was a fraction of your Ferrari prices
4) don't know for a 355, but I dont see why not,

Good luck
Ciao
Oscar

 

Rob, had a rear left bearing get noisy on my 355ch 2 years ago. 600.00 for a new one the problem with mine was a broken cage(what holds the balls together). I think you should buy used units and unpress them and clean, re-lube and reassemble. My thoughts on this came after I took the old one apart to see what it looked like inside(this is how I found out the cage was cracked). I can't see why this wouldn't work, thoughts anyone? They are pretty heavy duty bearings and I think if they would be re-lubed occasionally, may be 10,000 race miles or so they ought to last a long time. I would take your old bearing apart to see if it was dry inside if it was that could be the only reason it failed; ie, no grease.

On a related note my service records show both of my fronts were replaced at about 4000 race miles back in '99 you might check those out also.

On a more unrelated subject have you serviced/cleaned you suspension bushings? from my experience not many are aware they need to be looked at every few years.

 

from this large a pool of Ferrari enthusiasts and sonsors, iwould be surprised to not find a cheaper alternative for Rob then full retail!

also, like with all auto manufacturers, not every part is bespoke of their cars, and so cross referencing for parts is another source, meaning same parts, under different parts #s (example: F40 m.c. cross reference from fiat transport), and wheel bearings commonly have cross reference sources (example: my xjs wheel bearing have a g.m. cross reference)

IMO i don't necessarily suggest rebuiding them, the cage is also a wear component, not just the ball-bearing, i've seen many that are poor condition after a closer look.....so a qualified eye should really be used.....they are a critical component, and failure can potentially cause a lot of damage....

.....a Ferrari mechanic member(s) should be able to shed further light on these

good luck!

 

found this post in 348/355 section, may be of help, if not already seen

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showpost.php?p=136095397&postcount=6

 

my bad, i saw the 2009 post date, and thought they might at least be good for the contact info.....there must be somemore reasonable alternative for you somewhere....maybe one of the several Ferrari service/mechnical guys i see post up on this forum canbe of help/advise....guys?