Anyone bought one of these kits before?

http://www.ipdusa.com/products/5053/102315-front-wheel-bearing-kit

http://www.fcpeuro.com/products/volvo-wheel-bearing-kit-front-240-242-244-245-260-262-264-265-140-160

In the photographs there are two retainers and cotter pins. Is only one of them used when replacing front wheel bearings (i.e. you only need one and it depends on your year/model/chassis?) or is one on the other side of the seal?

I had never seen the old ones in person until yesterday and did not know what I would find back there except the diagrams from volvo which pictured only one retainer. So, I only had two bearings and races and a seal per side. I bought them from O'Reilly's locally and they did not carry retainers. The job went without incident and you are right Paul the old one looked just fine. I live in Florida.

You got unlucky, I've never seen one wear out. Salt roads involved?
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Three 164's, Two 144's, One 142 & a partridge in a pear tree.

Also, does the inner retainer get driven in to rest on the inner race or only flush with the surface of the hub?

...because the so-called retainer* is actually a mating contact surface for the rubber sealing ring mounted on the inner spindle.

Assuming the retainer/sealing washer could be pushed in farther, there would be little or no contact with the rubber sealing ring. Thus the grease seal effect of the rotating washer and stationary ring would be lost.

Two different sized washers and cotter pins are supplied because there was a manufacturing change at some point in the long history of this hub and bearing. One of the two should fit your car.

* This "bearing retainer" is more correctly described as a "sealing washer" in the Volvo procedure described on Bentley 240 Service Manual page 770-3.


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Bruce Young, '93 940-NA (current), 240s (one V8), 140s, 122s, since '63.