I have a 2000 E825 with a bad rear wheel bearing. The parts sellers want me to buy the whole rear assembly but I know that the bearing is a normal bearing house bearing.( FAfner- Timken etc). The problem is that I want to have the bearing when I tear down the assembly. If not, I will have to order and wait for delivery in order to complete the fix. Does anyone know the actual part number for these bearings?
Thanks
All GEM drum brake assemblies with four wheel lugs use two sealed metric ball bearings which are not sold by GEM. GEM wants about $350 for a complete brake assembly. These are easily replaced using a hydraulic press. NAPA Auto Parts has charged us $30 labor per brake assembly. The bearings are trade size 6006 double sealed, 6661K89 is the Mcmaster-Carr part number (two per wheel). Any industrial supplier will have these. The 6006 bearing is also used by Caterpillar as a clutch pilot bearing. See my list of alternative parts list and other posts on this forum.
Daniel
Daniel, I have a 2006 GEM eL with a bad right front wheel bearing. This car has front disc brakes. Does your advice of Sep. 4th 2010 to DHanks apply to my case as well? Thank you! Elaine
No, the disk front brakes are different and use different bearings and seals. The seals you can get from any NAPA. The number is 15819. You will need two per wheel. The bearings are a spherical roller type and have been superseded. Some after market suppliers are now selling these. Call the factory for the new number and make sure the dealer sells you the new number. The rear drum brakes are the same as older GEMs. See my list of alternative parts and other posts.
Daniel
Thank you, Daniel, for the quick answer and the info.
Elaine
The consensus among mechanics is that all tire, steering, and suspension work be completed before aligning the wheels. Loose and damaged parts will not allow for precise wheel alignment. The hub assemblies on most GEMs can be removed without affecting the alignment. I have not seen published alignment specifications on the GEM. Is your dealer doing the work?
Daniel
Daniel,
Can tire retailer alignment machines align the Gem Car E2 front end properly? If not, where do you suggest?
James
James and Daniel, FYI - I took my '06 GEM eL in for a front end alignment at my local tire and wheel shop and they said it would not fit on their alignment machine, so the lead alignment man did it manually the best he could. Perhaps GEM could give you more info. Here are 3 of their locations and phone numbers:
Spirit Lake Plant
1900 Highway 71
Spirit Lake, IA 51360
712.336.3797
Wyoming Development Center
7290 East Viking Blvd
Wyoming, MN 55092
651.408.7200
Corporate Headquarters
2100 Highway 55
Medina, MN 55340
763.542.0500
Yours Truly, Elaine
The mechanic is correct in stating that the alignment machine is too wide. I have contacted the GEM factory in the past with no results. They either have no procedure, or will not provide a procedure to non-dealers. In the absence of alignment specifications, I have manually set the “toe” to zero degrees. What this means is that the front wheels are as horizontally straight as possible to the rear wheels. This is set by centering the steering wheel, simulating the weight of a driver with ballast (two 80 pound bags of concrete), and adjusting each tie rod until the wheels are completely straight. many pre-2005 GEMs also have issues with “camber.” Camber is the vertical alignment of the wheels. If the tops of the front wheels are noticeably closer to each other than the bottoms are, the camber is wrong. The most common reason for this on the pre-2005 GEM is worn front springs. These are expensive. I have dealt with major camber issues by placing shims behind the two upper bolts that hold the front brake units to the suspension arm. This allowed me to correct a GEM from 15 degrees camber (terrible) to only 5 degrees (acceptable). With excessive camber, the GEM will eat tires and be abominable to drive.
Daniel
[quote=GEMmechanic;14339]The mechanic is correct in stating that the alignment machine is too wide. I have contacted the GEM factory in the past with no results. They either have no procedure, or will not provide a procedure to non-dealers. In the absence of alignment specifications, I have manually set the “toe” to zero degrees. What this means is that the front wheels are as horizontally straight as possible to the rear wheels. This is set by centering the steering wheel, simulating the weight of a driver with ballast (two 80 pound bags of concrete), and adjusting each tie rod until the wheels are completely straight. many pre-2005 GEMs also have issues with “camber.” Camber is the vertical alignment of the wheels. If the tops of the front wheels are noticeably closer to each other than the bottoms are, the camber is wrong. The most common reason for this on the pre-2005 GEM is worn front springs. These are expensive. I have dealt with major camber issues by placing shims behind the two upper bolts that hold the front brake units to the suspension arm. This allowed me to correct a GEM from 15 degrees camber (terrible) to only 5 degrees (acceptable). With excessive camber, the GEM will eat tires and be abominable to drive.
Daniel[/quote]
I have a 4 seater '02 and recently the front end camber has gotten worse. What/how did you use to shim the bolts?
NOTE: Before doing any shimming make sure your toe setting is correct. Toe out will cause Negative camber.
If you need to replace your shock bushings please participate in the poll in the GEM section. If there is enough interest I will get a hundred made up…