Fellow FOTers,
On the fifth lap in the HSR Enduro yesterday at Road Atlanta, I had my
right front wheel-bearing blow out. No whining, no growling, no wobble,
just PUUSHH! The tire went catywompus; billowed huge amounts of smoke
until it blew. Then there was just the lumpy excursion off into 50 yards
of freshly mowed grass. Since it was so early into the race, I had an
exclusive (but rather lonely) spectator spot.
Alan Pinel lent me his spare wheel bearing kit so I got to run the Vintage
Race that afternoon..and did OK.
This brings me to the question. What is the accepted drill for checking
wheel bearings? I wiggled the tires before the qualifying race and they
seemed fine. Does just tugging at the top of the tire really tell you
anything?
But even after I got the whole wheel back together, there seems to be an
awful lot of drag. The wheels on my everyday car, a 30 year old 911, spin
effortlessly. For the life of me I can't get the TR-4 wheels to do this.
Especially the front ones. The 911 has a spring deally at the top of the
brake pads to keep them from dragging. The Triumph pads seem to take a
much longer time to release completely. What's the preferred drill on this?
I'm sorta embarrassed to ask this august group about something as
elementary as wheel bearings but, hey, we're family, aren't we?
Richard Taylor
Atlanta
TR-4
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