At 02:59 PM 9/8/2000 EDT, MGMagnette@aol.com wrote:
>I am trying to remove the rear hub and bearing on what is equivelant to an
MGA axle (Magnette Mk. III) .... The big end nut measures about 2" but a 2"
wrench is too big and nobody seems to make a 2 15/16" wrench that I've
found yet!
I suppose you mean 1-15/16", but that doesn't fit either, being a tad too
small. The size of the octagonal nut is 1-61/64". The major Brit parts
suppliers do sell the large socket for this application, just look in the
Rear Axle section of the parts catalogs. Once the big nut is removed the
the hub can be removed with the help of a draw hammer with the proper end
fitting for use as an axle puller.
After the hub is free of the axle housing you still have to remove the
bearing from the hub in order to replace the seal. As the outer race of
the bearing is not accessable from the seal side of the hub, it can only be
removed by pressing on the inner race. You can do this without a press.
Refererence here:
http://www.ntsource.com/~barneymg/mgtech/rearaxle/hub_18.htm
Use a large socket that just fits into the small side of the hub, support
the hub securely across the jaws of a large vice (or on a pair of steel
parallels), and tap GENTLY with a two pound hammer. I know that sounds
like a conflict of terms, but this is what you need. You need the weight
to impart a reasonable amount of energy with each blow of the hammer
without having to wail on the thing. If you hit it too hard you can create
flat spots on the bearing balls and/or divits in the raceways. The idea is
to tap gently, just hard enough to get the bearing moving a little, and
then keep it up with these light blows until the bearing is free of the
hub. This could take a minute or so, but be patient and walk it out in
small steps to avoid damaging the bearing.
Once the bearing is out of the hub, R&R of the seal is standard practice,
and reinstalling the bearing in the hub is a simple tap in job, again in
slow small steps. Just be sure to keep the bearing going straight and even
all the way around so it doesn't get crooked and jam in the bore, and so it
doesn't start shaving little bits of metal out of the bore. If that
bearing should get so loose in the hub that you can push it out with your
hands, then you need to replace the hub.
Barney Gaylord
1958 MGA with an attitude
http://www.ntsource.com/~barneymg
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