At 07:43 PM 10/9/2001, Jeffrey H. Boatright wrote:<in part>
>BUT, I noticed a little looseness tonight and viola! the bearings are
>loose. These guys are brand spanking new. So, I have a couple of
>questions.
>1. Though I torqued the castellated axle nut correctly, is this
>something to check again, or would it even have any effect?
>2. Can I use the bearings from my old wire wheel hubs, or are the
>bearings different for steel vs wire wheels? The old ones at least
>were not wobbly.
>3. Has anyone had problems with bearings with plastic races? If so,
>does anyone have a good source for great, no BS, will-work bearings?
>=====
Jeff, and others,
First thing in the morning, so forgive my tone, but there is a lot
of WRONG info being passed out on this subject so far.
This concerns the ORIGINAL BALL BEARINGS only.
The plastic that Jeff refers to is NOT A SEAL, it is a retainer or
cage.
There is NO CLEARANCE SETTING (unlike MGBs which uses shims)
There is NO Preloading like some other cars use.
You MUST use the spacer for these Ball Bearings.
The Haynes manual gives a GOOD description of installation. Moss'
catalog is VAGUE. The original BMC or Bentley publication will MISLEAD you.
The problem arises from there being several brands of ball bearing
sold and there has been a change made by the original bearing manufacturer.
The current OUTER bearing supplied by Moss, Unipart, QH and packed in a kit
is made by the original manufacturer in England, RHP, but is different than
what they supplied from the outset of the car's production. The original
number was 3MJT17 (stamped on outer race); it is now 11MJT17. The current
has an outer race about 1/2 the width of the earlier and uses a plastic
cage as opposed to the original brass cage or ball retainer. (I try to keep
original examples of these kinds of things for just such occurrences.)
Pay careful attention to where the marking "THRUST" is and use the
HAYNES manual for the correct orientation of the bearings.
Jeff, I suggest that you fell victim to the vagaries of these bearing
markings. I believe you'll find that one or both of the bearings was
installed backwards. I've done it, and others have too. By all means, check
the spindle nut torque. But 25-65 lbs is a pretty wide range.
Now, the ROLLER bearing thread has been on-going for years on this list.
Some have had success. Some use the spacer, some don't. Some use one brand,
some another. That is a different discussion, and the efficacy of using
roller bearings vs. ball bearings hasn't been settled, to my mind.
Hope this helps. This is a safety issue. We all should take care when
making statements that may affect someone's safety.
Good luck. Peter C
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