[Healeys] BN2 back axle

[Michael Salter]

The later hubs are the same other than the "O" ring groove of which there
were 2 types as I recall. A machine shop can easily cut an "O" ring groove
in the hub face of earlier hubs.
If you assemple everything dry, no gasket, and lightly snug the nuts up
with spacers or washers to prevent the threads from bottoming out you can
take a measurement with feeler gauges then subtract the thickness of the
gasket.
The original gaskets were *very* thin.
The purpose of the "nip" was to prevent the outer race turning in the hub.
These days the same result can easily be achieved with Locktite which
allows a thicker gasket to be used although that can make the bearings
somewhat difficult to remove from the hub next time.

M


On Sat., Mar. 23, 2024, 9:11 a.m. Bob Spidell, <bspidell at comcast.net> wrote:

> Just to confirm: Hubs from a later car, say, a BJ8 will completely
> interchange with a BN2 hub?
>
> How would one determine a correct gasket thickness? There's no way, IIRC,
> to get a feeler gauge in there.
>
> TIA,
> Bob
>
> On 3/23/2024 5:25 AM, john harper wrote:
>
> Gary
>
> The BN2 rear hubs are a bad design relying on very accurate machining of
> the depth of the bearing location and an accurate bearing width.
> Tolerances are very tight and it is hoped that a gachet of correct
> thickness will make a good oil seal and at the same time grip the bearing
> outer from turning in its housing.
>
> This problem was addressed by the manufacturer and an extra grove was
> machined in the face of the hup. Into this grove is fitted an 'O' ring that
> will seal the gap between the hub and half shaft. This will seal a wide
> range of tolerances and at the same time ensure that there is a good grip
> on the bearing outer.
>
> If available the best solution is to find hubs for later big Healey and
> fit these together with 'O' rings.
>
> Another solution is to run a continuous ring of liquid gasket around the
> face of the hub before assembly. This is also the only effective seal on
> early BN1 hubs.
>
> All the best
>
> On Mon, 18 Mar 2024 at 18:02, warthodson--- via Healeys <
> healeys at autox.team.net> wrote:
>
>> The work shop manual refers to a specific dimension that the paper gasket
>> must stand proud of the steel ring spacer.
>> The gaskets that I received from a well known supplier were too thin. I
>> made my own & have never had a leak or a bearing failure, so far, 15-20
>> years!
>> Gary Hodson
>>
>> On Monday, March 18, 2024 at 11:15:39 AM CDT, Bob Spidell <
>> bspidell at comcast.net> wrote:
>>
>>
>> Tom Monaco told me he's replaced a large number of spun axle
>> bearings--IIRC he said 'a hundred' or so--over the last few years. I'm not
>> sure exactly what you'd look for that presages that problem, but something
>> to keep in mind. It's not particularly easy to get the requisite torque on
>> the big eight-sided nut that clamps the inner race; knocking it on with a
>> hammer and chisel isn't a good solution (I use a purpose-made large socket
>> and a 3/4" air impact driver). They can spin in the hub as well.
>>
>> Moss sells a reg. seal for $2.79 and a 'premium' for $21.99; I couldn't
>> tell you the difference except the cheap one is a 'no name' and the
>> 'premium' was a (generally) good brand (maybe Timken or SK; I don't
>> recall). Worth it or just 'marketing?' Beats me, but given the hassle of
>> this job I went for 'premium.'
>>
>>
>> On 3/17/2024 5:23 PM, Michael Oritt wrote:
>>
>> What Bob says.
>>
>> The inner seal on the axle is the critical piece and if there is wear on
>> the sealing surface you will need to fit a Speedi-Sleeve or similar repair
>> piece.
>> BTW SKF and others make what they call semi-sealed or sealed bearings
>> with plastic or fibre pieces on one or both sides of the bearing but since
>> the sealed ones are not filled with oil I have never understood how they
>> are supposed to get lubrication.
>>
>> Best--Michael Oritt
>>
>>
>> On Sun, Mar 17, 2024 at 5:06 PM Bob Haskell <rchaskell at earthlink.net>
>> wrote:
>>
>> Mike,
>>
>> The bearings are lubricated with the rear axle oil.  No grease.  Oil
>> flows between the axle shaft and the axle housing to around to the
>> bearing.  Yes, the paper gasket has to be oil tight.  The oil seal keeps
>> the oil from lubricating the brake shoes.
>>
>> Bob Haskell
>> Austin-Healey 3000 roadster registrar
>>
>> On 3/17/24 16:13, mike brooks via Healeys wrote:
>>
>> Can someone explain how the hub oil seals are meant to work. They are
>> inbord of the hub bearings. Are the hubs meant to be packed with grease? (
>> the service manual suggests they should, but the same manual doesn't tell
>> you to pack the hub with grease when changing hub bearings and seals). Is
>> the back axle oil intended to pass across the oil seal to the hub bearing?
>> If so, then the paper gasket in the hub flange to half-shaft joint will
>> need to be oil tight.
>>
>> Thanks in advance for any help.
>>
>> Mike Brooks
>> 56 BN2
>> Scotland
>>
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