Front wheel bearings

[Westfield 129]

These are genuine Timken taper bearings. I once looked up the number, but they were nearly as expensive as the shop charges. The part number seemed to be peculiar to Timken as well.

I get mine from Speedwell Engineering (speedwellengineering.com), here in the US. Tom Colby runs it, and it is a great shop specializing in Spridgets, and other British sports cars. Most of his business is in vintage racing.

The bearings are expensive, at around $260 a set, which includes the selection of shims to set the bearing pre load. I would have to look up the numbers again, but the last time I did, I found that Tom was making only about 10% on the set. Not much... As he did all of the research, I decided to purchase from him.

While they are hideously expensive compared to the standard ball bearings, you wont have any problems with wobblies, and they should last forever. Also, once the hubs run true, even in side loads, the brake pedal and pressure will be consistent. That alone makes this worth the price.

I bet that someone in the UK has the bearings. I am bet that Peter May might have them.

[erictharg]

Taper rollers are tempting but most Midget racers over here run the stock bearings, and mine have been in for 8000 miles, and 10 races including an hour at Spa, and still good as far as I can tell. So, no plans to change here...if it aint broke, don't fix it!

[Mknight702]

Well, I had the wheels off on Sunday to regrease the splines, and guess what, yep more wobble from the bearings.

I spoke to Peter May Engineering about the taper bearing solution but they didn't recommend going that route as I run the standard brake caliper and their taper solution moves the brake disc. So I ordered two sets of the standard bearings and a set of shims. Now to get some nice drifts made up at work to do the job properly.

[Westfield 129]

I am running a Timken bearing setup from Speedwell Engineering here in the US. I have used these bearings on several cars, and have put over 20,000 miles on a set with my own W11. No wobble at all. They are a direct replacement, use the center bearing spacer and shims, and don't move the rotor at all. They work perfectly well with the standard calipers. The cost is high, at around $250 a set (left and right, including the shims to set them up). WELL WORTH THE PRICE. YOU WONT BELIEVE HOW YOUR BRAKES WILL FEEL ONCE YOU HAVE INSTALLED THE BEARINGS. You probably will never have to buy new bearings for the life of the car.

Shimming them is not any different then shimming the stock ball bearings. Very easy to do.

There are no issues at all. The brakes are far better in feel and modulation. Consistent, and confident. I don't know what bearings Peter May is using, but the ones we get here work perfectly, and improve the car in ways that you can actually feel.

www.speedwellengineering.com Ask for Tom Colby.

[Mknight702]

Pulled both front wheels off the car and dismantled bearings. Re-assembled the LHS and it's worse than before! Decided that I would investigate some more. Managed to get my digital calipers working and measured the other pair of bearings, they seem fine?? Re look at all the words written about Midget wheel bearings and note that the spacer is supposed to be 1.500" measure mine and get 1.513" Typical, just because it is a new item from the MGOC I never suspected that it could be the cause of the free play. Naturally, the LHS is now stuck on the car and won't come off so I can't restrip it and look at that spacer. Luckily, work have a machine shop so I should be able to get the spacer corected (once I get the LHS side off anyway, any tips?)

[Westfield 129]

Any large puller should be able to remove the hub. It doesn't have to be specific to the hub. All you need is a puller with fingers that will grasp the hub and pull it off against the spindle.

If you have to remove the spindle, you can easily put into a press and break it loose that way.

What bothers me about this is that the clearances should not be so tight as to cause the thing to stick. The spacer should just come out, and the hub come loose with a rap from a soft mallet. I am thinking that the spindle may be damaged.

[Mknight702]

Remembered my puller yesterday afternoon. Haven't remembered where it is yet though!

The spindle does seem to be in less than perfect condition, once I get the hub off I'll have a more in depth examination. There are no score marks or anything like that, just the surface finish isn't perfect. (I did try to correct with wire wool, but perhaps more effort was required!)

Any ideas where I can buy shims of the correct diameter to counteract the radius effect on the inner bearings, I have 0.020" between the inner bearing and the spindle face.

[Westfield 129]

Any parts supplier specializing in the Spridgets should have your shims. Get a selection, as you may need to make small corrections once you torque the spindle nut to 30~40 lb.ft.

Our bearing kits from Speedwell in the US come with the shims.

If you have roughness on the spindle, you can take "wet or dry" emory paper (1000 grit) and smooth them out.

Otherwise, you need to replace the spindle and king pin assembly with a remanufactured one that has had the spindle shaft replaced. We get our spindles with 4340 material, new bushings and the king pins fitted. The cost is around $500 usd for the pair. Mini Mania is the source.

[Mknight702]

Success!! The shortened spacer has proved a hit. Now no play in the wheel with the new bearings. Also managed to find my puller and remove the LHS. That is also now dismantled, however, the inner bearing was destroyed in the process so not all good.

Westfield 129. I have some shims from Peter May, however, they are to shim between the spacer and outer bearing, presumably to correct for machined spacers. I'm after shims to fit between the inner bearing and the upright to correct the gap caused by the radius on the stub axle not fitting the radius on the bearing. I did ask Peter May, but he didn't have any shims of that size, 35mm OD, ~29mm ID and 0.020" (I like to mix measurements!).

[Westfield 129]

Don't worry about the radius at the back end of the spindle. Any shims you put there moves the hub, and that is not a good idea. While that fellow with the article seems to worry quite a bit about the radius, there is not much evidence that this causes problems. Every few years, some smart guy comes along with a problem that doesn't really exist. Then they pontificate about it.

Sure, the ball bearings wear out quick. They always have. That problem of the radius at the back end of the spindle? Not so much of a problem. Easily fixed with a proper set of taper wheel bearings. Or not... Doesn't really matter.

If you are really worried, you can purchase uprights with 4340 spindles. Those will have the right radius.
Just shim the spacer as it should be. Don't get creative, as the bearings will work fine.