Front wheel bearings

[sgrant]

I'm missing the spacer then, because I can't nip up the nut at all without seizing the axle.....

So, have you eliminated the play then on yours by inserting spacer and nipping them up?

[erictharg]

Just read the Smith article. I think the phrase is "get a life". The stock ball bearings may have a little play but that's no big deal, even if we have to replace them every 10,000 miles. Taper rollers can work but be careful with where the hub ends up. No big deal. Just get on and drive the damn thing! Very American...

[Mknight702]

Well, having destroyed a front bearing on the first run at the Westfield Driver Training Day, maybe mine aren't such good ones afterall I'll try another new set and see.

[erictharg]

I sourced mine from MGB Hive, and have always used them with the std spacer. If yours were ever run without the spacer it's likely the could have been overtightened and brinelled the races, leading to early failure.

[sgrant]

Right - i'm going to replace mine, check for a spacer, and generally start again. MOT coming round in couple of months....

[sgrant]

So, I took the hubs off and couldn't get the bearings out for love or money. Took the hubs round to my local classic MG place, and they couldn't either. After about an hour they finally got them out, rejected my Moss-sourced replacements as being "weird" and not something they had ever seen before, and fitted replacements from their stock.

Put the hubs back on last night and now there's no wheel wobble at all. I wonder what bearings Westfield had installed in there?

Hopefully, fingers crossed, that's all the prep I need for the MOT - I'll check lights and so on and give it a run this week and then see what happens on Saturday.

s

[Westfield 129]

I have installed the Timken taper roller bearings on my own car, and those of my friends. The difference in braking is astounding, with a nice solid and consistent pedal.

The bearings are not inexpensive, but worth every penny.

When installing them, USE THE SPACER, and the adjustment shims (if you don't know about the shims, you need to learn as they are critical to the setup of the front wheel bearings, be they ball type or sophisticated Timkens. You should be able to tighten the castle nut to 35~40 lb.ft, and have a free spinning wheel, with no play.

The best part is that 15.000 miles later, there will still be free spinning, and no play, to go with your much improved brake feel.

While there are a lot of things you can do to improve an XI, these wheel bearings are perhaps one of the best single things you can do.

[sgrant]

In the end I simply replaced my bearings with a new bog-standard Midget set, which completely cured the wobble. Interestingly, the set that came out looked nothing like the set that went in....

[Westfield 129]

I found that after replacing the stock wheel bearings, the wobble returned in short order, as well as the inconsistent brake pedal modulation. This in spite of the car being over 500 lbs lighter than the original Spridget for which the parts were originally designed.

I live in the canyons, and drive them nearly daily. The bumpy corners seem to really take the life out of the bearings, with problems cropping up within 5000~7000 miles. Ball bearings really don't tolerate side loads well, while the taper bearings are designed with side loads specifically in mind.

Switching to the Timkens really fixed some problems, and I don't anticipate having to change them for as long as I own the car, provided I pack them regularly.

Expensive? Yes. Worth it? Definitely.

[Mknight702]

Interesting you say about side loads. When I took my car on a handling day I lunched the front wheel bearing in the first 15 minutes. Unfortunately, being a Sunday I couldn't get a replacement, mind you if i had it still wouldn't have helped as the bearing had taken the new alloy hub with it as I later found out.

I may have to look into the Timken bearing options as I plan to do at least one more handling day this year and I don't want to leave early again.

BTW 129, when you say Timken, which ones are you refering to?