F***king Wheel Bearings again...

[erictharg]

I should know better. I'm re-building the front corners with new discs, pads and bearings ready for Spa. The bearings and discs have been on since I built the car, and whilst I know that others have had problems with the stock bearings I never have. They've stayed snug and play free for 8000 road miles and almost two seasons of racing. But removing the hubs means the inner and outer races usually separate, so I figured best play it safe and replace them. The originals came from MGBHive - MG specialists. This time I order them from Peter May along with the new brake bits. But I only ordered one wheel set - my mistake. So rather than order just one more set from Peter May I went to my local Unipart motor factors. Got the bearing next day (saying on the box "made to OE specs", note). Fitted them last evening. The Peter May bearing was smooth and snug. The Unipart item had play and only got worse on my test drive this evening. As the car is booked on the rolling road in Northampton tomorrow at 0900 tomorrow, I either had to cancel the appointment (but I'm at Brands on the 5th, then Spa on the 18th so unlikely to get a new slot in that time) or put the old bearing back in. Snag is the old bearings came apart when I took them out of the hub - balls every where. 15 minutes of garage bin searching later I'd got all the bits and carefully re-assembled the old bearings. They felt OK so I pulled the hub and re-fitted them. Perfect! No "face" markings on the Unipart bearings, so not sized to fit with a spacer. Same reference number but no good for the application. Moral of the story is to buy your bearings from an MG specialist - Peter May or MGB Hive, and check the have "thrust" etched on the inner face. I will give some "feedback" to Unipart, and order another new replacement from Peter May before Spa. Amazingly the original discs showed virtually no wear - nothing measurable. More evidence that I really don't like braking....seems such a waste of speed.

[adamwilkinson]

How'd the rr go?

Ours is now back together, oil cooler has been relocated and fan added to it.
The Spa entry is looking a bit thin, for some reason i've not been given a number just yet - hopefuly the numbers will increase before the race.

[Mknight702]

If you need the dimensions to check the bearings I have them. Been there got the T-shirt.

[erictharg]

Adam - see separate post on RR.

Matthew - I'll just get another set from Peter May. But looking forward to the dialogue with Unipart - in a sad way.