Front Wheel Bearing

[iansmith]

Hi everyone,

My TR6 (1970 CP) failed its MOT test last week for excessive play in the front off-side wheel bearing. The near-side escaped with an advisory notice.

 

This morning I went through the setup procedure according to the Haynes manual - tighten up to 10 pound feet and then slacken the castellated nut one and half to two flats - and arrived back exactly where I started.

 

Do I a. go back to the garage and argue showing them the manual, b. tighten up the nut by one flat for the test and then reset afterwards, or c. go to another garage?

 

In the case of b does it do any harm to run the bearing tight for 10 miles or so.

 

Any advice would be appreciated,

 

Ian

 

p.s. The bearings do not appear to be worn.

Edited September 21, 2008 by iansmith

[PILKIE]

Hi Ian

 

My experience of wheel bearings is,dont always go by what the book says,as it cannot always compensate for wear.

What you ought to do is, tighten the nut up a flat at a time,check for play,then tighten a little more if play is evident.

When you get to the point where there is no play present,then slacken off the nut ONLY!! just enough to get the split pin back in!

There may be a minute amount of play that is almost hard to feel,but that is acceptable,as having it too tight will cause premature wear. If however you feel there is too much play,then tighten up to the point where play stops,and then pinch the nut up just enough to get the split pin in. Dont think this wouldnt be considered too tight!!

Once you have done,one or both wheel bearing adjustments to satisfy the mot man,it would be worth thinking about getting a wheel bearing kit,and be prepared for the next mot.Also give them a check every month or so,depending on your mileage.

I have a basic easy to do monthly check routine I go through with mine before any planned long journey,only takes a couple of hours to do it.

PS it is best not to take issue with Mr,or Mrs MOT,as they can get a bit funny being told their job.Only when you are 100% sure that you are right,is it best to take issue with them,and only then if you know them well enough to do so!

Finding a good garage for MOT's that are sympathetic to classics,and that dont want to fail a car to get some workout of it,is hard to do,but its well worth keeping in with them when you find one,as the pro's outweight the con's.

I take both my cars to my guy for a free brake check and a free go on the ramp "pick a quiet time" to have a look see and poke about underneath,and to grease any points that need it!!

Good luck,let us know how things go!

PS where are you located???

 

Cheers Dave

Edited September 21, 2008 by PILKIE

[PILKIE]

oops!!

Edited September 21, 2008 by PILKIE

[Richard Crawley]

When you get to the point where there is no play present,then slacken off the nut ONLY!! just enough to get the split pin back in!

There may be a minute amount of play that is almost hard to feel,but that is acceptable,as having it too tight will cause premature wear. If however you feel there is too much play,then tighten up to the point where play stops,and then pinch the nut up just enough to get the split pin in. Dont think this wouldnt be considered too tight!

Be careful; unlike the rear hubs, these bearings are not pre-loaded & don’t take very kindly to it. I had one seize once & it’s not an experience I would advise you should always just be able to feel a very slight rock on the bearing, as Dave says it should just be perceptible.

 

My method; use a ½ inch extension bar with a suitable sized socket & tighten the nut as far as you can using just your hand on the extension bar, turn the wheel a couple of times as your doing it to make sure the bearing centres & then back off to the nearest hole you can get the split pin in.

[Eyetee]

I think Wheel bearing kit is £12 aside.

[iansmith]

Thanks for the help everyone.

 

I used to have a sympathetic MOT tester in the Epsom area but the garage closed down earlier this year so I took it to another local garage that used to MOT my old Dolomite.

I have set the bearings one flat back from 'tight' but this is where it was set before and looking up the price of wheel bearings in the Moss catalogue I note that Moss say the free play is essential and is taken up when heat is conducted to the hub from the brake disc.

 

I'll check with the MOT tester whether the car brakes can be 'warm' when they do a retest.

 

Thanks again for the help,

Ian

[TR 2100]

I used to have a sympathetic MOT tester in the Epsom area but the garage closed down earlier this year

so I took it to another local garage that used to MOT my old Dolomite.

I have set the bearings one flat back from 'tight' but this is where it was set before and looking up the

price of wheel bearings in the Moss catalogue I note that Moss say the free play is essential and is

taken up when heat is conducted to the hub from the brake disc.

 

I used to tighten the bearings to take up all free play, just for the MOT,

then slacken off to what they should be as soon as I got home.

 

Bigger problem for me was the vertical play on the steering wheel.

It's hard to find a tester who appreciates that TRs can't always meet

todays' standards.

 

AlanR

[Alec Pringle]

My tame MoT man has many years of experience, as has his fellow tester at the unit. They recently had an on-site discussion with the 'man from the ministry' in respect of classics - they see a lot of old cars.

 

The response was unequivocally encouraging, in terms of using appropriate discretion - with the rider that original manufacturer's service and maintenance documentation prevailed in grey areas. This was with specific reference to permissible play in steering systems, but the official line was that the same philosophy applied across the board.

 

Evidently if the individual tester is unfamiliar with a particular situation, he can seek advice from the MoT authorities and expect a reasonable response. The 'men from the ministry' are not in the business of making life any more difficult than necessary for old car enthusiasts . . .

 

Cheers,

 

Alec

[88V8]

We have this discussion at every MOT of my Landy - play in the wheel bearings?

 

I've begun leaving the Bible (green in this case) in the car - quite by chance of course - so I can remind him that there must be 3-5 thou end float and when amplified by a 16" road wheel this can seem quite a lot at the rim.

 

And I do set up the end float with a dial gauge, not just by backing off.

 

Ivor

[67_gt6]

Taper wheel bearings MUST be set with a little play, end of.

 

Perhaps ask the MOT man how much play should be present on a taper wheel bearing, that may just jiggle his mind into thinking he better find out.

 

Andy

Edited September 22, 2008 by 67_gt6