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Felt Seal on Front Hub - Fitting Issues


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Hi guys,

 

I am in the process of swapping out my old wheel bearings for new ones, the bearings themselves have been drifted in and now sit nicely in their new homes. I have now moved on to the felt seals on the inside of the hub and hit a few snags.

 

The first snag (as my research has shown) is a very common one in that the felt is far too thick. Sorted, felt cut down and now an appropriate size.

 

Second snag, no matter how hard I try I can not get the seal into place:

 

The metal 'cup' on the back will not press in both with the felt in and having reluctantly pulled the felt out to get a better look. I have given a few older posts a look and most seem to be dealing with the actual felt being an issue. My problem is that the metal cup that is glued to the felt (as purchased) seems to be too large for the bore of the hub.

 

I have now brought them to destruction and have faced that I will have to order some new ones, however I don't want the same thing to happen to those once they arrive.

 

After some experimentation I have found that in order for them to fit, I had to cut around 3mm of the band out (I am now left with a cut in the band) in order for it to fit.

 

Is there any possibility that the cup is too large from production, in which case I should order again and it should fit? Or is there a trick that I am missing?

 

Thanks,

Sam

 

 

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Hi Sam,

there is no TRick - they should fit and yours don't.

Take them back and complain show them the rubbish they gave you and ask for ones that fit properly.

 

Where did you get them from. The Moss and TRShop ones appear OK - but!!!

 

I understand that Moss now sell them with the correct thickness of felt :o

 

Roger

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Thanks Roger,

 

They came as part of the wheel bearing kit from Rimmer Bros (Part Number GHK1021). taking them back might be a hassle as Lincoln is a long way away, but I will certainly send an email their way.

 

If that is the case I will just order the ones from Moss and hopefully be done with it!

 

Sam.

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The metal shield should be mounted with the dish in towards the bearing, and then the felt is fitted in its recess on the outside, hope I've described that OK.

As others have suggested on another post, set the bearing before you fit the felt.

John

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I just did this operation, fitting in the new seal & felt after a bearing repack.

I bought my seals from The Roadster Factory, I have successfully dealt with them for 25 years.

 

It was a delicate operation, I certainly didn't cut off any of the seal.

I had made a 'score mark' on the outer hub lock nut-to-threaded spindle so I knew when it was tightened the correct amount.

Otherwise tighten the locknut until it turns no farther, then back off one flat.

These two 'check' methods should coincide.

 

Tapping in the metal seal was tricky, you just have to go round & round with the mallet, tapping gently until you get it started inwards. Hold the seal in place with your thumb & forefinger, guiding it inwards, as you tap.

 

After it gets its purchase in the opening, it is a matter of getting the metal of the seal flush with the metal of the hub rim- go no deeper then the rim edge!

 

These photos illustrate the dimensions of a proper seal:

post-13442-0-24147600-1436031376_thumb.jpgpost-13442-0-18606000-1436031412_thumb.jpgpost-13442-0-97020100-1436031431_thumb.jpgpost-13442-0-85195800-1436031394_thumb.jpg

Edited by Sapphire72
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Dear All,

 

I bought a set of wheel bearings + seals from Rimmer. They were complete rubbish, that is the bearing and seal. The race was not ground to micron finish for example hence the low price and the felt seal dims were wrong. I then went to Moss who were selling the same part from the same importer, I complained to Moss about the quality and got their stock reply ' Nobody wants to pay that sort of price' My answer to that was 'How many times do you want to do the job?'. I now hear that they have had so many complaints, some serious, that they are now introducing a premium range of bearings.

 

By chance I looked up an old supplier to a company that I worked for years and years ago. To my surprise they were still in business and they are still manufacturing wheel bearing kits for classic car like ours. In fact they cover the whole range of TRs and that includes gearbox bearings etc. They only use the original OEM suppliers where possible, they are called Ball Roller and Transmission Bearings Ltd---Part Number for front wheel bearings for a TR6 is BRT298. this is a complete kit for one side and includes the felt seal from the original OEM that fits! But you may not like the price!!!

 

Good Luck

 

Bruce.

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Glad that you are making progress!

 

This is an assembly order photo from the TR6 Bentley manual.

 

As Nick Revolution photo correctly shows, the felt seal goes towards the engine.

 

It is a simple and satisfying job. Don't forget your cotter pin.

post-13442-0-97967000-1436442127_thumb.jpg

Edited by Sapphire72
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