Jump to content

TR4A front wheel bearings


Recommended Posts

Hello to all. I noticed some play in my front left wheel and could see the castellated nut at the end of the stub axle was way too lose. I adjusted the hub bearing by torqueing to 10 lb ft and then releasing one flat to.insert the pin. Play was gone and wheel rotated well. However, I noticed a rumbling nose when I would be in a curve and loaded the front wheel. I disassembled the hub and could see that, while the outer bearing and stub axle looked good, the felt ring in the inner washer was loose (ie: not sticking to the metal washer), and deformed. To my surprise, when I tried to extract the inner washer, it is sticking to the hub and, therefore, I cannot extract the inner bearing. Is this normal?. I thought that the inner washer should go out easily. I attach a of the hub with the inner washer. I was thinking on replacing the felt, but it may be better to replace the washer and felt assembly. Any advice on how to extract the washer and what to replace?

Link to post
Share on other sites

Fuentes, Im not an expert my any measure, but I recently redid the front bearings on my Tr4a, so Ill relate my experience.

I dont have it in front of me, but I believe the shop manual says to glue the felt seal to the metal carrier. The felt is then soaked in oil, and the excess squeezed out. Then the carrier/seal is driven into the back of the hub trapping the inner bearing behind it.

It sounds like your felt seal separated from the metal carrier. The carrier can be removed with any seal removal tool, freeing the inner bearing.

When I ordered my felt seals from the Roadster Factory (a US company), the came with the felt already bonded to the metal carrier. I dont know if all suppliers provide them pre bonded.

 

Jim

Link to post
Share on other sites

When I replaced a front wheel bearing just over a year ago I purchased the actual Timken bearings from Bearing King & was fortunate to pick up a pair of original felt seals on EBay. The seals came attached to the metal carrier & after a soak in oil were easily fitted to the hub shaft.

Cheers.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Efuentes,

If you look inside the centre of the hub you will see the back of the inner bearing, specifically the outer part of the complete bearing. You will also see two opposing notches(small cut outs) in the body of the hub, You then can use a soft drift and hammer to knock out the complete bearing together with the felt ring. Make sure you are tapping on the outer ring, not the part that holds the roller bearings. Section 4.104 in the workshop manual.

Graham

Link to post
Share on other sites

Many thanks for the info. The bearing itself is a Timken, and it looks it is in good condition. I will try to find a felt seal without the metal ring, as I prefer not to dismantle the bearing. In case I have to extract it, I presume the direction it goes out is towards the interior (ie car side) side of the hub. Is that right?

 

Many thanks: Enrique

Link to post
Share on other sites

Enrique,

Both the inner and outer bearings are removed by knocking them out of the hub, not through it.

Graham

Link to post
Share on other sites

Enrique, just to be clear regarding removal, the bearings themselves are taken out by hand as they fit loosely on the bearing races. The outer bearing should drop out of the front of the hub easily once the hub retaining nut and washer are removed. As I mentioned above, the inner bearing is trapped by the felt seal metal carrier. Once the metal carrier is removed, the inner bearing will slide out the back of the hub. When I removed the old felt seal/carrier on my car, I used a seal puller. However the bearing races have to be driven out through the hub. As Graham states, the outer race is driven toward the front by inserting the drift tool in the back of the hub, and the opposite to drive out the inner race. I use a brass drift for this so I won’t damage the hub, though a screw driver could be used if you are careful. The hub inner and outer race seats have slots machined into them 180 degrees apart. These slots expose a little of the edge of the bearing race, so the drift tool can get better contact on the race. Tap the race on alternate sides until you drive it out.

 

Jim

Link to post
Share on other sites

Enrique, in your first post you say that the bearing is rumbling, if this is so then you need to replace them, they are knackered, no matter how good they may look you must replace both complete bearings (outer ring, inner rollers and the felt), once they begin to rumble they very quickly wear.
Cheers Rob

Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Please familiarise yourself with our Terms and Conditions. By using this site, you agree to the following: Terms of Use.