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MG Midget and Sprite Technical - Front axle bearings

I am about to get stuck into finishing a heritage she'll rebuild with a friend. The car was bought as an unfinished project from another friend, and as part of the pile of new parts is a complete WW conversion.

While I am waiting for the new WW axle casing and other bits from Rich Wooley (some of the donor car parts are too far gone to be salvageable) I am faced with the dilemma of what to do with the wheel bearings up front.

Option A is to reuse the original bearings, which appear to be in good shape, but I have to remove them from the old steel wheel hub and install them in the WW hubs.

Option B is to use the new hubs with the supplied new bearings. Everything was bought 15 years ago, but the new bearings are not the same type as the originals as far as I can see.

What would be the advice from the wise ones here? I am an extremely competent mechanic, but normally only visit the MGA board as I have owned an A for 25 years.
5^71:0:4

FWBs...There may be a few references in the archive...
Its a great place to hunt for info. Im sure one of the kind souls on here will have some insight....
Steven Devine

if you can extract the original bearings from the old hubs, clean them and inspect for wear, those would be the best

The challenge is getting them out.

There are two grooves machined in the hub to help you push the outer bearing out first. Use a soft brass dowel to push with, and only try to move it a little bit at a time so it doesn't get cocked and jammed in place. When in doubt, push it back in a bit. You can shift the inner spacer piece around to get better access for pushing.

Be sure to only press on the outer race when pushing on the bearings so the balls and races are not damaged.


Norm
Norm Kerr

well there is fun to be had in the archives if you want to loose a year of your life

Or take the easy way out and swallow the barrel of a shotgun..trust me, its so much less messy

The easy ansewer is if they orginal can be used do it, if not then do not use the new replacements. Go with ither the taper bearings or the 40 degree contact angular bearings.

JHL makes I nice custom hub with a good bearing set at a reasonable price

The issue is the hub bearing carrier radius does not work with any of todays bearings so taper or 40 degree are the better options

Good luck

Prop
Prop and the Blackhole Midget

Don't forget when you do the WW conversion you will shorter handbrake rods!

A complete WW conversion is a fair old pile of parts!
GraemeW (Kent!)

The previous owner bought a kit with all the parts for a WW conversion, except the axle casing which should be on the way from Rich very soon. I have also bought a set of adjustable rear rods, and have all the other parts either on hand or on order.

I do have access to a press, so I should be able to press out the old bearing if I am careful. I will post the part numbers of the bearings I have in the next few days, I still haven't taken them out of their packaging to inspect them.

5^71:0:4

Also a name other than "5^71:0:4, arial large, threadlist" might be nice, or do we just call you "5" for short?
G Lazarus

My identity should now appear correctly, it seems to have been corrupted by the recent server crash.
Dominic Cancy

Dominic

What would appear to be the difference between the new bearings and the old?
Dave O'Neill2

Dominic: mentioning presses - are your halfshafts already fitted into the splined hubs? If not that can require an awful lot of force to drive home. I had to use a 10 tonne press.
GraemeW (Kent!)

I can't find the new bearings again......am still hunting, they are in the garage somewhere.

I will press out the old bearings and also press the half shafts into the hubs at the same time

Dominic Cancy

This thread was discussed between 08/01/2014 and 14/01/2014

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