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MG Midget and Sprite Technical - Rear Wheel Bearings

The wheel bearings on my 1275 are not a tight fit on the axle journal and the wheel rocks top and bottom even though it was assembled with Loctite. I bought another axle case but when I removed the hubs this has the same problem, I assume that this is common with cars after 40 years on the road although I can't find any reports in the archive.

I am considering having the ends of the axle metal sprayed and reground back to the correct size, does anyone have experience of this type of restoration and know of a company that has the capability to do the work.

Otherwise I am looking for another axle case with good bearing journals that I can rebuild. It must be steel wheel type with rod actuated handbrake.
Neil Farnfield

Hi Neil, no it's not that common at all.

The hub will rock without the halfshafts in place, but not when in place.

Can you put up a picture? Is the hub fully tightened, i.e. the big locking nut? It just needs to be "bloody tight", but there's no set torque figure quoted.
Lawrence Slater

Be careful with the axle/hub nut! You may well find reference to torque figures of 140 ft lbs associated with it but that comes from a misinterpretation of a figure published for the diff. That seems to have gone down into folklore as the right torque. It's a thin nut on an old thread! I had one strip well below that figure although I believe it was the nut which went.
This was the subject of a longish thread here about a year or so back.
G Williams (Graeme)

I have had two axles with loose bearings ie the bearing slides on and off the axle without any effort required. I have also had hubs which are loose on the bearing.

The cause is unclear but may be down to the large nut not being fullt tightened allowing the bearing to float.

The solution in my case was to cut off the end and reweld a replacement hub. It
was cheaper at the time than metal spraying. The work was done by Mallock Racing as they used the A series axle on their earlier race cars. They also had the equipment to ensure the axle was perfectly straight after the welding was done.
Bob Beaumont

Just a casual question. :)

Are these replacement bearings by any chance? Or are they R&M originals?
Lawrence Slater

I had a problem with rear bearings on the race car, but it was play more than fit.

I bought a stock of RHP bearings, but having fitted a pair, I never needed to change them again. Consequently, I have a lot of spare bearings!
Dave O'Neill2

I've replaced the rear bearings on my Sprite, just ordered the Moss 'from wherever' bearing fitted it and tightened it all up and no play, easiest job ever, the stupidly huge rear nut wasn't even that tight.

Malc
Malc Gilliver

Has to be that big Malc, to go over the stupidly big axle. ;).
Lawrence Slater

I have used bearing fit locktight to take up some slack between the outer race and the hub, when the hub was a bit worn. Worked perfectly. Don't know if one could do the same to the axle casing though. Is the bit that the inner race slides on to a slight taper fit?
Guy W

Thanks guys. The large nut on my existing axle is dine up tight when I fitted new SKF bearings with Loctite about 14000 miles ago but the wheels always appeared to have a bit of negative camber. I guess it could be the fit of the half shafts in the diff, that wasn't checked. Car drives ok but I have to be careful when adjusting the rear brakes - the MOT man has never commented.

I just recall reading somewhere that the bearings should be tight on the axle. I'm still interested in a good axle case if anyone has an unwanted spare.

I've got a set of good half shafts and low mileage diff for my new axle so I'll build that up in the next couple of weeks with new SKF bearings and see how it feels.
Neil Farnfield

Have you got an old R&M bearing you could compare for fit on the axle against an SKF version?

But having said that, if the hub nut's tight, I can't see how the inner race of the bearing can wobble on the axle.
Lawrence Slater

I found there was no difference with the R&M and SKF bearings in terms of the tightness on the axle or in the hub.
Bob Beaumont

That's just as well then Bob. NOS rear wheel bearings can remain cheap, and not join their forward based cousins ;).
Lawrence Slater

Agreed. I have Moss supplied bearings in my axle currently and they appear to perform the same as the branded makes. As you say the front end is a very different story!
Bob Beaumont

<< the front end is a very different story >>

I wonder what the story about the front wheel bearings is then?












Oh, hell, where's my coat . . . .!!
Guy W

Guy! THat's almost a "report abuse" button job.

I put 6207-zz (skf) on the rear. £6.70 + vat from "The Bearing Shop" (price in Sept 2012). These have seals in place to keep the grease in. I recall they were an easy slide on the axle but the right Loctite could have taken up any play (and withe right product, a lot of play!) The downside is that these products are so effective it needs a major heat application to break the grip.
G Williams (Graeme)

As I said, I had a problem with NEW rear bearings, in as much as the new ones had more play in them than the old ones.

After a couple of races, I was changing them again.

A lot of play in the bearing can lead to a snapped halfshaft - I've even broken the end off a Peter May shaft.

RHP bearings fitted, no more problems.
Dave O'Neill2

This thread was discussed between 30/07/2013 and 01/08/2013

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