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MG MGA - Greasing front hubs with wire wheels

It's coming to that time of year when I change the oil, get the grease gun out, etc.
How do people with wire wheels grease the front hub bearings please? With cars with standard wheels I would pack the cap, and that would (I believe) allow the grease to slowly penetrate through the bearings

There's no cap on wire wheels of course although I see Moss sell "Grease retainers" (picture attached) - but with their semi eclyptic shape, I can't see how they would work. Did a little research on the web, and it seems like many MGA's dont use the retainers anyway.

I was thinking I would just press the grease gun up to the bearings, and try and force grease through that way. Does that make sense or how do others do it?


Graham V

Graham---bit of a thing that grease retainer, all it does is block off the split pin hole in the splined section to stop excess grease escaping out through the holes onto the splines and in extreme cases leaking out past the spokes onto the wheel where you can see it.
If you want to add some grease without pulling it all apart you could poke the end of your grease gun up in there and try and push a bit into the outer bearing and hope it spreads as you describe when it gets nice and hot----maybe if you wound some cloth up into a ball/pad and whacked it up the hole after to keep the grease in the bearings , might help--wouldn't do any harm and easy to remove---but i didn't tell you to do that did I
William Revit

Whether on wire wheels or bolt-on wheels, I always remove the hub and clean / grease both bearings. Adding fresh grease to only one bearing, and leaving dirty old grease in there, just doesn't sit right with me.
Steve Simmons

Steve
What you say certainly makes sense, but for someone that is not as competent working on these cars, I am concerned to remove the hub and bearings for fear of creating more problems than I started with! It always seems to work out that way with me!

Strangely, the owners handbook, and also my MG workshop manual do not mention removing anything but just say (for wire wheels) 'pack the hubs with grease'. Haynes says likewise. They say this should be done every 6,000 miles, which for me is probably equivalent to nearly 12 years.
For cars with "standard wheels" it just says remove the grease retaining caps, repack the hubs with grease, and replace the cap.
So it seems that MG seemed to think greasing externally should be sufficient - have I got that right?
Having said that, removing the bearings and greasing them is clearly more effective.
Graham V

Graham. I seem to remember a proper grease seal/cover on my MGAs. This was a piece of metal with a threaded rod coming out of it and was used to keep the road grit from getting into the bearings where the grit and grease makes an effective lapping compound. Another thing that I remember is that both of my MGAs had ball bearings, rather than roller bearings, and when removed from the hub came out in pieces. Thus, you had to clean the bearings, reassemble them, and pack grease in.

One thing to consider when deciding whether to take the hub off the spindle (which I always do) is the rear grease seal. These need to be inspected periodically and replaced if damaged. I have never found a way to inspect the rear seal without removing the hub.

Having seen what a bad wheel bearing can do, (although not on any of my own vehicles), I would suggest taking the hub off the spindle, a through cleaning and inspection, then either replace the bearings or seals (if not in excellent condition) or repack the bearings with good quality grease and reassemble.

Les
Les Bengtson

Thanks Les
Did your MGA's have wire wheels? I know the non-wire wheel cars have a grease cap, for which the handbook just suggests removing the cap, packing with gease, and replacing the cap. Strange that there was no cap for WW cars. Maybe I should design one, but I am inclined to do what Willy didnt recommend me doing!
Graham V

This is the grease cap for wire wheels on the twin cam, wonder if this fits the standard MGA with wire wheels?
https://www.moss-europe.co.uk/grease-cap-wire-wheels-btc392.html?assoc=122548
I assume so, as it seems to take the same hub
Graham V

Few things-
First- T/C MGA's didn't have wire wheels, but, they did have a hub with an extended threaded tube like wire wheel cars but a bit shorter and no splines- and yes, they did have a grease cap as you have shown which I'd guess is the same as MGB's have
I have included a pic up in the end of an MGA wire wheel hub showing the grease shield in place and as original with no cap
I'm trying to think if the od of the cap where it taps into the hub is the same od as the outer wheel bearing or if mgb hubs are machined at a larger dia to take the grease cap
An MGA bearing is 52mm od so the machined hole in the hub would be 52 as well, and mgb is only 45ish
The twincam cap 'might' fit but i think the MGB one will be too small----unless there is machining for it in a B hub---don't know, and haven't got one to look at.
but you'd need a cap that fits a 52mm hole which the T/C one may well be--

willy


William Revit

Graham, I understand your reluctance to remove the hub, but there are only three pieces in there - two bearings and a spacer between them. So you really can't mess anything up. And as Les mentions it's a good time to replace the grease seals on the back of the hubs if needed, which just press in place and cost only a few dollars/pounds for the pair. The only part you may find difficult is getting the hub off, which takes a puller. The bearings are best cleaned by removing them from the hub, but you can clean them in place also. Once clean, it becomes much easier to examine them for wear. That said, if the grease in the outer bearing looks good then the grease in the inner bearing is probably ok too.
Steve Simmons

Graham, that Moss cap does fit standard wire wheel hubs, I used it many times.
>Dominic

Dominic Clancy

Dominic
Thanks very much for that. Are they supposed to be a friction fit, or does that rod in the back hold it in place by pressure from the spinner? I spoke with Moss who tell me the outer diameter is approx 1 7/8 inches. The internal diameter of my hub is marginally over 2 inches (Willy, I measured it as 52mm).
It seems daft they weren’t fitted as standard.

Steve
I guess you are right. I don’t have a hub puller, confidence or courage! I will ask around and see if at some stage I can borrow one for when I build up the courage. But for the time being, will grease as best as I can in situ, and hopefully fill the cap with grease.
Graham V

Graham, If Dom. has used them then they must fit ok
With the MGB caps that shaft on the end is threaded so that something can be screwed onto it to extract the cap from up in the tunnel of the hub-
Don't know if you have trailer part outlets over there' but might be worth a look ---The trailer places here sell bearing caps called Bearing Buddies--they're a cap with a grease nipple in the middle of them so you can give the bearing a little grease up every now and them
Wouldn't want to overgrease them though but a little squirt each time you greased the car would be more than enough---probably not even that often
They even do them in stainless steel, that'd be flash
There's one version that has a lightly spring loaded piston in it that automaticaly keeps a very light pressure on the grease but I can see grease oozing everywhere with a system like that
not sure if they do a 52mm version though, you'd have to research that.

willy
William Revit

Found some,-so they do make 52mm version-off to the trailer shop goes Graham
These are SS for boat trailers and the lightly spring loaded type, so there's an option for you---or fit a grease nipple to an ordinary cap---------If you are going to buy caps anyway the trailer shop might be able to fix you up with a pair with grease nipples----maybe

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/125436523717?epid=18017050239&hash=item1d349974c5:g:WWAAAOSwRTViosEF
William Revit

Thanks Willy
I have ordered the Moss ones. Should arrive early next week.
Onward and upward!
Graham V

I found them to be a snug fit. The threaded piece would be a bit short to apply pressure - I found it was easiest just to grab it with a pair of pliers to remove the cap from the hub.
Dominic Clancy

This thread was discussed between 06/11/2022 and 14/11/2022

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