rear wheel bearings

[Uboat]

Hi,

I must now inevitably change my left rear wheel bearings.

I will first try to do this in situ, without removing the assembly/casing.

I beleive it is rather straightforward to get the hub off, but I am more concerned about how the get the outer drive shaft/axle and bearings out. How is the shaft fixed to the intermediate drive shaft? can I remove it from the outside?

I would very much appreciate your expertise advice on this

/Ulf

[miked]

Hi,

You will not do it in situ'. It requires taking out. There is no point in trying this way. You will maul your t*ts off.

Have a read in the old posts as much has been written about this subject. There are lots of details.

The hub may not be as easy as you think. There is also information about hub removal.

Mike

[elansprint]

Ulf are you the man with the S4 elan & G33 i met at Mallory if so i got the info you required but the email address you gave me did not work
best wishes
Ian

[Uboat]

Hi Ian,
I live in Scandinavia, so I am probably the wrong guy...
/Ulf

[Frank Howard]

I beleive it is rather straightforward to get the hub off

Ulf,

It is, assuming you have a hub puller.

[Frank Howard]

I am more concerned about how the get the outer drive shaft/axle and bearings out.

Ulf,

I would strongly consider purchasing a small press.

[gerrym]

Ulf, you don't seem to have filled in any of the forum personal data in terms of location, car type etc. Sorry if my advice is of no help to you because of this.

If you live near a classic Lotus specialist such as Christopher Neil, SJ Sportscars, etc take the entire hub assembly in to them.

If you are determined to do this job yourself, avail yourself of the best detailed advice such as Brian Buckland's book or similar. Be aware, that you will need a bespoke puller (for bolt on hubs) or the insert that fits between spinner and shaft end (for knock-on hubs). With the nut removed, this applies the axial force from tightening the spinner (via hammer) on to the shaft end and so releases the hub. Even with the correct tooling, you may/will need to apply plenty of heat to get the hub off the taper. SJ Sportscars loaned me their insert.

The next issue is removal of the bearings. From memory when I last did this job, hammer and pin punch will do the job. However to assembly the bearings into the hub, there is no substitute for a press and some bespoke tooling again. Without this, you run the near certainty of ruining the new bearings as you refit. The tooling is required to ensure that the inserting force is directed into the outer race. It is also worth being aware of all the complications that can occur such as excessive slop in the fit between the outer bearing race and the alloy housing. You should check the fit and if needs be rectify with Loctite or similar. It is also worth checking the taper fit, shaft to hub. If it doubt you may need to use Engineer's blue to check this fit.

Last point re the bearings, there are variations depending on the age of your car and strut housing issue. Whatever the particulars of your car, get the best bearing quality possible or risk potentially a very short life.

Regards

Gerry

[Uboat]

Thanks all for your advice,
It seems to me that I will end up taking the assembly of the car, and that the best metod from there is to ask my local work shop to help me remove and replace the bearings and the shaft with a press. I would not risk to damage the bearings with a hammer...

Where can I buy the insert/nut puller which fit in the hexagonal nut of my knock-on's?
/Ulf

[miked]

Ulf,

I know Chris Neils had them.

If you have the Robinshaw & Ross Elan book it shows the diagram for some one to make one with a lathe.

Mike

PS. best tip is the cleaning of the circlip grooves. I always ensure that they fit before putting anything in them. When you refit the inner one it can be quite hard as the dust shield holds off the circlip slightly. Any debris in the groove prevents the circlip sringing into place.


Also beware of side loading when a press is used. It is easy to prematurely wear the bearing and have some play after 20 miles. I know as I did it, until I was put right on this forum.

[cliveyboy]

Ulf
Here is an old posting of mine regarding tips for installing bearings:-

If the bearings you have removed were good quality bearings, I can almost guarantee the problem is not faulty bearings.
Do your bearings have rubber seals on them?
If they do they are pre greased and sealed for life so lack of lubrication should not be an issue.
How were they fitted?
If bearings are fitted wrong they can fail very quickly even good quality ones.
I prefer to heat up a bearing to fit it onto a shaft.
60 degrees C should be enough to expand it so it slides on.
You can heat them upto approx 120 degrees without damaging them.
If you push fit them on where are you applying the force?
If you are pushing a bearing onto the shaft make sure you only push on the inner ring of the bearing. If you push on the outer ring you are putting all the force through the ball bearings which in turn puts the force onto the inner ring. This puts directional forces into them that they are not designed to take. It can also mean when assembled the bearing always has a constant side thrust which will cause premature failure.

When I assembled my bearings the routine was .
Heat up inner bearing and slide onto shaft. (remember large metal washer/cover and circlip)
Warm up housing and press or pull shaft into housing applying force through the outer ring of bearing.
For outer bearing warm up housing but keep heat away from shaft.
lightly press bearing into housing applying force on inner ring.
This is where you will apply abit of side thrust to the bearing but if the housing is warm and expanded the forces will be low and within the bearings capabilities. Most of the force will go into pushing the inner ring onto the shaft.
Hope this helps.

Cliveyboy

[Uboat]

Thanks,

Are the inner and outer bearings of the same type? I have an +2 from 1974, with the bearing house marked Issue 18, whatever this means...
I plan to use SKF 6206 2RS bearings

[Frank Howard]

No they're not. As I recall, they were the same on the earlier issue 16 housings but they had failures with the outer bearings so they changed the housing to accomodate a larger outer bearing and called it an issue 18 housing. I also recall that even though the outer bearing appeared larger because the races were wider, the actual ball bearings were of the same number and size.

[Uboat]

OK, thanks
What is the designation of the inner bearing? can I find SKF bearings that will fit?

[Frank Howard]

I would inspect the old bearings before ordering new ones. I took mine apart and found them to be in quite good shape. I was even able to remove the plastic seals from the two "lifetime" bearings. I removed the old grease, cleaned up the bearings, inspected them, and packed them with new grease.

I figure they'll be good for another 37 years.

[gerrym]

Ulf, further advice on Hub puller for KOs, to be used with "old" spinner

Regards

Gerry