Hello, everyone!
I am back from five days in Atlanta. Lots of nice weather but no LBC
sightings. I suppose I would have had more luck if I had actually left the
convention center occasionally.
Last weekend I finished putting new rear wheel bearings in the MGA. A
friend was kind enough to loan the use of his 8-sided socket to tighten the
axle nuts.
Upon receival of the bearings, I compared them to the originals. They were
much quieter. I packed them with Mobil 1 synthetic bearing grease. I used
the axle shafts and lug nuts to push the bearings into the hubs so that
they would go in straight. This got them about 3/4 of the way in then I
used the bearing spacers, a wood block and hammer to drive them home. I
first replaced the seals, of course. I coated the outside of the first
seal with hylomar but this made it too slippery to start with my archaic
tools so I wiped off the sealing compound and drove them in dry. I greased
the seal lips prior to final assembly.
I then used a trick detailed in the A-Antics technical manual published
by the Michigan Rowdies. They recommend using the bare bulb in a trouble
light to heat the bearing/hub assemblies (while sitting in an empty coffee
can) for about 2 hours prior to assembly and then they will just slide on.
I was in a hurry for the left side so I only heated it about 45 minutes.
The bearing/hub slid on far enough to be stuck but not far enough to engage
the axle nut. I used a 36 mm socket to drive it on until the bearing was
flush with the threaded axle housing. I couldn't go any further with this
method because the 36 mm socket was too small to fit over the threads. I
then installed the axle shaft complete with bearing spacer loosely over the
bearing/hub assembly. This would make sure that I was driving the assembly
on straight. Using a block of wood, I hammered on the center of the hub
until the assembly moved far enough to use the axle nut to pull it home. I
know that you aren't supposed to hammer on the outside of the bearing when
pressing it over a shaft but I was caught without any other options.
I heated the second bearing for the full 2+ hours and it slid easily onto
the axle housing far enough to engage the nut. I had to wait until the
assembly cooled because the heat had enlarged the axle housing enough to
make engaging the nut very difficult. Once cool, I was able to use the nut
to pull the bearing home. This was not real easy since the fit is tight
and the nut is very thin so the socket wants to slip off. With patience I
was successful. I reassembled all of the bits and went out for a spin.
Guess what, the ticking sound that started this whole vendetta is still
there :-( Oh well, I will have to meditate a while before planning my
next move. I am guessing that U-joints will have to go in with the clutch.
Pretty soon I am going to run out of bearings to replace.
Regards,
Bill Eastman
61 MGA back on its feet and happy
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