I recently repacked the front wheel bearings on my 74 Spitfire and when
attempting to mount the hubs to the spindles I could not get the hubs on
far enough to get the cotter pins in without completely locking up the
wheels (yes, the races, bearings and seals were inserted properly and at
the right depths). Pulled the hubs and found that the new grease seals,
which I got from Victoria British were causing the problem. At the time I
noted that the ID of the metal part of the seal was too small to go over
the little "hub" on the inboard side of the spindle, but having nothing to
compare it with I wasn't sure that this was actually causing the problem
I then ordered new seals from TRF. When they arrived I compared them to
the ones from VB and found that the ID of the metal on the seals from TRF
was considerable larger than the ones from VB and they would easily fit
over the "inboard hub" on the spindle. However, the OD of the ones from
TRF was likewise considerable larger than the ones from VB. So large, in
fact, that I could not get them into the hubs. I then took seals and hubs
to the machine shop which did some accurate measurements for me and they
stated that there was no way that the seals from TRF could be inserted into
the hubs. They recommended that I grind the seals from TRF down far enough
to that they could be inserted in the hubs and hope that I could do this
without thinning the metal too much. I did this and finally, after 2
weeks, I got my wheels back on with proper end play.
If I had to do this again I would probably get the seals from VB (the ones
with the small ID), carefully remove the felt, and grind the ID to a point
that they would fit over the little "hubs" on the inboard side of the spindle.
Of course, there is always the possibility that there is something weird
about the hubs on my car, but this is doubtful.
Barry H. Adams
74 Spitfire
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