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MG TD TF 1500 - TF Front Wheel Bearings

Took my car in for a registration inspection today and had it knocked back because of play in the RH side front suspension. The mechanic who did the inspection believed the king pin bushes are flogged out, this is not the case the movement is in the wire wheel hub bearings.

No movement in the 6 to 12 o'clock test, movement in the 3 to 9 o'clock test.

Stripped the hub fitted new roller bearings,shimmed the
spacer because it appeared short and torqued the stub axle nut to 55 ftpds.

No damage to stub axle, wire wheel hub is brand new.

There is still 0.005 movement between the hub and the stub axle which naturally multiplies when the wheel is attached.

Out of ideas how to rectify this other than fitting angular contact bearings.

Somewhere I read roller bearings can exhibit this phenomena however the left hand hub has no movement in the bearings.

Clues as to what may be creating this would be appreciated. Thanks

Graeme
G Evans

Graeme,
How about switching the bearings left to right,, just to make sure that it is a bearing fault??
Steve
Steve Wincze

Graeme,
I had a similar issue with wheel hub bearings on my Morris Minor. It turned out that the supplier had sent me a "C3" bearing which is a bearing with extra play and not fit for purpose. The new bearing was worse than the old one! Worth checking the bearing tolerance if you have fitted a new bearing.
Regards
Declan
D Burns

Following the mechanic's thought about king pin bush wear, for 3/9 play but not 6/12, there could be wear in the bushes across the swivel links, where the bolts and spacers are, that hold the bottom spring pan arms and top shock absorber arms. Or there could be wear in the ball joint at the end of the steering arm.
You mention roller bearings - do you mean tapered roller bearings, in which case the spacer must be removed, as it defeats the purpose of fitting tapered bearings. The same goes for angular contact bearings, which I have in my TD, without the spacers. However, bearing wear in normally felt all round.
R A WILSON

I would think, actually know, if a bearing has play in it, the play will be 360 degrees, not just at the 3 and 9 o'clock positions. Could be the ball end of the tie rod. You would probably have to pull the boot back off the rack, (loosing oil), to check for minor play in the ball and socket. Just guessing. PJ
Paul S Jennings

How much did you shim, I believe there is supposed to be some preload in the bearing.
If you get someone to hold the steering hard over on RH side you can visually check for movement in the track rod.
Don't forget to check play with the suspension jacked under spring pan to unload the joints.
Ray TF 2884
Ray Lee

"There is still 0.005 movement between the hub and the stub axle which naturally multiplies when the wheel is attached". Try to figure out where the movement is. Sight down the hub and see if the inner race is moving on the stub axle, the outer race is moving in the hub, or movement is in the bearing itself. I have seen an outer race loose in the hub at some point. George
George Butz

Thanks fellas for all your input, I am 90% confident that the movement is in the bearings however I cant get a response when I carry out the 6 to 12 O'clock test.

As I stated the wire wheel hubs are brand new when I did the rebuild <1000Km ago, maybe this was not picked up on the original registration inspection.

Declan could be onto something when he made the comment regarding bearing tolerances.

Paul thanks for the tie rod end comment I had that issue on the LH side at last years rego inspection.

I am onto some angular contact bearings at the right price, you guys O/S dont know how fortunate you are with bearing prices compared to "down under". NTN 7306 bearings were quoted as $A80 each.

Graeme
G Evans

Are you sure it's not the wire wheels. I fitted new wheels and hubs about a year ago because I had a clunk from the back axle when I let the clutch out. It fixed the problem, for a while, less than a thousand miles later the clunk is back!

Who was it said that parts are rubbish but expensive!

AJ
A R Jones

This thread was discussed between 06/11/2014 and 07/11/2014

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