Kevin Atkins Posted April 2, 2023 Report Share Posted April 2, 2023 Hi all, I'm in the process of building up complete rear half-shaft / hub/ brake assemblies for my GT6. To do this, I have bought a pair of inner hubs from eBay, and am using new driveshafts, UJ's / flanges and bearings. Question - the existing bearings in the hubs seem to be in good condition, they rotate freely, there's no 'grittiness' and they're clean. The outer bearings are British-made Hoffmanns, so I'm assuming the needle-rollers are also likely to be UK made too. The new bearings are Powertune branded, and I'd assume they're pattern parts made in the far East. The Powertune outer bearing race looks to be somewhat less robust than the Hoffmann - the balls are smaller for one thing. So I'm wondering whether my analysis of the condition of the existing bearings is sound - I'm not really sure how one detects excessive play, particularly the needle rollers - but I'm wary of ripping something out just because it's 'old' and replacing with an inferior new item.. I don't really want to be having to take the whole thing apart again in 2000 miles... I will, however, be fitting new grease seals etc. Any thoughts appreciated! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted April 2, 2023 Report Share Posted April 2, 2023 this is a non rotoflex mk3 i would stick with the hoffmann's if you drift out the old shafts dont bludgeon the threads the shafts may be re usable one day why did you buy what you call inner hubs for ?? when refitting drift/press the bearing hsg on to allow engagement of the shaft nut when you tighten the hub nut it will pull everything into alignment this is a good time to fit 12mm /7/16unf wheel studs if you want to make the weeny 3/8 studs bullet proof Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johny Posted April 2, 2023 Report Share Posted April 2, 2023 Reckon Kevin wants complete half shaft assemblies including bearing housings, brake backplates and hubs all installed ready to go so he can do a rapid swop over. Think that should be doable although the uprights will have to disconnected from the spring as I dont think the shaft uj/ flange will pass through them. One thing to check beforehand is that the trunnion bolts arent rusted into their bush sleeves as if so it will be a much slower pitstop☹️ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Atkins Posted April 2, 2023 Author Report Share Posted April 2, 2023 Hi Pete, Johny, Yeah I've gone this way so I can swap the assemblies over - the inner hubs / trunnion housings (?) were £15 off ebay, so seemed like a good deal and they do seem to be in good shape. I've also got a pair of brake backplates which have cleaned up well. I didn't want to be tangling with having to press the flanges out and pressing the drive shafts out too.. so I've bought new hub flanges too (£££ but was also mindful of the cost of the correct puller).. that way I know they should be straight and true. I'll stick with the Hoffmann bearings then, and possibly the needle rollers too? They seem in good shape as well. Failing that, maybe I could look at sourcing bearings elsewhere from a bearing specialist? So far, I've found the quality of some of the pattern parts I've bought to be a bit patchy, which is OK if it's easily remedied but for the drivetrain I don't want to be dismantling it again any time soon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johny Posted April 2, 2023 Report Share Posted April 2, 2023 Unfortunately our bearings are imperial and quite difficult to find from the main brands now so they have to come from smaller manufacturers with unknown quality levels. Of course on the other hand our cars tend to do a lot less miles these days so bearings dont need to be quite so long lasting as OEM although getting some owners to accept that is another matter😂 As I said before I hope your trunnion bolts are free - Ive made it an annual routine now to undo them on my Vitesse and tap them along a little to check theyre not seized... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted April 2, 2023 Report Share Posted April 2, 2023 and to get the hub flange removed you do need the proper puller or you bend the hub flange pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Atkins Posted April 2, 2023 Author Report Share Posted April 2, 2023 2 hours ago, johny said: As I said before I hope your trunnion bolts are free - Ive made it an annual routine now to undo them on my Vitesse and tap them along a little to check theyre not seized... Thanks for the heads-up on that Johny, I've not ventured into that yet but hopefully they're not too much of a pain.. What I can say is there seems to be a fair amount of play in the bushes on the nearside so hopefully they come apart easily enough Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johny Posted April 2, 2023 Report Share Posted April 2, 2023 Well the plastic bushes wear fairly quickly but are easy to change if the steel tube they run on hasnt rusted to the steel bolt that goes through it. If yours hasnt been apart for a while and been used in the rain they will almost certainly be like this but its not the end of the world, just slows the job down. Theres now replacement polyurethane rubber bushes that come with a stainless steel tubes to avoid this problem... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Truman Posted April 2, 2023 Report Share Posted April 2, 2023 6 hours ago, johny said: Reckon Kevin wants complete half shaft assemblies including bearing housings, brake backplates and hubs all installed ready to go so he can do a rapid swop over. I have the same a pair of Herald/Spitfire rebuilt hubs complete with their backplates & uprights WHY because I had all the gear spare & during Covid it was something to do! BUT please remember the inner (diff side) seal goes in the reverse way so it lets grease out when greasing the hubs ie the surplus grease is flung against the grease/oil flinger on the axle. The reason being to stop grease being pushed into the brake drum area and damaging the shoes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NonMember Posted April 3, 2023 Report Share Posted April 3, 2023 9 hours ago, Peter Truman said: The reason being to stop grease being pushed into the brake drum area and damaging the shoes! And also to stop water getting in to the bearing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Atkins Posted April 9, 2023 Author Report Share Posted April 9, 2023 On 02/04/2023 at 22:33, Peter Truman said: BUT please remember the inner (diff side) seal goes in the reverse way so it lets grease out when greasing the hubs ie the surplus grease is flung against the grease/oil flinger on the axle. The reason being to stop grease being pushed into the brake drum area and damaging the shoes! Thanks for that - I've got the driveshafts / hubs assembled - just want a clarification.. I've installed the diff-side / inner grease seal with the trailing lip towards the diff, so to let excess grease out. For the outer seal, trailing lip is inwards towards the bearing.. is this correct? The Haynes manual is a little unclear to me.. If needs be I can go back and fix. Thanks all! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Truman Posted April 9, 2023 Report Share Posted April 9, 2023 sounds right, an old hand warned me about the inner seal eons ago and I never forgot his advice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted April 10, 2023 Report Share Posted April 10, 2023 the inner seal back to front idea is more to stop water tracking down the shaft and entering the bearing more so than letting grease escape (which it does ) it also has the drain hole and catcher on the backplate so there two ways the grease can escape Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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