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Front bearing replacement


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Same thing happened on my TR7; in this case as I hadn't touched the axle, it was the bearings... they went on, seemingly easily enough, but just pulled apart when I removed the hub to adjust. I went to a different supplier and his fitted first time, no problems.

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On 26/06/2023 at 22:42, Peter Truman said:

even after soaking the seal in oil then compressing it overnight to remove the surplus oil the felt is still very thick with the side effect of pushing the hub outwards causing the brake rotor to be off-center in the caliper gap ie pistons with possible rubbing on the caliper body or inability to fit the brake pads, all very disheartening!

I had that problem too. However, I drove the car around the block three days running and adjusted the 'Play' daily until it ceased to be necessary. I tightened the bearing using a 6 in long spanner so as not to overload the bearings and backed it off two flats each time. The disc is now central in the caliper slot and the play has not changed in 200 miles. I guess that I have worn the felt down. Wheels spin  really freely with the pads backed off. It was tedious and annoying though.

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2 hours ago, Wagger said:

I had that problem too. However, I drove the car around the block three days running and adjusted the 'Play' daily until it ceased to be necessary. I tightened the bearing using a 6 in long spanner so as not to overload the bearings and backed it off two flats each time. The disc is now central in the caliper slot and the play has not changed in 200 miles. I guess that I have worn the felt down. Wheels spin  really freely with the pads backed off. It was tedious and annoying though.

That seems to be the right method but then, if the felt has worn down, how much of an improvement over the old seals is there? Assuming the originals hadnt actually disintegrated of course...

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PeteL put me straight when I did my car as I had never seen that method before of keeping matter out. All other cars I had used ring seals. I used a new felt because PO had fitted a Herald link, hub and disc to the left side of my Vitesse. Therefore, no old seal to use. The car will never be used in the wet so I won't worry.

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When I recently stripped the front hub of daughters Mk2 Spit down for the Type 14 brake upgrade the PO had fitted mech (ring) seals not felt so having new felt seals in my spares stock I reverted to original fitment that’s when I found the new aftermarket felt seals didn’t fit easily and needed significant modification to felt thickness and enlarging the steel backing ring inner dia to clear the stub axle mounting annulus outer dia and NOT collapse inwards when the hub was fitted and tightened up which put pressure on the bearings so they didn’t rotate.

Sorted now but having to split the felt seal from its backing means the actual felt of the felt seal is stationary and seals or rotates on its backing plate/annulus. I can live with that short term.

Ref the rotar to caliper gap it’s not quite central but even with new pads the hub rotates OK and will probably sort itself out. I’ve made but not fitted a couple of thin steel shims to fit between the rotar and the hub so rotar will be pushed back a little. I’ll wait and see how the gap adjusts with use and tightening the hub nut before fitting them.

I’m going to get new felt seals I’m awaiting till I get a decent order to optimise postage costs any one know of a supplier of good quality felt seals?

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12 hours ago, Peter Truman said:

I’m going to get new felt seals I’m awaiting till I get a decent order to optimise postage costs any one know of a supplier of good quality felt seals?

eBay. The originals come up from time to time, usually Unipart GHS110 or Payen equivalent. The box says Herald 1967 onwards but I've used the same seals on all mine and they fit very easily.

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On 27/06/2023 at 18:36, Jbc562l said:

Just to say I’m so happy to have found this post ! I’ve been having exactly this problem when replacing the bearing after a mot remark .. I’m going to try fitting the old seal at the weekend and report back . Thank you ..

After trimming the thickness of the felt seal by roughly half with a Stanley knife I can report back that it sorted the problem, disk position is correct and bearing play “just right” imho.

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  • 1 month later...

As a replacement for the felt seals has anyone used the rubber seals that are available from SC Parts Group Ltd at Crawley.

They say say that they have sold lots of these. I have struggled to fit these to my MkIV Spitfire. It is an extremely tight fit to get the seal over the annulus on the stub axel and the overall thickness of the seal means the disc rotor is tight up against the caliper.

 

Just wondering if anyone else has tried to use these seals.

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if swapping the felt for a oil lipseal then something is very wrong  the inner bearing should butt the shoulder of the stub axle the felt has no 

interference with the fit/position of the inner bearing yes ittakes up space but does not affect the end float if its the correct thickness 

the lip seal should allow the hub to be snug up against the stub face   or any endfloat will be wrecked the first trip round the block

there is something very wrong with your oil seal positioning or its just incompatible as a swap 

note they say MAY replace ????

Pete

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As said previously I found the aftermarket felt seal steel backing ring inner dia didn’t clear the stub axle mounting boss and hence was deformed or pushed in on the inner race stopping the bearing rotating freely.

I had the lip seals fitted presumably by PO they werE mounted so the rubber slipped over the stub axle mounting boss and I found wear or rubbing marks on the rubber seal backing plate not good hence conversion back to felt seals with serious modification reqd to get felt and backing ring to clear the stub axle mounting boss!!!

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20 hours ago, Tony Mendham said:

the disc rotor is tight up against the caliper.

As long as you have checked the setup without any seal fitted and confirmed that the disc is in the centre of the caliper gap then you can blame the seal alone. Original instructions were to fit the hub with no seal, torque to 5 ft/lbs, then mark the position of the castellated nut and how many turns it takes to remove. Fit seal, then replace the nut as before, regardless of the pressure of the felt seal, which would affect any torque setting but will bed in. If it's oiled it will offer minimal resistance to the spin of the hub and will squash down. Rubber seals won't compress as much, if any, so will require other options.

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13 hours ago, Colin Lindsay said:

As long as you have checked the setup without any seal fitted and confirmed that the disc is in the centre of the caliper gap then you can blame the seal alone. Original instructions were to fit the hub with no seal, torque to 5 ft/lbs, then mark the position of the castellated nut and how many turns it takes to remove. Fit seal, then replace the nut as before, regardless of the pressure of the felt seal, which would affect any torque setting but will bed in. If it's oiled it will offer minimal resistance to the spin of the hub and will squash down. Rubber seals won't compress as much, if any, so will require other options.

The disc is in the centre of the caliper without the seal.

I can't see that the rubber seal is a serviceable option - it is too thick making it impossible to get the disc central in the caliper without some alterations, also I would imagine that it would wear significantly against the face of the stub axle.

I shall stick to the felt seals.

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9 hours ago, Tony Mendham said:

The disc is in the centre of the caliper without the seal.

I can't see that the rubber seal is a serviceable option - it is too thick making it impossible to get the disc central in the caliper without some alterations, also I would imagine that it would wear significantly against the face of the stub axle.

I shall stick to the felt seals.

As youve probably read though the felt seals available now seem to be too thick and push the disc over too much as well. Theres various solutions that have been suggested with my preferred one being, leave well alone if the original items are at all serviceable...

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