Swing Axle Hub - Hole or No Hole??

[rlubikey]

I've just greased my rear hubs on the Spit and discovered that one has a little (~1mm) hole on the top where the excess grease exits. You wipe off the excess and what's left sits in the hole until next time you grease. The other hub doesn't have this hole so the grease exits through the weakest seal. Just my luck it was the outer one next to the brakes, so I'm going to have to change the seal - which has probably been assembled the wrong way round.

 

So here's the question - this hole; was it something Triumph did on only a few hubs? One period of production maybe? Or is the hub "sans hole" a repro. part? What do you guys think?

 

I'm guessing that the hole defines the route for the grease through the hub, i.e. from nipple, through bearing, out of hole. So I'm thinking of drilling one when I rebuild the hub. Madness or ... ?

 

Cheers, Richard

[68vitesse]

I always understood that you pumped grease in till it exited from the inner seal, this is to ensure fresh grease flows through the bearings. Both inner and outer seal lips point towards the diff.

Just had a look at a spare assembly the only hole, apart for the ones for the brakes, is behind the grease catcher. When I rebuilt this earlier this year the inner grease seal was forced out of the trunnion when I greased it. The parts came from one of the usual suppliers, a replacement seal works fine, the only difference I could see was that the faulty one was unmarked and the replacement had a part number etc. on it.

 

Regards

 

Paul

[Pete Lewis]

wouldnt a new hole equal water ingress    .

 

the hole in the hsg and the catcher on the back plate is there to keep  leaking grease from contaminating  the brakes not a a means of is it filled or not  , 

 

 if the outer seal is sound then  none should  leave via the back plate , any grease should exit via the inboard  seal behind the dust thrower cup

as  paul says they should be fitted  to allow grease out but not water In.  

[Ben Caswell]

Richard did you get round to painting the Atlas in GWR colours

[rlubikey]

Thanks for your comments guys.

 

Paul, yes, it seems the outer seal has given way first. At least the grease catcher did its job.

 

Pete, I didn't mention that, sitting on top of the pile of grease on the hub with the hole was a tiny "pin" of stiffer grease. Presumably this is what was sitting in the hole and was ejected first. I found mention of the hole on http://www.britishcarforum.com/bcf/showthread.php?35140-Spitfire-rear-suspension-question though some said they had them and some not. I assumed at the time the "have nots" were either unobservant or theirs were blocked with age-old grease. Seems that was a wrong assumption. I was going to take the wheel off and get a picture this evening but ran out of time.

 

Ben, the Atlas has had all the bodywork done now and is (still) in primer. Yes, it's going to be Russet Brown and (Rover Metro) Primula Yellow - a very good facsimile of GWR Chocolate & Cream.

 

Cheers, Richard

[Pete Lewis]

I would bet that extra hole in the top of the trunion block  has been added at  some  time in its  previous life, and without some  protection will end up with road water getting in.

   you don't want any breather or escape route as the flow when pumped in is supposed to ooze  out the inner  seal showing the  needle rollers have received some renewed grease.

 

   so my view is where ever its come from .............. plug it up 

 

Pete