Front wheel bearings

[rob]

Hello everyone!

Having suffered an OSF wheel bearing failure on the M25 last week I thought I would investigate upgrade options for the woefully small bearing solution that BL saw fit to inflict upon us. Trouble is, having spoken to the guru's at S&S they inform me that they do not know of an upgrade...

I know that some time ago it was possible to purchase a standard set of TR7 hubs that had been machined to accept a larger bearing but apparently, these are no longer available.

Does anyone on the forum have any bright ideas on how to overcome this design flaw?

[Raider]

Err no - I don't :o

I do agree how teeny weeny they are tho - surely a bigger bearing would be a good idea

It is possible to buy a kit in the USA - not much help here tho :-/

http://www.tsimportedautomotive.com/

[Beans]

Don't think the bearings are that bad.

Just make sure that;

• you use good quality bearings;
• they are properly greased with a good quality bearing grease;
• you check them for weae and play on a regular basis.

[Pete Lewis]

most front wheel bearing fail due to lack of endfloat , this preload overheats the bearing and its grease breaks down and failure is just down the road
      Pete

[rob]

Thanks for the feedback so far. The car is used everyday and covers about 18-20k miles a year and despite being serviced by S&S every six months, it eats the bearings (this being the second time in 30 months).

The failures always happen in hot weather and after a few hundred miles on the motorway which suggests the bearings are being hammered from high rpm and heat transfer (brakes ??)). I forgot to mention that the car is carrying a V8i so there is quite some weight hanging over the front wheels.

I would of thought that some of the TR7V8 racers might of had an upgrade but perhaps I will follow Raiders advice and look to the USA.

Thanks again for your feedback.

[Beans]

In your case I would look at the bearings used by S&S and the grease they use.
Normal bearing grease isn't good enough, as it's melting point is to low.

[rob]

Just thought I would let you all know that I have spoken with Ted Schumacher at TSI in the USA about the uprated hubs. He tells me that when he entered the TR7V8s into endurance races he was getting through front bearings at an alarming rate so he designed a modification to the hubs which mean they can accept GT6 bearings. This mod solved the problem for him.

I appreciate that there are not many 7/8s being circuit raced these days or used for very high mileages but it may be useful info for some of you.  

I have ordered a set of modified hubs from TSI and will report back once they have been fitted and run for a while.

Thanks again to Raider for the tip.