Rear hubs & drive shafts

[johnfrancis898]

I am again suffering again with a bit of play in both rear wheel bearings. I did mention on a previous post about the tooling required to fit new bearings and had some useful replies. I had both hubs refurbished by a local guy about 3 years ago, at great expense, who specialises in TR’s and the hubs had new flange bodies and bearings fitted when they were reassembled. They have done about 8,00 miles and would have hoped to get a bit more out of them. I’m unsure whether to bite the bullet and go for the CV jointed kit or just get the existing ones redone.
I have a pair of shafts with good hubs which I got at an auto jumble a while back. I notice that the thickness of the flange differs between the 2 sets. My newer hubs have a flange thickness of around 1/2” but the old ones are about half of that, about a 1/4”. Also looking at my mates Pi the flanges on his are also about a 1/4”. I guess that may have been the problem in dismantling in the fact the thinner ones were prone to bending and as my ones are fairly new have a thicker flange plate. I am assuming someone has the Churchill tooling for doing these and I understand if they are reluctant to reveal themselves! I was tempted to have a go but I think it’s easier to get them done by someone who knows what they are doing. Getting that 2 thou tolerance sounds quite tricky.
With regard to compatibility it would appear the shafts are the same as the Stag but the TR ones are slightly shorter. Am I correct on this? Looking at the parts book the TR shaft has a different part no. for the hub shaft, apart from that all part nos are the same.
As always any advice/comments welcome.

[Alec]

Hello John,

8,000 miles is hardly anything, and there should not be any play after such a short mileage.
I made up the equipment to dismantle and assemble, but have recently gone for a set of CV axles with new hubs in view of the article in Six Appeal.
Your choice but perhaps use a different specialist than last time if you wish to have them re done?. Chris Witor does re conditioned hubs but is showing out of stock at the moment.

Alec

[johnfrancis898]

Hi Alec
Thanks for your reply.
I was just curious as to why some hubs have thicker flanges than others. Probably an upgrade over the years. I expect quite a few were ruined if they had seized bearings.
Is there a way of lubricating the bearings when the hub are in place?
I am going to try the pair I got from an auto jumble a few years ago in the short term until I decide what to do. They have good bearings and I have replaced 2 of the uj’s.
I have to agree the cv upgrade would be the way forward but the budget doesn’t allow at present!
Thanks again.
John

[Alec]

Hello John,

I don't think there is agreat need for a grease nipple, which would also entail having a bleed hole as well to relieve presure due to heating etc or just when gresaing.
If your spare pair are Ok the you'll probably find they will do for some years to come.

I guess the thicker flange was an upgrade or possibly due to a different supplier?

Alec

[valencia]

I agree about the mileage, it's hardly anything when you consider that many of our cars are still on original units, my car (1969) which I've owned since 1981 I assume will be on the originals, the only repair they have had is the outer offside uj, nothing else. I don't know the full mileage but there's 175,000 on the clock in any case. One of our departed members many years ago, Stu Harvey, technical officer, put an article in six appeal about drilling and tapping the hub for a grease nipple. One year my mot tester commented that one of the bearings had a small amout of play, and to me it sounded a little like metal on metal, so I followed Stu's instructions and I have to say it did go quieter after greasing and I could feel the difference rotating by hand. I did the greasing in 2015 and it's still ok, most years I give it 2-3 strokes, I've had no issues.
Having said all of that, if I had a hub bearing failure I would dig into the piggy bank for the new cv type shafts.

[johnfrancis898]

That’s interesting. I have wondered about greasing the rear bearings. It does seem strange to me that there was no provision for greasing. The whole set up seems complicated. Setting it up with the Churchill tools and achieving an end float of 2 thou! (Incidentally there is a set of the Churchill tools for this on eBay in the USA for about a £1050!) However I have a pair of complete shafts which I got from an Autojumble a few years ago and I have fitted one and it’s seems ok. No play at all and drives smoothly. So I am going to fit the other one too for the time being and consider my options. I am warming to the CV type shaft ones despite the cost.

[Alec]

Hello John,

the hubs are packe dwith grease on assembly and should need no further grease added as they are sealed.
as I said earlier you must vent the hub should a grease nipple be added. There is a possibility that grease will be centrifuged out with running as I can't see how you can vent it except on the perifery of the hub?
Most cars do large mileages with teh standard set up showing the reliabilty when properly assembled.
The Six Appeal article refers to hub fractures due to age, especially if driven hard, and the replacemnt hubs mentioned in the article are a stronger design.

Alec

[johnfrancis898]

I have today finished fitting 2 new driveshafts complete with new uj’s & hubs. I decided to bite the bullet and do both. I am informed they have an upgraded outer axle assembly. I would have liked to have had the CV joint set up but all seems well with what I have. I part exchanged a pair of old hubs which kept the cost down. I have kept the hubs I removed and closer examination reveals they came from Rimmers. The flange is much thicker than the others which according to Rimmers is stronger. Unfortunately the bearings have expired on both after only 8000 miles which I think is very poor. While the back end was up I also replaced the complete handbrake cable and rubber boot under the handbrake along with rear brake shoes.
A reasonable days work. Now onto the engine rebuild.

[valencia]

Great progress that and the new and stronger shafts with the later modification should be fine, the new cv shafts I'm told are excellent but the old Triump design has worked well for many of us for many years. It's all down to correct assembly, and although I've added a grease nipple to mine, your's are new- so not required, maybe in about 40 years though!
Let us know how the engine rebuild goes.

[johnfrancis898]

Managed to get a brief run out yesterday afternoon on dry roads. All performed well and an inspection underneath revealed all ok.
Engine rebuild is underway with everything now cleaned and waiting for a slot at the machine shop.