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Q & A: Bearing Wiggle

Since 1980 I own (and sometimes drive...) several Morris Minor's, Austin A40's and MG Midget's; and never had a problem with front bearings, till recently, as my A40 developed (probably due to electrocemical corrosion in the metal after a very long idling period) a rumbling in the left front wheel bearing. I orded a new set of bearings (ball bearings, open on one side, you can take out the inner races) from a reputable source, put them in the car ("thrust" on the outer race facing to each other, not forgetting the distance piece), but now I have a more than noticeable backlash in the hub because there is no way to adjust the bearing's preload, like you have shown in the MGB's hub with the aid of adding/extracting shims.

Of course I do not want to waist your time, and I can only please you to give me a hint - I had believed from myself that I know everything on these A-series equipped cars, because I had done all thinkable work on them...but this time I am really out of ideas. Or should I simply install a new set again and say to myself the old ones were defective...but I like to know the reason! Here in Austria the people who worked on those cars (or at least owned one) are long gone, so there is nobody to ask...

It is not uncommon for the outer race to wiggle in the housing. The quick fix for that is to use a prick punch and make about 200 little dimples on the inner hub surface.

If the bearings do not fit closely enough together, then ... read more