doing the wheel bearing saturday for the third time what am i doing wrong

its camels car. there is your answer

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What wheel bearing, front or back, tapered or normal? and 3 in how long?

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Respect mine and I'll respect yours.

depends how you're doing it...

not enough torque?
too much torque?
not enough grease?
too much grease?
wrong grease?
re-using an old spacer?
not seating the outer race properly?

or

dodgy upright/drive flange or stub axle/hub ?

I'm doing my left rear tonight actually... it's got a dodgy 3rd hand (car) ball type bearing in there now, and it's time it was retired

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did I tell you that I won a trophy?

front left what ever i do it still grinds and groans, never had any problems before

Al , without sounding condescending , what type of bearing are you using and how are you fitting it ? Also , when you have it apart can you check to see how round the hub is where the bearing sits in case it's worn somehow out of round and causing the bearing to move or wear unevenly through being not fully supported .

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this is how i have put them together from inside of the hub
a ring with a split in it
seal
bearing greased
spacer
bearing greased
seal
washer
nut & split pin
not roller bearings

You're probably racing it too aren't you?

Poor little thing.

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Sir Namibian CAMEL of MONGOLIA !!!
Vrilen Snyson Racing: Finding us all a Vrilen
Asparagus: Experience the versatility

yes im racing it against sam and his yellow bike

If you're having probs, check the Drs "How To" subject on front wheel bearings, very informative.

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1964 998 Cooper , 1968 Morris 1100

What wheels does the camels mini have ? Are there caps in the center of the mags or hubcaps if they're steelies ? Has there been a lot of wet weather there lately , does the camel drive through water regularly or is there a dog that constantly pees on the wheel ? What type of grease are you using and how are you putting it on the bearing (I normally use the grease on my palm and push the edge of the bearing down flat through it technique , someone else can probably explain it better) ? When was the wheel last balanced ?

You are sure it's the bearing by the way and not something else making the groaning noise , could it be brake related or is the old bearing damaged ? Can you grab another hub/upright from somewhere (you'de have a spare there surely) and try it with all the brakes and see if that fixes it . Is the nut grounding on something other than the bearing and leaving the bearing loose while still getting the right torque setting ?

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Read this- most of it applies to standard bearings too.
http://www.ausmini.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=40640

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

I can answer the non important questions
I just have the standard wheels.
The main street of Burnie was under water a few nights ago. It couldnt handle the rain.
But my mini has only been driven possibly 10 times in the last year and one half. One time in this period the wheel was fine. Then the next time it was driven it was squealing.
The wheel was balanced never ago.
I need new tyres.


Well, it flooded up the main street of Burnie. Heaps of rain there>

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Sir Namibian CAMEL of MONGOLIA !!!
Vrilen Snyson Racing: Finding us all a Vrilen
Asparagus: Experience the versatility

camel you bloody idiot, it flooded in burnie your car was in devonport it rained here but your car did not get wet

If it was noisy from the start and the seals/grease are fairly well intact it was probably too loose. you would notice excessive play in the wheel.

More likely it was too tight. Ball bearings when given too much preload will cause the raceways to indent/deform. This gets worse when the bearing gets hot - read: braking.
It will run OK for a while, but esentially you are loading the bearing much more than it should be and it will fail quickly.

When you pull the bearing out check for "spalling" (chunks of the raceway missing) This is usually from severe over load. Also check that the wear path (line on the raceways that the ball leave) is centred within the outer race. It maybe cocked within the hub causing the bearing to be misaligned. mucho problemo!!

How to fix this: Change to tapered roller bearings. its pretty straight forward and they are less prone to failure if incorrectly fitted. They also have a much higher load rating, so will easily outlast angular contact ball bearings (the standard mini wheel bearings) all things being even.

Obviously make sure you pack them with plenty of new grease (correct wheel bearing grease)

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-James.

Toyota 4EFTE Powered Minivan.
102 Kw @ The Front Wheels....Oh What a Feeling!