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brakes, oil seals and bearings

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jvandyke

jvandyke

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Decided I really needed to go through the brakes. Quick pulled the wheels, drums (rear) last night to get started and was a bit shocked to find everything wet on both sides! Leaky cylinders I thought but after I got home from work today there was a small puddle under the passenger's hub. Weird. It was gear oil. Strange that both sides appear to be leaking oil, but I'm working up an order and wondering if I really need to do the bearings too, I'm pretty sure I saw an invoice for them from the PO, 2000 miles ago (probably a botched job, given the oil everywhere).
Read up on the different methods for pulling the hubs, have done a half hearted attempt at a few but no joy yet.
Any other tips greatly appreciated, remember I'm only 2 months into ownership (although I've got an engine pull/tranny swap, MC rebuild, spin on filter conversion.....quite a bit already, oh and 1,000 miles on it!).
Supposed to go on a major tour in 2 weeks and being able to stop with confidence would be definate plus! She's grounded until I've gone through the brakes thoroughly. Obviously the shoes are trashed, oil soaked as they are.
 
Hi J,

It's a job that can be done in a weekend, *if* you've got all the parts on hand to do it. Woodie and I did his '70 in a (long) afternoon a few weeks ago.

The bearings are open to the axle, which is full of fluid, so it should get that far. But there are oil seals at the bearings, a rubber o-ring and a paper gasket, all of which can fail.

The bearings are old-style ball bearings, and (almost) never fail. You can probably inspect, repack and reinstall, unless there's some sort of problem. That said, I'm pretty sure they're included in the r/end rebuild kits offered by Moss and VB.

https://www.victoriabritish.com/ICATALOG/SM/full.aspx?Page=102

#23, two needed.

I would also suggest that you get new axle nuts, #6, just in case yours have been mauled by a DPO who didn't realize the d/side was reverse thread. (That would be me.) A few of us have found them to be already chewed up.

You'll also need the pad, spring and wheel cylinder kit, item #1.

https://www.victoriabritish.com/ICATALOG/SM/full.aspx?Page=107

The only specialized tools you'll need are some oversized sockets to press in (or drift in) your bearings, and to tighten the axle nuts. I can check the sizes, if you'd like... but your local Napa / Harbor Freight / Princess Auto or whatever should do the trick.

As to removing the hubs. If you've got the drums off, the axle nuts off... flip a drum over, put it back on the stubs and screw the nuts on a couple of threads, leaving yourself lots of play. Brace yourself, and give it a good yank (or get your gorilla-sized neighbour to do it for you.) :smile: Two or three shots and it'll come right off. (Note: make sure the car is *very* well supported, first.) It's only the friction fit of the bearing that's holding it in.

Lots of info on this job, in past threads... searching "rear end" or "rear brakes" in the Spridget section should yeild a wealth of info. i.e... https://www.britishcarforum.com/bcforum/ubbthreads.php/topics/464626/1
 
Duncan,
Great post! Thanks for the level of detail, additional sources of information, and personal recommendations.

Mike
 
Does anyone know the cross reference part number for the seals, in order that I can purchase them locally? My LBC local supplier is having problems obtaining them through his usual channels.

Thanks,
 
startech47 said:
Does anyone know the cross reference part number for the seals, in order that I can purchase them locally?
Click to expand...

The rear seal part number is Timken 472164 / National 17387. Any seal supplier should be able to cross those numbers to the particular brand they carry.
 
I ended up going with the VB kits and some odds and ends, despite telling myself I'd try Moss this time, the kits from VB, while no great savings, made it easy, I might be buying parts I don't need but better that than to need and not have. Not sure VB's shipping rates are very good but, well, whatever it's ordered and paid for. Hopefully I can handle the tear down and rebuild without making more trouble for myself.
Isn't strange for both sides to leak at once? No wonder my brakes sucked and the ebrake didn't want to grab, slathered in oil like those shoes are, wow.
 
You might check that the differential vent isn't clogged.

They might both be leaking because neither seal has been replaced since the car was new.
 
Yup, it's fairly common to find them drenched in oil, one of mine was... I suppose because the fronts do most of the braking, and it's not visible... out of sight, out of mind!
 
Trevor Jessie said:
You might check that the differential vent isn't clogged.

They might both be leaking because neither seal has been replaced since the car was new.
Click to expand...

Does that vent just pull out?
I really need to go through the PO's receipts (most from 1986) and see what done, although it hardly matters, that was 22 years ago, despite only 2,000 miles on it since (well, 3,000 now thanks to me :shocked: )

And a lot more to come, I drive my toys every chance I get, that's what they're for.
 
Vent has a plastic cap on the top, Pull it off and use a peice of wire to check the metal teet.
 
the rear (inside ) hub oil seal must have a very smooth clean surface on the rear end housing stub to rub against. Make sure there is a bore-tite coating on the seal o.d. and press it in straight in the back of the hub.

If the car hasnt been run much, there could be some rust/corrosion on the sealing surface. Do not use synthetic r.e. grase as it migrates worse than hypoind gear oil. Do not fill the housing up to the plug. Keep the oil level down 1/4" from the threads in the fill hole.
 
should the splines of the shaft be greased? pack everything in grease? RTV on the paper gasket? I suddenly NEED the MG back on the road as the wife's Town and Country had some drive train failure yesterday!
 
You should not need to grease the splines. The Hypoid gear oil will lubricate them.
 
Seals can be purchased by dimensions without a part # if you so need. I do it all the time! My Car Quest guy is great for that!
 
So far so good. Have to quit now though as I really don't have a socket the right size to drift the hub/bearing back on. I had a 1 13/16" in my hand the other day (as I think that's correct for the crank pulley bolt?) and I could maybe use it to drift the hub back on and then for the crank bolt should I need it in the future. But I didn't get it because it was $24 and I thought maybe Harbor Freight would be cheaper, it's just a drift at this point anyway. So I went to an HF outlet, no single sockets that I saw at all. Oh well, back to Sears for that 1 13/16" I guess. Also didn't get new paper gaskets in my kits from VB, should have been in there I thought. I've got 6 days to get it all sorted before the trip and no time to wrench until Tuesday, no margin for error (reordering parts) anymore. Yikes.
 
J,

RE: the paper gasket, I'd say you've got two choices... a) if you can find some *very* thin gasket paper, you can use your old ones as templates and cut yourself some gaskets, or: b) I would think you'd be OK using make-a-gasket, Permatex ultra grey or similar. It's not a gasket that's under pressure or *that* much heat, so as long as you take your time & follow instructions, it should hold.

Personally, I'd find some gasket material... or maybe a paper bag.
 
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