Front wheel bearings [BN1]

[pan]

I am preparing my 100 for its annual trip to the Australian Austin-Healey National Rally. This year we are meeting in Victor Harbor, South Australia. I thought I should re-pack the front wheel bearings. To do this effectively, I want to remove the bearings and wash out the old lubricant. What is the correct procedure to remove the bearings from the hub? I am concerned that I might damage the bearings when driving them out. My Healey is a BN1 and does not have the tapered roller bearings of the later cars.

 

[vette]

Pan, I'm going to try to attach a pic of the page from my shop manual. My manual only goes back to a BN4 but it shows a hub with the ball bears instead of roller bearings. I had an MGA with ball bearings years ago so this is how i did it. Many times the bearings will come out with just a little tap or sometimes even drop out. If they need to be driven out, then usually there are machined slots on the inside of the hub adjacent to the bearings OUTER RACE where by you insert a BRASS drift and the drift will impact on the outer race and not touch the
balls or the inner race. With the drift just resting on the outer edge of the outer race you can tap the bearings out. See attached:

 

[pan]

Vette, thanks for your reply. I should have added that I have replaced the wheel bearings several times over the time that I have owned my BN1. I was just concerned that I may have been doing it wrong. I am concerned that I can only apply the brass drift to the inner race, and inflicting too much side thrust to the bearing.

 

[vette]

Pan, I haven't personally seen those hubs but i do understand what you are saying. The book seems to indicate that they can safely be tapped out. Is there not even a thin edge of the outer races that drift can rest unto. And be sure to use a Brass drift.
I was going to suggest that the outer races of both bearings might be pulled out with a slide hammer, but that still would need a small purchase of the slide hammer unto the outer races.

 

[busybrit]

When you removed/replaced the bearings in the past did you notice on the surface that the bearing is pushed up against there is a radial cutout.

I place a thin drift, ok a screw driver! , through the center of the smaller outer bearing and feel around for the cutout behind the inner bearing, then I tap the back edge/face of the inner bearing. On some hubs, not all there may be another cutout 180 degrees from the one you have found. Using both one at a time the bearings can be removed gradually.

Johnb

 

[pan]

Thanks for the hint, Johnb.

 

[Randy Forbes]

This is a later BN6 hub, for tapered bearing races, but you can clearly see the notches in the ledges to place a drift from opposite ends of the hubs.

It'd been decades (!!) since I had my hands on a BN4 bolt-on wheel hub (ball-bearings) but I'm thinking the notches were on them too...