Mark Jones Blog

How long did you freeze the bearing for - I did mine overnight. It honestly did just drop in - I thought I had bought too small a bearing!

Overnight as well

I had the same problem Mark. I also put mine in the oven and put the bearing in the freezer but there was no chance of it going in, I had to use a hydraulic press in the end. And when I inserted the new bearing I realised the hub was split and had to take it out and get it repaired before trying again.

Paul.

I keep thinking that on the really early Esprits they hadn't quite figured out all the tolerancing.

There was no way that the bearing would " just drop in".

Paul Matty is helping me out on this one.

Yes you're probably right! And after your discovery the other day I now have to take my half-shafts apart to turn them both round

Did you ever find a dual motor setup for your headlamps? I'm tempted to swap mine for your single arrangement as mine should have had a single motor but then it was changed by the factory so I don't know, in a way it is original.

I'm interested if you want to do the headlight swap. Drop me a PM.

I tried sending you a PM but it won't let me?

What bits have you got for the single motor setup? For the dual motor arrangement there's just 2 brackets, two motors and two pushrods all of which I have. However, I've never tested the motors as my car has never had a battery connected to it but I have no reason to believe they don't work - I just can't guarantee it that's all.

When I did my bearing on my '79 S2 years ago (maybe 1990) it absolutely dropped in. I tapped out the old bearing with a socket almost as large , froze the bearing for several hours in the freezer, and used my oven and I believe it was set for about 220 deg F. I was somewhat amazed at the drop in fit. It's been fine since . Maybe the tolerances varied a bit and mine was a slightly larger bore than some others. All I can say is I was there, did the work, and and it happened. (and it wasn't loose after it cooled and I replaced the circlip. ) YMMV.