makepeace Posted January 4 Report Share Posted January 4 Hi all, does anyone happen to have any details on rear wheel bearings? I would like to try and source locally in South Africa if possible as I need to get this job done quickly. Car has serious oscillations in the rear at 70 km/h. Thanks in advance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EXCEL V8 Posted January 4 Report Share Posted January 4 They are the same as Austin Maxi front wheel bearings. I don't know of anything else they were fitted to. They are now very expensive! They are 2.5" o/d, 1 5/16" bore and 2.0" long (inner races). Let us all know if you find a cheap supply!! Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
makepeace Posted January 4 Author Report Share Posted January 4 Thanks Pete, I will do. Although it sounds like I am in for a loosing battle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
makepeace Posted January 5 Author Report Share Posted January 5 Does anyone have any views on whether it is okay/good/bad/safe to use a number bearings in parallel if they add up to the same width? Or if one uses a spacer between two bearings. The width seems to be the tricky part. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EXCEL V8 Posted January 5 Report Share Posted January 5 I've seriously thought about using tapered roller bearings and a spacer/shims but couldn't find any that would work - but I didn't do an exhaustive search. Slight machining of the housing would also be OK to suit new bearings. The original is effectively a pair of angular contact bearings. Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Straker Posted January 5 Report Share Posted January 5 I had a look at using taper rollers as well (Timken make some) and found I’d need 2 pairs + the bearings would cost almost £150 (retail). What do the Esprit’s use? There must be another automotive bearing what would fit with some machining? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
makepeace Posted January 5 Author Report Share Posted January 5 I think I might search for some suitable well available bearings and go the machining route. It seems like a weak area as the car has only done 47000 km and future maintenance will be improved, and it would probably add up to the cost of NOS bearings shipped to me in any case. Will feed back whatever I end up doing. Thanks all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EXCEL V8 Posted January 5 Report Share Posted January 5 The early Esprit uses the same bearing but later ones use a similar but beefier version - too big for us I think. Pete 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
makepeace Posted January 6 Author Report Share Posted January 6 Okay so this is what I have come up with so far. 2 x http://bearingsize.info/catalogue-online/tapered-roller-bearings/bearing-2585-2520-timken-obj190151.html In an O arrangement. This would require boring out the hub carrier by roughly 3mm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EXCEL V8 Posted January 6 Report Share Posted January 6 So long as you can get them preloaded accurately that should work well. However - over here a pair of those is as expensive as a standard bearing, so no advantage really, other than the extra strength of the tapered bearings. Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
makepeace Posted January 6 Author Report Share Posted January 6 Thanks for the feedback Pete! Yes, preload is important here which makes it a little bit more hairy. I mentioned Timken, but there are a couple of other options - NTN being a significantly more affordable one. I can get a pair here for less than 1/4 of the price of the NOS bearing. The other advantage is future proofing, should it ever be required. The NOS stock will eventually dry up and as that happens they could become REALLY expensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
makepeace Posted January 7 Author Report Share Posted January 7 Any thoughts on using a dual locking nut rather than a Cotter pin for the wheel hub? It strikes me that it would be easier to guarantee the preload and generally safer. If the castle nut comes undone, it's going to be late for the roller bearings, Cotter pin or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
black eclat Posted January 9 Report Share Posted January 9 You may already know this but just in case 😁 The wheel bearings are an SKF unit. As a single bearing the SKF part number is: BA2B 417308. SKF also made a wheel bearing kit, the part number is VKBA 737 and is listed as British Leyland Maxi. In that kit there are 2 seals and a bearing. The bearing number is stamped as 417308. The large seal is stamped S.2320. The small seal is stamped 57.25 and 7.93 These bearings are no longer manufactured and you will only find NOS. I was lucky a few years back and managed to hoover up 4 NOS bearings. I went through an industrial bearing source rather than an automotive bearing source. A quick google suggests that a company called Spare Parts has limited stock. https://www.sp-spareparts.com/en/p/ba2b417308-rhp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
makepeace Posted January 10 Author Report Share Posted January 10 Thanks! I knew some of it, but the bearing seal codes was something missing. Let me see if I can try a bit harder on the industrial front - it's a good idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denis247 Posted January 11 Report Share Posted January 11 I've a distant memory of VW bearings being mentioned as an alternative, can't recall what if anything was involved, just fyi. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gold FFM Escape Posted January 11 Gold FFM Report Share Posted January 11 On 07/01/2022 at 15:20, makepeace said: Any thoughts on using a dual locking nut rather than a Cotter pin for the wheel hub? A lot of (older) cars use dual locking nuts, but usually with a washer in between with a tab or flat to prevent it from turning. Otherwise it's hard to tighten the outer nut without the inner one turning as well. Quote I have made many mistakes in my life. Buying a multiple Lotus is not one of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
makepeace Posted January 16 Author Report Share Posted January 16 Thanks for the thoughts! I have a question or two on the bearing setup. I noticed that my splines have quite a lot of play - probably about 5mm on the tyre. Firstly is this normal/okay or do I need to replace the shafts and hubs? Secondly, the cone spacer on the outboard side that the castle nut compresses - is that supposed to lock the whole assembly TIGHT by clamping the hub to the bearing inner race and the outer race to the hub carrier? See image below. I would think if this is the case, the play in the splines would not really be an issue and it's more of a failsafe against the clamping force that prevents the hub from rotating relative to the shaft/bearing inner race? I'm prompted to ask this because before I took the car to get the brakes done at a workshop here, I'm fairly sure I checked for play in all of the wheels, both lateral and axial, and if I remember there was no play. Is it possible that after disassembly and reassembly, the cone spacer is now completely compressed (no gap), preventing the clamping from happening? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
makepeace Posted January 19 Author Report Share Posted January 19 For future readers, Pete graciously pointed out in another thread that there should be no play of the hub and that it should be clamped down tightly to the inner bearing race, compressing the entire hub and shaft assembly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soldave Posted June 14 Report Share Posted June 14 Thought I'd resurrect this rather than start a new thread. Looks like I might need a new pair of rear bearings (one definitely) which is a little annoying as they are only 6 years old and very limited mileage in that time. But there we go. The challenge is getting these bearings. SJ have them priced at 119 pounds plus VAT if they even have them in. I'll try calling Lotusbits tomorrow to get a quote form them, but does anyone know where else I might be able to source them from? I've looked around on the parts interchange list for other part numbers but there are not too many around Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gray14 Posted June 14 Report Share Posted June 14 On Ebay at the moment, single bearing new old stock, £120 incl P+P https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/284771871643?hash=item424db9eb9b:g:La0AAOSwI-9iXGet Another £168 +£14.50 P+P https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/283059291052?hash=item41e7a603ac:g:AvoAAOSwsh5bTKZN Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soldave Posted June 14 Report Share Posted June 14 3 minutes ago, Gray14 said: On Ebay at the moment, single bearing new old stock, £120 incl P+P https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/284771871643?hash=item424db9eb9b:g:La0AAOSwI-9iXGet Another £168 +£14.50 P+P https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/283059291052?hash=item41e7a603ac:g:AvoAAOSwsh5bTKZN Well spotted, that man. Very much worth considering Would you be concerned about that bit of surface rust on the cheaper one? Would see if some very light sanding could get rid of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gray14 Posted June 14 Report Share Posted June 14 I wouldn't be concerned, as you say it's removable with a bit of light sanding/ wire brushing or I've used lemon juice to remove rust. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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