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MG MGA - Play in front wheel

Hello people-
It's been awhile; glad to see the forum's still alive and well..
I've got a problem with the right front wheel; 6-12 o'clock push-pulling on the tire (with the front end jacked up) reveals way more slack than there should be.
The same push-pull at the 3-9 o'clock position reveals just a very tiny bit of play.
The same 2 tests on the left front wheel show a very tiny bit of play at the 6-12 o'clock position and barely any discernible play at the 3-9 o'clock position; almost none.
I replaced the inner (larger) of the two bearings (w/new one) on the problem side, thinking that was the problem, but after re-installing everything the problem remains. The castellated nut on the problem wheel is screwed down tight & cotter pinned.
Any comments, suggestions on the cause of too much 6-12 o'clock play? Thanks..
Rick deOlazarra

Wear in the swivel pin?
George G.

George; read your comment and went into the garage, got underneath and did the push-pull thing and saw that, while there was movement with the wheel, the swivel pin along with the steering knuckle it's attached to, remained motionless.
Rick deOlazarra

Rick

Is your car wire wheels? If so, play between the wheel and hub. It would be more pronounced at 12-6. At 3-9 the wheel wants to turn so would be lest obvious. Thump the spinner a bit harder and see if that alters anything.

Steve
Steve Gyles

Thanks Steve; turns out I'm running disc wheels. I just now pulled the wheel and removed the grease cap & stuck a visegrip on the hub & repeated the push-pull at all clock positions. There's no question that the play is most evident at the 6-12 position, with very little at the 3-9. Even at the 5-11 push-pull it's noticeably less than at the 6-12. While doing all this push-pulling, I could clearly see that there was no movement at the stub axle or the outer bearing surrounding it; the only thing that was moving was the hub. I clamped the visegrip at the 12 o'clock position of the hub and pushed, lifting it just enough to get the tip of a .005" feeler gauge barely wedged between the edge of the 12 o'clock position of the outer bearing and the hub. When I pulled back on the visegrip, the tip of the feeler was nipped between the bearing and the hub, though a gentle pull on the feeler released it. There shouldn't be any play between the bearing and the hub should there? I've got a sinking feeling a used hub has to be sourced; one that doesn't have play between bearing and hub. Any other possibilities?.. How come there's more play at 12 and 6 than at 3 & 9? Could a bent stub axle be the cause? Are new hubs for 1600 disc wheels available anywhere? Enough with the questions... I'm open to any comments/suggestions; and thanks. :)
Rick deOlazarra

You got it. The bearings should be press fit in the hub no pay at all. The bearing race is much harder than the steel hub, so when the bearing runs a little bit loose the hub wears dramatically. You will need to replace the worn hub.
Barney Gaylord

It might be worth checking if it can be metal sprayed and re-turned to size, depending on cost.
M Wellard

Quick and dirty fix is to roughen up the inside of the hub with a pin punch and hammer.
A Bowie

If you apply the brakes the effect is to lock the stub axle and hub together eliminating any opportunity for movement within the bearings. So, with the brake on any movement indicates play somewhere other than in the hub bearings.
Graeme Williams

Thanks to all of you for your input...
Gross bummer; source a used hub.. my immediate thought is Scarborough Faire; can they be counted on to inspect & make measurements to insure the hub's serviceable? Any other used hub sources besides EBay?
There'll come a time eventually when serviceable used hubs for disc wheeled MGA's will no longer exist. Then what? There are new hubs available for wire wheeled MGA's, but a wire wheel conversion's cost could compel not a few owners to throw up their hands, sell off the MGA to some ignorant soul & simply walk away from it all. Hopefully new disc wheeled hubs will become available in the future. Yeda, yeda, blah, blah, etc.
Cheers and all that rot..
And again, thanks for the help. ;)
Rick deOlazarra

Rick, try Sportscar Craftsmen in Colorado and Carl Heideman at Eclectric Motorworks in Holland Michigan.
Both are very good MGA shops. Google for contact info. Good Luck!
George
George G.

Rick,

One option would be Loctite 620 bearing set. I used it for one of my front wheel hubs. Still holding tight after 5 years.

John
John Backman

Many yeras ago I had a problem with a worn front wheel bearing (drum brakes & not MGA)and I took the car to a small local garage for repair.

When I collected the car I was told that the hub had been somewhat worn and that the new bearing was a sloppy fit. New hubs then were not available off the shelf.

So the garage owner had turned out the hub on his lathe and pressed in a steel bush. Then he had turned out the bush to the new bearing OD. He hadn't prewarned me he was going to do this so I guess it was routine in those days. I don't remember the job being expensive either.

The problem today might be finding a garage prepared to do this type of work but there should be machine shops around with the capability........... Mike

m.j. moore

This thread was discussed between 20/01/2016 and 22/01/2016

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