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Triumph TR6 - Rear Wheel Hubs

A year ago I purchased my 74 TR6 and this winter I planned on rebuilding the rear wheel hubs. After reading and discussing the the negatives about rebuilding them yourself, I started looking for a reliable business to rebuild them.

The only place I've found is TRF who wants $224 per side to rebuild. This seems a little high to me.

Is this reasonable? If not, does anyone have any suggestions or references of a reliable business?
Mike C

Hi Mike

Never seen one go bad unless real high milage or wreck.

Why are you rebuiding?

No that price is not bad. Major operation to rebuild properly.

Bill
Bill Brayford

Thanks for the reply.

I'm hearing a noise while driving that's comming from the right rear wheel. It's not in the suspension so I'm assuming it's comming from the wheel hub.

I ruled out the u-joint due to the noise accuring during constant speeds and not during accel/decel.

I only have 64,000 miles on my '74 but the car sat for eight years before I purchased it and started the restoration.

Mike
Mike C

Mike,
As Bill says those hubs are very long lived.Mine have done nearly four times your mileage with no attention.
I would expect the noise from a hub bearing to appear during cornering- often they are quiet in a straight line. I'd check its not a binding brake shoe ,or noise from the diff transmitting to the rear wheel area. Check the play on the hub with wheels jacked off ground -compare sides; if play upon rocking the wheel top and bottom is different then maybe you do have a hub problem...
Peter
P H Cobbold

Mike-Until recently, there was an ad on the VTR classified site that offered rebuilt hubs for $165 exchange and has received several recommendations from this list. The place is called "Axleworks", is located in Archdale, NC, and the phone # is (338)884-1455. Presently, the person has an ad (VTR site) for a TR6 master cyl, so you might reach him by responding to that ad My own experience with hub bearings was noise like a cement mixer, even in a straight line. An autopsy on the bearing showed relatively minor pitting on the outer race.
Berry

Hi Mike

Follow Peters test.

What kind of noise are you hearing? And how loud. Apart from something major like Berry's cement mixer bearing noise usually its more of a low pitched rumble. Not real audible more feel. Hard to explain.

Berry how in hell did your bearings get to cement mixer stage? Were they original or had someone tried a home fix? Did they give you a reason for failure? Just for my info.

There's a lot of things that can make noise at speed and all are cheaper to rule out than hubs. U joint cap bearings can make noise in the early stages of failure. Not noticed in most cars. In a Tr the seat of your pants will know grumbling before your ears hear.

Bad tire can fool the best Mechanic. If its squirming around it will sound like a bearing. Get checked by tire shop usually no cost to 5 bucks for the coffee fund. If your running radials and it comes and goes sometimes the plys are loose so make sure its happening before they put on machine. Worth a check.

The little screws holding on the brake drum?

Brake drum not turned/bad pad springs/ dirt/ dust/rust? All will cause noise.

Bad muffler exhaust pipe hanger. Engine torques moves pipe resonance goes back?

Strangest one I have run into was a buddies electric fuel pump quiet at idle and a bit of vroom. Put it on the road and I thought it was losing an axle. The pump bearing was fine until it got up to full flow. Fellow not a mechanic type wasn't even aware he had an electric pump?

Anyway some things to check. Please try to describe the noise and if it changes and how. With the miles the guys on this sight have logged 2 feet from the back axle in TRs someone will know.

Bill



Bill Brayford

Bill-The noise was not extremley loud, but like a small cement mixer or rock tumbler and was quite audible when coasting down my driveway, but not detectable by spinning the wheel. Rumble is probably a better description. The car had set for a number of years (is there a pattern here)when I got it and as far as I know, the hubs had never been apart. I got brave (or foolhardy), replaced the bearings, and haven't had any more problems in the 20 years the car has been on the road. I would try to eliminate all the other causes of the noise before replacing the bearings,even swapping hubs from one side to the other.
Berry

Hi Berry

Maybe the long term sitting might be the key. Hope Mike finds a cheaper solution.

By the way Mike they are individual items rebuilding one is OK. You might also check for a used one. If your around a TR club.

Bill
Bill Brayford

Hi Mike,

Just my two cents, which may not be worth much as I'm not the mechanic that many of the above members are. I had a similar noise/squeak that appeared at all speeds (od.75,000 miles). There are four differential mounts that hold you differential, the metal that these mounts are attached two can crack, which will give you a rather odd noise that appears at all speeds and doesn’t change according to speed. If you bounce the back bumper, you may be able to reproduce the noise. This is rather inexpensive to fix, hope that this is the problem.

Ted
T. Grant

Ted
I do not think you really meant "This is rather inexpensive to fix, hope that this is the problem".
Ya it is not expensive..if you DIY....but a real pain in the rear end (no pun intended). I am in the middle of it now and thank god I do not know how to weld...but my son does:). Getting at the mounts is the biggest problem. I do not think it is a DIF mount as that is a thump...on and off the clutch from a stand still....not a rock tumbler.
On thing that has not been mentioned yet is the DIF itself and its bearings. Mike you mention that there is no noise when u spin the wheel..you must have had the rear end up on stands. Unfortunately this takes the "load" off of everything making it a little more difficult to pin point the problem. If u where planning on doing the hubs then obviously you need to remove them, ssooooo.. why not do that then you can have a real feel of the hubs as you rotate them by hand on the bench. Also at this point u can spin the DIF and have a hear of just it. let us know what you hear and feel. Try the above play in the wheel first.
Rick C
Rick Crawford

As for the rear axel hubs, our club, ISOA has rebuilt many of these. We usually do them in batches so that we have enough strength around to "crack" the hub from the shaft. One of our club members made a great and very heavy duty tool to do this and it still takes a LOT of force to get the hub to break free from the shaft. This is a tapered fitting and after 30 plus years they can become one! This is the real reason you do not want to try this at home. A hub puller of generic type will NOT do the job. A way to test these bearings is to jack up the rear of the car and grab the wheel. Try to move it in and out and up and down. Any movement here and the hub needs to be rebuilt. I have seen where the inner bearing freezes and wears a nice groove around the shaft. The biggest problem here I think is age. Nearly all of the hubs that I have rebuilt have had extremely dried up grease in them, almost to the point where the grease was useless. I do believe you will get a rumble from these bearings when dry as I have found the case many times. Again, send them out to a shop with the right tools if you do not have access to a proper hub "breaker"!!!
Steve Yott

This thread was discussed between 17/02/2003 and 18/02/2003

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