rear wheel bearing replacement with drum brakes

[Tspitfire at aol.com]

In a message dated 11/20/00 6:12:40 PM GMT Standard Time, steveb at cme.nist.gov 
writes:

<< Anyone have any tips for rear wheel bearing replacement
 for someone who's never done it before?  This is on an
 '85 5000S with rear drums.  Haynes is light on info, sort
 of assuming you've done it before, and the archives mention
 it a lot but don't provide many tips.
 
 I.e.: can I do it without a press; how do I grease it (do
 I fill up the entire hub interior with grease?); what
 kind of grease to use; etc. etc.   (One side seems to have a
 red very waxy very stiff "grease"; the other side seems to be
 packed with more normal grease...)
 
 Many thanks.
 Steve
  >>

Firstly, the bearings and hub assembly are a safety related component and 
must be fitted correctly to avoid damage or the wheel/drum assembly 
overtaking you as you cruise down the road! Wheel bearings must be fitted as 
a complete set, the taper roller bearing and outer race are a matched set. If 
you just fit new taper rollers to old/worn races they will be wrecked by the 
time you get into 2nd gear.
    Follow your Haynes P267? With these tips; Keep new bearings clean and in 
their sets. Drive out old outer races from the brake drum with a strong 
drift, you will find access slots inside the drum after all the old grease 
has been cleaned out. Note which way round they go. Fit new races into drum 
using a soft drift or press them in with a large vice, you can also use the 
old races to help you fit the new ones. Do not hit the new races directly 
with a hammer and be careful not to damage the bearing surfaces. Put a 
generous amount of grease (multi purpose high melting point) into the space 
between the races but do not fill it up. Smear the taper rollers with grease
working the grease in with your fingers. Put a smear of grease on the lip of 
the new oil seal. After fitting the brake drum use a socket on the hub and 
tighten it down firmly as you rotate the drum. This will seat the bearings to 
make sure they are against the shoulders in the brake drum. Fit a new split 
pin (should be in kit) after adjusting bearing. Do this with the wheel back 
on, you should have a very small amount of play at the tyre edge with a 
correctly adjusted bearing. The method shown in the Haynes usually results in 
too much free play unless you are experienced. Finally, put some fresh grease 
into the hub nut cap, press the footbrake a few times to reset the brake 
shoes, spin wheels to check all okay and do not forget to tighten wheel bolts 
to correct torque. Any probs feel free to ask.



Dave Griffiths (Scotland)
84 Ur Quattro
89 100 Quattro
74 Triumph Spitfire MKIV