I've only stripped my n/s hub & mine didn't have a water seal either. The inside is smooth though so I hope the o/s is the same. Great video & very informative 👏🏻
In preparation for working on my swivel hubs I watched this video a couple times already. Tonight I finally finished them (not without watching these instructions again in my garage). Thank you mate for this excellent how to.
Really super useful video DB! I have a few of your videos to catch up on but I’ll definitely be re watching as I do the jobs! I’ll refer people to your videos when I get to this stage as you explain it much better than I could
Hi, found this video to help me on the same job. Just a point, all the advice I am being given is that the ball joints should be built up with NO grease and then grease is applied only once the ball joint is back together. Adding grease before and during the build will cause the clearances to be wrong - or so I am being told.
I try to put a thin layer over the metal as I have found dry fitting it in the past has caused two metal surfaces to grind together and score the metal
Great video as usual. Camera work and lighting are much better now. I've just finished rebuilding my swivels hubs but still enjoyed watching how you did yours. Mine are drum brakes so some of the bearing parts were different. I bought cheap bearings too but got ball bearings and not roller bearings. I bought one of those bearing fitting kits too after watching davejags video.
Thanks Dave. Like i mentioned your video and max's little top tips helped. My feeler gauges seem to have gone AWOL but may try that way next time as a comparison as to which i prefer.
Thanks Alex. Hubs were £57 each but they were selling at around £67 for a while. Bearing kit was £13 ( Geniune Timken are £50 each) and balljoint kit wad £6 each (£25 for geniune). So for me around £75 per side
Hi DB just been watching your great vid on front wheel bearing replacement, in part 1 I noticed that the outer seal sits flush with the hub carrier but on reinstallation you seem to have pushed the seal hard against the outer bearing, I am just doing this now and I thought that the outer seal sat around the hub flange.
I'm no expert, but is the purpose of the spring under the lower ball joint to pre-load it, after, you have set the clearance with the shims, i.e. it will inevitably be tighter after you fit the spring. If you shim it with the spring fitted, would it not mean too much clearance when the weight of the car is sitting on its suspension?
I am currently changing the rear wheel bearings and have come to the point of tightening up the castle nuts but I am at a loss as to how tight to do them? I have seen completely contradictory advice ranging from 60lb/ft down to finger tight and then a bit more to get the split pin. The argument was that at 60lb/ft the hubs are too tight and won’t turn. That’s a huge variation! Can you give any guidance?
So the Haynes manual recommends 60 ft lb. That is what i done mine to and they turn fine. As long as everything else is set up correctly this torque setting is correct. When the hole doesnt line up for the split pin i adjust to the nearest depending on how tight/loose the wheel feels depends on which way i go. Hope this helps
Hope you don't mind if I ask a few questions? Firstly did you find that the inner wheel bearing had a little float (in and out movement)? Secondly were the ball joints on yours quite easy to move with your hand? The internet seems to offer conflicting advice as to whether they should be tight or loose.
The bearings shouldn't have any play in them. Are you maybe missing one of the spacers or the oil seal isn't in correctly. The ballpoint should move easily by hand but have a slight resistance/drag. It shouldn't be too tight that it binds at any point and it shouldn't be too loose that if you hold it sideways it falls with gravity and make sure it has plenty of grease in it. Hope this helps
DB Mini DIY Thanks for the reply. The ball joints sound like how mine are. As for the wheel bearings, it seems to be the spacer that is causing the problem, but I can't figure out what I am doing differently to you. Like you I've put the inner wheel bearing in, then fitted the spacer, which sits up against the race. The oil seal then goes on top and sits against the spacer. So here's the thing with mine, because the spacer sits against the race, and the seal sits against the spacer, there's a small gap between the seal and the actual bearing, and that is where the in and out movement is. I can see with yours the spacer also sits up against the race, so how do you get the seal to go right down to the bearing?
So you have the split spacer between the inner race and the inner oil seal and another spacer between the inner and outer bearings. You definitely have the correct bearings ie disc/drum tapered etc? Have a look on the minispares website at the exploded diagrams of the hub. Sounds like something is missing or not sitting correctly
Yes, I have the spacer that you talked about saving off your old bearings, and that one that sits in between the inner and outer ones. I will have a long on the diagrams. Thanks again :)
Its hard to visualise without seeing it but I'm sure it is something simple and you will find it. Let me know what the issue was when you find the issue
I think because the inner spacer and water shield don't come routinely as a complete pack they get missed and lost when replacing, which then caused parts to be fitted incorrectly and cause premature wear. Plus the earlier style bearings are different
Keep rocking my dude!
I've only stripped my n/s hub & mine didn't have a water seal either. The inside is smooth though so I hope the o/s is the same. Great video & very informative 👏🏻
Its rewarding breaking it down and bringing it back to life
In preparation for working on my swivel hubs I watched this video a couple times already. Tonight I finally finished them (not without watching these instructions again in my garage). Thank you mate for this excellent how to.
Thanks, its always nice to hear that I have helped another mini enthusiast
Thanks for this really detailed explanation about the order of things with the bearings. Very helpful.
Thanks, its always nice to know it helps people
Really super useful video DB! I have a few of your videos to catch up on but I’ll definitely be re watching as I do the jobs!
I’ll refer people to your videos when I get to this stage as you explain it much better than I could
Thank you for this informative video. Its a great help!
No worries. I'm glad it helped
Great vid DB, very in depth so you are my reference for my hubs lol
A tip : you can watch movies on Flixzone. I've been using them for watching lots of of movies recently.
@Micah Anakin Yea, I have been using flixzone} for months myself =)
@Micah Anakin yup, I have been using flixzone} for since december myself :)
Hi, found this video to help me on the same job. Just a point, all the advice I am being given is that the ball joints should be built up with NO grease and then grease is applied only once the ball joint is back together. Adding grease before and during the build will cause the clearances to be wrong - or so I am being told.
I try to put a thin layer over the metal as I have found dry fitting it in the past has caused two metal surfaces to grind together and score the metal
Great video as usual. Camera work and lighting are much better now. I've just finished rebuilding my swivels hubs but still enjoyed watching how you did yours. Mine are drum brakes so some of the bearing parts were different. I bought cheap bearings too but got ball bearings and not roller bearings. I bought one of those bearing fitting kits too after watching davejags video.
Thanks Neil you will know how satisfying it is bringing parts back to life. The lights are great to work in. Wish i had done them sooner.
I'm getting very addicted to stripping every part down to its raw components and then replacing, restoring and rebuilding it :)
Thanks bro this is really helpful Im doin just same this week!!!
I glad it helped Andy👍
Nice video, it's good to see the greasy bits being looked at in detail. Crazy the price of bolts etc sometimes these things need replacing though.
Thanks Malcolm. I agree if i am in doubt it will be replaced no matter the cost
Thanks for this db. Just finished mine.
No worries. Its very rewarding doing it yourself
DB, Great video and very good detail, This job can also be done with feeler gauges & a calliper. Cheers Dave.
Thanks Dave. Like i mentioned your video and max's little top tips helped. My feeler gauges seem to have gone AWOL but may try that way next time as a comparison as to which i prefer.
Grate video grate tips thank you, and it looks grate 👌
Cheers. I'm just enjoying taking my time with it and trying to do it justice. Its a bonus that others are also enjoying it
nice .... thanks mate
Great vid pal , think u did right getting a new swivel hubs , might of come back and bit you on the arse the old one . Teamslaphead 👋🏻👴
Cheers mark. It was bothering me for a few weeks and i am a bit like Tom I like things to be perfect and to look good even when they are hidden away
Amazing video!!!! Very interesting and informative! Out of interest how much do you have in the completely built in the swivel hubs?
Thanks
Alex
Thanks Alex. Hubs were £57 each but they were selling at around £67 for a while. Bearing kit was £13 ( Geniune Timken are £50 each) and balljoint kit wad £6 each (£25 for geniune). So for me around £75 per side
DB Mini DIY I'm gonna invest one day looked a nice job all new is always good pal
Hi DB just been watching your great vid on front wheel bearing replacement, in part 1 I noticed that the outer seal sits flush with the hub carrier but on reinstallation you seem to have pushed the seal hard against the outer bearing, I am just doing this now and I thought that the outer seal sat around the hub flange.
Thanks John, the outer seal is tapped down into the race, so it sits flush with the bearing
I'm no expert, but is the purpose of the spring under the lower ball joint to pre-load it, after, you have set the clearance with the shims, i.e. it will inevitably be tighter after you fit the spring. If you shim it with the spring fitted, would it not mean too much clearance when the weight of the car is sitting on its suspension?
I am currently changing the rear wheel bearings and have come to the point of tightening up the castle nuts but I am at a loss as to how tight to do them? I have seen completely contradictory advice ranging from 60lb/ft down to finger tight and then a bit more to get the split pin. The argument was that at 60lb/ft the hubs are too tight and won’t turn. That’s a huge variation! Can you give any guidance?
So the Haynes manual recommends 60 ft lb. That is what i done mine to and they turn fine. As long as everything else is set up correctly this torque setting is correct. When the hole doesnt line up for the split pin i adjust to the nearest depending on how tight/loose the wheel feels depends on which way i go. Hope this helps
DB Mini DIY thanks that was really helpful
Hope you don't mind if I ask a few questions? Firstly did you find that the inner wheel bearing had a little float (in and out movement)? Secondly were the ball joints on yours quite easy to move with your hand? The internet seems to offer conflicting advice as to whether they should be tight or loose.
The bearings shouldn't have any play in them. Are you maybe missing one of the spacers or the oil seal isn't in correctly.
The ballpoint should move easily by hand but have a slight resistance/drag. It shouldn't be too tight that it binds at any point and it shouldn't be too loose that if you hold it sideways it falls with gravity and make sure it has plenty of grease in it. Hope this helps
DB Mini DIY Thanks for the reply. The ball joints sound like how mine are. As for the wheel bearings, it seems to be the spacer that is causing the problem, but I can't figure out what I am doing differently to you. Like you I've put the inner wheel bearing in, then fitted the spacer, which sits up against the race. The oil seal then goes on top and sits against the spacer. So here's the thing with mine, because the spacer sits against the race, and the seal sits against the spacer, there's a small gap between the seal and the actual bearing, and that is where the in and out movement is. I can see with yours the spacer also sits up against the race, so how do you get the seal to go right down to the bearing?
So you have the split spacer between the inner race and the inner oil seal and another spacer between the inner and outer bearings. You definitely have the correct bearings ie disc/drum tapered etc? Have a look on the minispares website at the exploded diagrams of the hub. Sounds like something is missing or not sitting correctly
Yes, I have the spacer that you talked about saving off your old bearings, and that one that sits in between the inner and outer ones. I will have a long on the diagrams. Thanks again :)
Its hard to visualise without seeing it but I'm sure it is something simple and you will find it. Let me know what the issue was when you find the issue
Always some confusion regarding Mini repairs: eg. the inner ring spacer (inner bearing and seal)?
I think because the inner spacer and water shield don't come routinely as a complete pack they get missed and lost when replacing, which then caused parts to be fitted incorrectly and cause premature wear. Plus the earlier style bearings are different
Did you kill the little helper?
He helped for a bit then decided it was too cold in the garage and his ps4 was calling him!
Fine then,,, i'm away home n tell ma da!