Morris Minor Owners Club

Proper installation with a taper roller bearing DOES have a centre spacer, and yes - the thickness is critical for the amount of play in the bearing - the securing nut being done up tight, REALLY tight in some instances (ie Mini front wheel bearing at 150 ft.lbf). Otherwise you would have to leave the nut loose and rely on a split pin to keep it all in place - don't fancy that!

Scott, So you CAN get taper bearings for Minor. Where do you get them from?
Ian.

No real need Ian - i have never had any bother with standard bearings.

Standard bearings are fine in standard hubs. No need for alternatives. A lot of the aftermarket hubs to fit disc brake conversions come with taper roller bearings and DON'T use a spacer (unlike the Mini set-up). Bath, Birmingham and JLH all supply these.

bmcecosse wrote:Proper installation with a taper roller bearing DOES have a centre spacer, and yes - the thickness is critical for the amount of play in the bearing - the securing nut being done up tight, REALLY tight in some instances (ie Mini front wheel bearing at 150 ft.lbf). Otherwise you would have to leave the nut loose and rely on a split pin to keep it all in place - don't fancy that!

If the Mini has the spacer between tapered wheel bearings then that's the only type of car I know that uses one. Maybe being FWD has something to do with that.

All the RWD cars from the '70s onwards use tapered bearings without a spacer. Using a spacer sort of defeats the purpose of being able to adjust the bearings easily. The nut is not loose as the bearings need a slight preload to operate correctly. Yes, the split pin does stop the nut from turning, quite successfully .

wanderinstar wrote:Scott, So you CAN get taper bearings for Minor. Where do you get them from?
Ian.

I'd imagine the Morris Minor specialists in the UK would stock them. If not, take your old bearings to a bearing shop & they'll be able to match up suitable tapered bearings.
They are a very common conversion in Australia. Maybe the roads are rougher or maybe the distances travelled are greater here.

Even the rear hubs of the Mini have spacer between the taper bearings. I have never come across anything else.