Morris Minor Owners Club

It's perhaps worth mentioning that the traditional way of dealing with a bearing that's slightly less tight than it might be on a shaft or in a housing is to go round the shaft or housing with a sharp centre punch, making a large number of small pop marks, each of which is surrounded by a ring of slghtly raised metal. Used with Loctite Bearing Retainer, this can often save the day. Not a perfect solution, but often good enough.

And yes, I too have boiled oil-soaked brake shoes in Persil.

Kevin

autolycus wrote:And yes, I too have boiled oil-soaked brake shoes in Persil.

I've not seen that in their commercial..??

Ahh - but Persil these days is not what it used to be !
Seems to be confession time today - but I too have boiled brake shoes (for my Morris 8E - when poor skoolboy) in washing soda - couldn't afford Persil! However - I have not pock-marked a bearing housing - or butchered it as with this one ! I do chisel off the big nut - but then I file it 'better' before chiselling it back on!!

I've not seen that in their commercial..??

...there are even more imaginative uses for brand rival OMO, as you will find if you Google 'omo old man out'.... I was told about this by a rather worldly friend who once used it for this purpose...

before chiselling it back on!!

If my memory serves me well, I seem to recall a device invented some years ago, now let me think ------ah yes it's called a socket!!

Indeed - handy if you have one the right size! For the 'once in ten years' use - my chisel does just fine.

New brake shoes, bearing and nut fitted.
Thanks for all the help.

From MarkyB here:

"I'd replace the hub when you get a chance.
It looks like a bearing has seized and spun in the hub which has made the hole for the replacement bearing too big.
Someone has used a hammer and screwdriver to bash some metal in to grip the bearing.
OK for a while but bodgery all the same"

But there's bodgery and bodgery!

Before bringing a Morris to Poland, I'd run out of time and energy getting it ready for the MOT. The evening before the test, I discovered that 'back wheel sliding in and out' phenomena because of the large bearing behind the hub having spun and become loose.

With a good quality centre punch and a hammer, a tapped a rather precise pattern of little punches, as you would if you wanted to drill a hole in metal, around the outer bearing race face in the axle. Each time you do this, a little metal is drawn up around the little crater you make, higher than the surrounding metal. I tried to be even with the blows.
Anyway, I carefully tapped the bearing in, and put everything together. Got the MOT, and drove the 1200 miles to Poland. I checked last week. The wheel still turns smoothly, with no lateral movement.

I'm not saying the bearing is 100 per round anymore, in terms of microns. This 'squash' took up a little bit of play in it. But with the even distribution of the punches.....who knows?

Could be useful for those emergency 'quick fixes' one sometimes needs. Remember that this kind of thing carries no guarantee!

I wouldn't rate that as bodgery, more like shade tree engineering.
As close as you can get to the correct engineering solution, even using the tool for the purpose they were designed for.
Bashing round the edge with a screwdriver or wrapping the bearing in gaffer tape etc = Bodgery.

I've just read the post here by autolycus which I'd missed earlier.

I will keep running with this bearing once I get on the road, and see how long it remains good.
Perhaps with the even distribution of punch marks (well, as even as I could) it might be good for a long time yet. I started in the middle of the face at 12, 3, 6, and 9 o'clock in the middle, and kept filling in the gaps until there seemed to be enough. I completed three rows in the end. The bearing went in with the same force you'd expect to be needed when fitting a bearing of this size - just nice!

It may be the only way to save an axle which has suffered from this kind of bearing spin. Or maybe track down a bearing with a slightly larger outside diameter.

I can't see it being possible to machine out some material from the bearing recess and fit an insert. I'm not an engineer.....how would you be able to hold it on a machine?

I've used the centre punch trick on a midget, it worked very well. I later used bearing fit which held it in place really nicely.

A few years later I needed to get it back out.

It took ages...

Andrew