Flying Fifteen Wheel Bearing Change … Part Two…

Yesterday, using Mervyn’s photos, we showed you how to get the old hub and bearings off. Now to put the new lot on…

Lightly grease the new inner bearing and slip it on to the axle. It should snuggle up against the inner shoulder nicely…

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Next offer up the brand new hub. Of course, as you slip it on it will nicely sit on the inner bearing but the outer edge will wobble around for a while until you get the outer bearing on.

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Now while you’ve got a moment, and were probably thinking the dirty bit was over, line the spindle and the inner hub with grease. Yum.

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Next slip the outer bearing on to the axle. The hub should sit nicely now, suspended by a bearing on each shoulder. The right way round for the bearing will be obvious.

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There is a stout floating washer that sits on top of the bearing, before you put the castle nut on. Assuming you can still handle anything now without sticking to it with grease, bung some more on to keep the washer in place…..

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Now get that castle nut on and tighten it up.

How tight??  Well, the first thing you’ll find is that the locking hole is never where you want it to be. I called Hayling Trailers how tight it should go and the chap said, “If the hub binds, it’s too tight and if it’s too loose the wheel will wobble…” So I kind of do it up firmish, then back it off a bit to get the locking pin through. Though Mervyn didn’t do it, I must admit I put the wheel back on now so I can get a sense of whether it is too tight when it’s spinning.

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It should all look like this, and you should be able to lock the castle nut with the split pin through the axle hole.

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Now using a pliers open up the split pin end to ensure it wont wiggle out. You want to bend the ends right around probably, so that there is no risk of the pin ends rubbing on the plastic hubcap when you put it on.

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Pack the whole hub cap with grease and ease it on to the hub. Don’t hit it with a hammer or anything as you’ll go straight through the top of the hubcap. You should be able to just press it in. If you have packed it with enough grease, a little tail will come oozing out… Remember, if the whole thing is full of grease, there is no space for the water to gather…

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Now you can put the wheel on securely and jack it down. Mervyn only did one side, but as are filthy as anything at this point, I would suggest you change the other side too.  Then go and clean up and have a pint….