Hello,
Having picked my car up on Tuesday, i have so far:
a) changed the oil
b) had all the wheels balanced, as whoever put the new tyres on didn’t!!
c) found out it needs a new wheel bearing on the off-side rear.
Are the bearings on the front and rear the same type? Need to get one ordered and fitted ASAP!! I need the car urgently!!
thanks
Tom
Tom
I think they are the same - double taper roller bearings… search this BBS for Timkin… you should find the Timkin part number if you don’t want to goto Lotus
AndyD might be along in a mo with more info…
The bearings can be a bit of a sod to get out - you need a press really !!
Yep - the front and rear are the same and are double taper bearing type - make sure someone doesnt try and sell you a ball bearing type from a Mondeo … I beleive Eliseparts now sell the correct Timkin one.
Yes they are difficult to fit - but the rear is easier than the front in some way because the hub is steel not aluminium. ( Less chance of damage )
There are two circlips that hold the bearing in as well and they can be a real sod if they have rusted to the hub.
Finally - yes a press or a large vice will be needed to get the thing in and out - or find a local garage with one to do it for you.
Before you start though you have to undo the driveshaft nut and thats usually on very tight ( good reason as they come loose if you dont tighten them up corrct … )
Good luck !
I have been told Timkin are not that good a make (bearings only lasting 10k miles!), are there any alternative brands I could look at?
Thanks
Tom
tom
who told you that ?
A friend of mines dad told me that Timkin bearings are not very good. He has used them before in marine engineering and he doesn’t think they are that good. i have also read in Seloc forums that they are not that good, i read that one guy changed his bearings 7 times in the space of 25k miles!!
just wondered tom because they are original fit on elise/exige and i always thought they were a pretty good make… they are used all over the place, by nearly all the car manufacturers… in fact the only other bearing manufacturer i can think of is SKF… not that i’m anything like an expert of course…
If someone has changed 7 of them you’d have to (politely) ask questions about how they are being fitted… and what are being fitted… They aren’t a huge problem in most elise/exiges i know about… Also its not unknown for non-taper bearings to be fitted… just ask Miniman…
That Elise one will be RobC who is totally merciless on his S160, sprints it as well so I think they were taking an exception amount of load and abuse
But still wouldn’t expect them to last much more than 30k on a road / track car personally.
And for �25 a shot I don’t think that’s too bad…
There was a post not long ago about this and RL came up with a cross reference / MGF site …
But be aware you only want taper bearings not ball bearings and some of the cross references are to ball bearings.
They will and do wear out becuase of the forces that be generated in them, also if your hub etc is worn then the bearing gets loaded more and wears our quicker …
Also if you try and fit without the right tools you can damage them and not know …
My mate is fitting some new bearings today and it’s going to cost me �280!! Bit annoying considering i’ve only had it a week!!
HOW MUCH!??!?!?!??!?!?!?
Sorry let me say that again in a more reasonable manner.
HOW MUCH!!! And he’s your mate??? Is that for all 4?
Maybe, just for all 4 but if it’s one or two then I’d be worried. It’s really a 30 minute job per corner with the right tools and a press. My mech charged me �30 to do it all (I had already brought the bearing).
Oh and don’t worry, I had loads of things go wrong when I first got mine and I was getting ready to burn the fecking thing to the ground!!!
But trust me, it is soooooOOOooOoOoooooOooooo worth the effort And then on track and it’s just that all over again!!
He’s putting a decent set of bearings in for me, he’s also done a load of other jobs on it to. got to remember as well, although he’s a mate it is his livelyhood(spelling?)
Phew! I thought that was just for a wheel bearing! You nearly gave me a Sean Connery
So what are these “better” bearings? I got a Timkin one on my OSR about 8k ago and it’s been fine… And all the rest seem fine ATM touch wood!!!
I can’t remember what he said they’re called, i’ll let you know tomorrow. Supposed to be of a better quality than the timkin ones though.
I got onto the garage I bought it from today to ask them if they checked the car before I picked it up. “yes” they said, so I asked how they missed the fact the wheel bearings were shagged? “Erm, I don’t remember any problems with the wheel bearings” was the reply. When asked if i would like to take it into their servicing deparment i declined, if they couldn’t pick up on the fact they were knackereed then, why would they now? thats assuming it was ever looked at!!
Trading Standards say that a car must be roadworthy when it is sold, as knackered wheel bearings won’t get through an MOT i class it as not being roadworthy.
Hopefully I can get the garage to cough up for the repairs! Also I found out the HT leads have been crushed when the cover was put back on and it’s knackered the insulation on them. So I need a new set of those to! My mate told me he started the engine when it was dark in his garage and it looked like a firework display!! oh dear!
As my Scottish mate Eddie says, you can’t take it with you! Translated - your money when you die! Might as well spend it all now getting my car sorted! i should have stuck with my Civic Type-R, it was as exciting as watching paint dry, but it was bulletproof.
Only joking, the Exige is a beast, just a tired one that needs perking up a bit!!
Tom
If your not wanting to spend money on new, better than standard leads … I have a standard set going FOC - just let me know.
I’m ok thanks Andy, got a mate who’s got a set for me. Thanks anyway!!
tom
what make were the bearings then ? did you remember to ask ?
Oooops! i forgot in the excitement of getting my car back!! I’ll go and ask him when I’m off next week, I’ll leave myself a note so I don’t forget!!