>The front wheel bearings on an MGA are of the ball beraing (vice roller
>bearing) variety.
**Well of course REAL MGAs have taper roller bearings (but then they also have
2 cams).
>Has anyone ever used the sealed ball bearing on the front wheels? Would
>there be an overheating problem because of the sealing enclosure
>restricting air flow through the bearing?
Interesting question. The normal front wheel bearing (on the cam-impaired
version) doesn't really have much chance to get rid of heat through the
usually rather dense coating of thick grease. I think that lubrication, rather
than heat exchange is the governing factor here, and that your sealed bearings
would function just fine.
For those with taper roller bearings, the clearance can be a BIG factor in how
much heat builds up. A few years ago, SWMBO and I went to a meet in Tahoe in
her MGC, which had new bearings set to normal clearance. On the way home, as I
like to drive con brio, we did several hours across Northern California and
through Oregon at constant speeds between 85 and 100 mph (only around 3000 rpm
on the C). The clearances closed up enough to overheat the bearings which
promptly broke up and seized on the spindle. Anyone know how long the bus trip
back to Vancouver is from south of Portland? And the immediate turn around to
go back and trailer the car home? Arrgghh!
Bill Spohn
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