> I think I may have had the hubs too loose, for I had movement when I placed
> my hands at the top and bottom of the wheel and would rock it.
The procedure in the workshop manual leaves the bearing pretty loose, the spec
was tightened up for the later cars (see Practical Hints).
> Have any of you had bearing do this? And do you think the bearing is shot
> and what might have caused the problem?
Depends on what color the rollers were. I've not had a TR bearing turn blue
(which would indicate overheating) but I have on other cars, which I attributed
to lack of lubrication and dirt in the bearing. I did find brown bearings on a
TR3, which I attributed to advanced wear, I guess brought on by lack of
lubrication and dirt (OK, maybe it doesn't depend on what color !).
Anyway, yes, I'd consider any sort of discoloration to be a warning to replace
the cone & outer race. They're cheap enough and failures tend to be expensive.
I also plugged up the hole in the dust cap, as I think it's a prime candidate
for how dirt was getting in there. I've actually emptied fine dirt/sand out of
my hubcaps ...
And don't forget the book says to repack the front wheel bearings every 6000
miles. IMO removing dirt is the main reason for that, the life of the grease is
secondary.
Randall
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