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I took my 96 Rover Mini Cooper for its Warrant of Fitness (WOF) inspection this week which was no problem and the chap said that the front left side wheel bearing needed to be adjusted as there is wee bit of movement there before I get the next Warrant of Fitness in 6 months time. I have a copy of an old manual but it doesn't seem to say in any great detail how to go about making this adjustment - can you in fact do this or do I have to replace the actual wheel bearing? Can anyone help me with this?

Same happened to me on my last of the line Rover Cooper Sport, at its 10,000 mile first MoT test.

You can easily do this job yourself. First, check that the hub nut is torqued up. Then do the shake test. If loose, as was mine, then do it up. If it is tight then strip the bearings out, clean EVERYTHING down and inspect the bearings in minute detail. If the surfaces are perfect, then reassemble them DRY and test the wheel for shake.

Happy? Grease up and assemble up.

NOT happy, then this indicates to me that the spacer within the taper roller cup parts is too wide. HOW MUCH too wide is the question. I would just skim .002 or 3 at a time and assemble up until the wheel runs freely (with minimal play) when the hub nut is tight. When you've got it dead right, grease up and assemble.

Take off the disc shields while you're there. They serve no thermal or mechanical purpose

I have a spare adapted S CV joint that I clamp in a vice and set my hubs, bearings and spacers on that. Running freely without any rumbling, then assemble onto car. If you - or anyone - wants a picture of the adapted hub, just say so and I'll ask someone to put it up on the forum. But it certainly makes front hub setting easy

Pete the Pom

Thanks for the info Pete, I'll digest this and few times and have look and see how I get on. I assume there should be a split pin to remove first before you tighten the hub nut

Yes, split pin removed first.

Regarding the bearings and spacers. The bearings are a standard off-the-shelf Timken product (available from any bearing supplier incidentally) but the spacer is what makes them a 'matched-set' for the Cooper S hubs. From this, you can understand that the 'matched set is only a good average. That said, and not that I have done it that often, I buy the bearings and machine up my own mild steel spacers to an approx size and take them down a RCH at a time until they're perfect.

As a bit of an aside, at our big workshops we had a bearing inspection bay where the BIG bearings, especially the tank rear drives, costing many thousands, were minutely examined before being re-used under high level optical magnifiers. No doubt the forumers used to plant and heavy machinery had the same system and understanding. Every fitter had to spend (a very relaxed and clean.....) 4 months in the inspection bay, on the bench and in the classroom.

Hi Peter,

Per your offer, I would appreciate a picture of your spare adapted S CV joint that you use to set up the front wheel bearings in the hub.

Thank you !

Jim Knight

These extracts from the Cooper S section of a 1967 BMC service manual may help and add to what Peter has said (and yes, it applies to your modern car)
When you tighten the drive nut (1) the inner races of the bearings (6) are squeezed hard against the spacer (5) between them.
If everything is as it should be the bearing rollers will be nicely mated with the outer race (or cones, the outer part of the bearing that are banged into the hub)
If the spacer is too narrow the bearings will lock up
If the spacer is too wide there will be play

As suggested, the first job is to remove split pin and torque drive nut to 150 lb.ft (200Nm) to see if it comes good.
If so, turn nut to next split pin hole and fit split pin
If not, then it will have to come apart

(also, the movement could be in the drive spline, between the hub (4) and the shaft (9) )

The other thing to consider is a worn hub. Had that before and had blamed the bearing initially.

Really interesting stuff which I note relates to an older Cooper S compared to my 96 Cooper which I assume may be different in places?

I'm a total novice with all of this and I'm really looking for some step by step instructions with nice wee pictures on how to do this (take the gear off the Mini, make the repairs and refit the part etc) so I checked out my copy of Haynes 69-21 Service & Repair Manual which is a great manual but it doesn't seem to cover this stuff at all nor does my copy of the Rover SPi Repair Manual ALM169ENG. I checked out some videos and most seem to show doing the work on the bench.

Can anyone guide me to where I can find the complete start/finish instructions?

Have no fear Snoops. The discs are different but essentially the Rovers and the Leylands, setting up the front hubs and bearings are the same - except for the little 998 Coopers

This may help show where the issue is and some of the finer points to check;-

https://www.theminiforum.co.uk/forums/t ... -bearings/

Thanks for the info Spider which is very helpful indeed. If I first remove the split pin and torque the hub nut up to see if this fixes the problem, it will be interesting to see what happens. Should the shaft have multiple holes to allow small adjustments?

Some have two split pin holes, others just the one.

Just torque to 150 ft/lbs and then align nut to next holes so effectively could be more than 150.

Must have been lucky with all the bearings we've fitted as never had to take anything off the spacers BUT have had issues with worn hubs.

Hopefully re-torquing the nut will sort the problem

Thanks, do I need to take the nut off and use a spacer over the stub shaft on the hub when I re torque it or do I just re torque the nut directly to 150? Sorry, all this is new to me..

I'd just loosen the nut ( 1 5/16" if I remember correctly) after checking for the aforementioned play and then simply re torque.

Get someone to hold their foot on the brake pedal to stop the shaft from turning. With the wheel already on its easy to check for play in the bearing ...

Alternatively lower the car so the wheel is on the ground, loosen & re-torque hub nut, then jack car up to check for play.

Reminds me of a close call I had with my daily driver Mini van years ago. I noticed play in one front so nipped up the hub nut, noticed play again a few weeks later so nipped it up again. I maybe did this another time, can't quite remember. Driving home from work one day I noticed it was pulling badly to one side under braking so pulled over and jacked it up to check. While wobbling the wheel side to side I pulled it right off the car, complete with drum and end of drive shaft still attached. The shaft had sheared through just behind the nut as I had kept tightening it to compensate for wear. All that was holding the wheel on was the shoes, close call and lesson learned.

Thanks for all the info, much apprecaited

JackKnight, send me your email address for a couple of photos of the adapted 'on-the-bench' hub assembly tool.

Feel free to put it up on this thread. Makes assembling front hubs on the bench simplicity itself

Hi Peter,

My email is knightsj@charter.net

I look forward to seeing your setup for the front wheel bearings in the hub while on the work bench.

Thanks

Jim Knight

Will do this evening Jack