Lotus Europa Community
Lotus Europa Forums => Garage => Topic started by: richyb66 on Friday,March 15, 2024, 02:04:27 PM
-
Does anyone in the UK have experience of the rear wheel bearing kits supplied by ANG Classic Car Parts?
Their kits (are listed on eBay but I currently can't see them on their website) are supplied with the correct sized bearings but they're taper roller not ball. I'm wondering if these are any good and whether the standard spacer between the bearings should be used with taper bearings as it would prevent the bearing preload being set correctly.
I have messaged them to ask the same question but no response as yet.
-
I would take your bearings to a local bearing factors and they can match them...
-
I don't believe that ANG Classic Car Parts supply a rear wheel bearing kit for the Europa. They do supply a front wheel bearing kit because it is the same as the Triumph Herald/Spitfire kit. It could be a typo on the eBay listing.
-
You can fit tapered roller bearings but you have to modify things so you also have a seal on the inside and so that the spacers are shim-able as the hub HAS to be tightly fastened to the axle. Last I checked, the nearest size of tapered roller required a bit of welding and machining to fit the inner one.
-
It could be a typo on the eBay listing.
Looks most likely, they've pulled the listing. Didn't bother messaging me back.
I'll just get a local bearing place match the originals, the inner bearing might be difficult because the shaft size is non standard.
-
Richyb66, you can get the bearings from the "usual suspects", SJ Sportscars, Lotus Supplies, etc.
Don't forget that the rear wheel bearing/stub axle assembly is prone to catastrophic failure on Europas. Read the shop manual carefully and replace the spacers. Also, read this first (you'll need to have signed up for the groups.io email list). One suggestion is to modify the stub axle and use the TC/TCS inner bearing instead of the S1/S2 type.
https://groups.io/g/LotusEuropa/files/Analysis%20of%20S1,%20S2,%20TC,%20TCS%20rear%20axle%20failures.pdf