Early (Drum Brake) cars up to about SN4203, have ball bearing front hubs with a distance piece between the two races. The outer race of the inside bearing is held in place by a screwed ring and a castellated nut drilled and cotter pinned in place. Failure to use such a nut may cause loss of the wheel. Later disk brake cars have roller bearings. For instructions on how to install them, click HERE.

FRONT HUB GREASE SEAL Pre-June 1993 Morgans

FRONT HUB GREASE SEAL
Post-June 1993 Morgans

Bearing and Rotor Removal
by Lorne Goldman

On disk brake cars, the caliper will have to be removed. The caliper is attached with two bolts (18mm), usually safety wired together. Do not remove the brake hose from the caliper. Hang the caliper on a coat hanger in some out of the way place.

1.  Remove the cotter key on the castle nut. On wire wheel hubs, rotate the hub until the two holes are aligned such that the pin can be worked out.

2.   On Drum brakes, back off the adjustment cams.

3.   A 1" socket is required to loosen the castle nut. However, the castle nut is held in place by a cotter pin. This pin must be removed. On wire wheel cars, you will see  opposite holes in the hub placed to allow access to the pin from the side if you turn the assembly to have them align with the pin. Now you must fiddle to get the cotter pin out. Don't worry about breaking it. Simply replace it with new on assembly. The removal will be a hassle, but installation is easier.

4.   Slip the hub off. Ball bearing hubs will require a puller and others may need a rubber hammer. Screw the castle nut part way back on when breaking loose with the puller. This will prevent the spreading of the spindle end from puller pressure.

Bearing packing and Installation
by Lorne Goldman

1. Clean the wheel bearings thoroughly and inspect them for any signs of pitting on either balls/rollers or races. Ball bearings can be spun (dry) while holding by the inner race at about 45 degrees from the horizontal. You can usually feel wear (pitting) as a "grabbing" feeling. In any event, new bearings are the wisest option.

2. Fresh bearings will not come out of the box pregreased. So pack each thoroughly. Here is a video.  Put a generous dab of grease in the palm of your (clean) hand and push the grease between the rollers and the cage. Do this all around the circumference of both bearings.

3. While your hands are slathered, cup some more grease and glob it into the disc (or drum) hub. Don't pack it full -- about 30-40 percent grease is plenty.

4. Insert the large inner bearing into the back side of the hub. Tap the new grease seal into the back of the hub. This grease seal is a Morgan only part.

5. Reinstall the brake disc (or drum) on the spindle, insert the small outer bearing, and place the washer and thread on the nut. Run the nut home, then tighten it a little more with a socket while spinning the brake disk with the other hand. This seats the bearing further and sets its preload. Keep spinning while tightening. You'll feel the bearing start to bind slightly as you tighten more. Stop there.
 

WATHPOINT: The earlier cars are far more sensitive to how tight the castelnut should be torqued. Overtightening will burn their bearings very quickly. The later disk brake car are easier.

6. Now back off the nut with the wrench until you feel that resistance dissipate, and one of the castellations on the nut lines up with the cotter pin hole.

7. Use a new cotter pin. With the earlier Don't overtighten the spindle nut. With the Better to keep it on the looser side than make it too tight if the cotter pin holes don't line up just right. To finish the job, fill the dust cap halfway with grease and tap it back on. Reinstall the brake caliper, then scrub the brake disc with brake cleaner to remove any grease or even handprints from the friction surface.

WHEEL BEARING AND REPLACEMENT II 
by Timken Bearing Manufacture 

PROTECTING THE LOWER REBOUND SPRINGS
by Stoatgobbler

Another trick is to use vacuum cleaner hose, the type that is corrugated and compressible, this can be split and wrapped over the lower rebound and Main springs thereby keeping some of the muck off the "moving parts"  and therefore (hopefully) reducing the production of "grinding paste".
WEBMASTER NOTE: See the section on GAITERS.

THE PHAETON KIT (Not recommended see Remote Greasing [the argument against])
by Quentin English

Made by Phaeton Engineering, Hampshire (UK)  PO10 7DL .  It is only for Morgans.  Tel/fax +44 1243 372040

I agree with suggestions from other DG members that Factory one shot oiler system is a 'least worse' system to cope with drivers who can't be bothered to grease the kingpins at all. I stopped using my one shot oiler within a thousand miles of driving my Morgan and I went over to greasing at least every 1000 miles (preferably 500).  At first I had nipples (zirks) added to the top of the pins, but as these were difficult to reach (particularly with my 'telescopic' grease gun taken on touring holidays).

I have just fitted the Phaeton kit. This made by a small outfit based in Emsworth, Hampshire,

Basically each side has a 'brake pipe' type tube. Fitting in place of the oiler, through the inner wing valence to give an easy to reach grease nipple/zirk.  Just open the bonnet, a few strokes of the grease gun every few hundred miles, and it should give better life than the standard system. It is a good idea to jack the car for greasing bottom points, and lever bottom bushes up to ensure grease gets below them.

The kit comes with a couple of ball bearings with which to blank off the other end of the oiler pipes, but I had already sorted these by removing one, taking the other (cut short) in a loop to the other side.  If I press the button the oil ain't going nowhere! As I said, until recently I used a cranked nipple/zirk on the top of each king pin - but it was a real ******* to reach (and not possible with the 'telescopic' grease gun I use when on holiday.

It consists of 2 lengths of copper pipe, and on the end of each pipe a grease nipple (what our 'merikan friends call a 'Zerk'. Goodness only knows why!).

To install, jack up the front, remove the front wheels. Drill a hole in the inner wing somewhere handy, the instructions say a 3/8th drill. The grease nipple bolts here, and the copper pipe leads to the top of the Kingpin. Undo the existing oil-shot oiler pipe to the kingpin, replace with the copper pipe to the
grease nipple. Inside the engine bay, undo the other end of the oil pipes where they come from the one-shot pump. do the fittings back up without the oil pipe, with a ball bearing in their place (supplied in the kit), fill the new fittings with a (surprisingly large) amount of grease. You can use chain saw oil for greasing via the Phaeton kit, it gets in easier.

Cost (inc post) about £18 the pair.