Front Wheel Bearing Replacement MGTF

I have just replaced the Front Wheel Bearing on my TF.  I followed the instructions in the workshop manual, but that misses-out any instruction to remove the ABS Sensor from the hub!!

I also followed advice in Roger Parker's "MGF and TF Restoration" book, which has wise advice which allows the job to be done without resorting to various Rover special tools.

Having completed one side and found that making a couple of wooden struts made the job much easier I thought I would pass-on my experience.

I searched this site for a "How-To" on the subject of front wheel bearing change, but there does not seem to be one.  Cj'sFront Upper Ball Joint replacement - How ToIs very helpful, but does not cover the problems I had with getting enough room to pull the stem of the upper joint out of the hole in the top suspension arm. so here are my ideas:

The workshop Manual shows this method of holding the upper arm high enough:


My attempts to use that location resulted in crushed wood and nowhere nearly enough clearance to remove the balljoint.
This DID work:
 
A clamp helped keep it in situ:
 

This shows shapes & sizes, the longer strut was used to jack-up the upper arm. 
 
The scars highlighted in red are where the wood touches the suframe.  Removing wood in these areas helps keep the strut in-situ.  The strut shown is what I made and used on the right front. (Drivers side on a British, RHD car).  For the LHS, the cut-outs will need to be on the opposite face.


I found that the hardest job was lifting & separating the Hub from the lower suspension joint.  There was more rust on the pinch bolt than anywhere else on the whole suspension assembly.  I had to use a cold chisel (see bottom of photo).  I aligned that chisel as near vertical as possible and had to thump seven shades of sh*** out of it to move the hub up and off the lower balljoint.

My other advice relates to the removal of the 32mm/1.25" hub nut.  The Workshop Manual blithely says "Knock back hub nut stake and remove hub nut" Yeah--- right!

As this nut has to be retightened to 210Nm, and the "Stake" is difficult to totally eliminate/return to an undistorted curve, then you can expect this nut to put up a FIGHT! (Mine did!!!)
My advice, as-per Roger Parker is:
1. Loosen whellnuts slightly
2. Jack up that corner and use axle stands securely.
3. Remove roadwheel and push-out the central MG badge.
4. Bend back the staked area of the Flange nut.  I found that an old, 1/4" wide wood chisel worked well, by driving it into the gap , followed by radial hammering.
5. Replace roadwheel and lower corner back to the ground. Ensure that the handbrake is fully on and chock the wheel you have just lowered.
6. Using the 32mm or 1.25" socket, undo the Flange nut .  It is useful to put on enough steering lock to allow you to keep the breaker bar as close as possible to the tyre, to avoid peeling the socket off the nut.  Those with impact drivers will be glad they invested in that tool!

Does the main hub nut undo the regular way, anticlockwise, on both sides ?

Notanumber wrote:

Does the main hub nut undo the regular way, anticlockwise, on both sides ?



Yes, both sides are conventional right-hand threads.  I see that there is only one part number: (RFG100090 for "with ABS" version)) for the TF front stub axles, which confirms that the threads must be identical.
I did the LHS earlier today.  The only difficult job was, as on the RHS, the lower joint, which was just as rusty.  A liberal soaking with WD40 and the near vertical cold chisel helped.  I suspect that the design of this joint is to blame.  There is an open slot which water, mud and other corrosive road grime will enter and soak the pinch bolt + the hole it sits in.

My strut worked on the LHS with minor modification adding a cut out on the flank to make it ambidextrous.

As you can see from the photo, this strut gives plenty of headroom to allow the balljoint taper on the top balljoint to be removed and re-inserted after the bearings have been replaced.
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 I notice you have calliper spacers for bigger discs..280mm route?
I'm going that way and wondering whatsort of upgrade it is as far as stopping power. I will also fit harder pads.
I don't have ABS.
Thanks..

TA22GT wrote:

 I notice you have calliper spacers for bigger discs..280mm route?
I'm going that way and wondering whatsort of upgrade it is as far as stopping power. I will also fit harder pads.
I don't have ABS.
Thanks..

Yes, 280mm discs in a kit I bought on Ebay from someone called William Naylor. If you contact him directly he could sell to you direct and avoid Ebay commission:  All the spelling mistakes are his, not mine!
The text of a reply he sent me after I queried a few things is below: william naylor <[email protected]>
Sent: 16 February 2023 11:16
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: 280mm Disc conversion kit MGF/TF Hello john thanks for the information 
this is the first time i have heard more packing is needed this is due to the inconsistancy of MGs machining .. usually one does suffice  either thick or thin
Re centering ring   i have never found one necessary .. it was on a rear conversion using Peugeot 266mm discs  this was done by VHS 
they slotteed out the holes   ( crazy idea ) so you had to have a centering ring 
I have met Roger a few times at the NEC  and we have chatted about brakes 
The design  you have is years old and was done with that was available at the time    i reverse engineered it .due to demand and have sold many along with the 280 rear as they compliment each other    240mm all round  up to 280m mall round 
I designed  a new set up using mini cooper 294mm discs and calipers  it is in my view far better engineered than the 280m ,but costs more due to the amount of new parts in it 
Its one of my Freestyles at the moment .. if only they had made it like that 
Thanks for info .. i will keep and eye on it 
did you have a 280mm rear as well . ?
W naylor I am attaching a Word document which you might find useful.  The braking effect is MUCH better than standard, my one reservation is that the adaptor places the calliper about 1mm too far out. As a result, the discs are contacted all the way out to the edge (no bad thing perhaps?) but a lip only 1mm or so wide develops on the outer edges of the pads.  PM me if you want more details, I took plenty of pictures.

File Attachment:

File Name: 280mmDiscKit.docx
File Size:388 KB

 

Thank you...I will get back to you over the weekend.
Brian

MGF MGTF FRONT BIG BRAKE KIT 280MMM DRILLED & GROOVED Completed

Hi...is this the same gentleman by any chance?
He does rears too. Very attractive prices if the fit is good. 

TA22GT wrote:

MGF MGTF FRONT BIG BRAKE KIT 280MMM DRILLED & GROOVED

Completed

Hi...is this the same gentleman by any chance?
He does rears too. Very attractive prices if the fit is good. 

I am relying on my memory of 2 years ago, but I THINK that Ebay ad is the supplier I used.

As regards "if the fit is good", there is a fundamental problem with ANY adaptor bracket which locates on the two surfaces MG spot-faced to accept the heads of the M12 bolts, rather than the fully machined side of the same holes which the calliper carrier attaches to when in the standard, 240mm disc position.  I tried to explain this problem to the supplier when he blamed "inconsistent machining" for the difficulty I experienced.  my email text was:Thanks for the quick reply.  You mention "Inconsistency" in MG's machining, which is undeniably true BUT, to be fair to them, the Al Alloy adaptor is attached to (and effectively positioned by) the two surfaces MG spot-faced to accept the heads of the M12 bolts, NOT the reference face of the standard callipers.  I suspect the machining tolerance for THAT (reference) face is much tighter.  Inaccuracy/inconsistency of the spot-facing only effects the depth of penetration of the attachment bolts, which would only become a problem if it was wrong by a couple of mm.

The end result of this is that you MUST be prepared to carefully check that the alloy adaptor with the calliper carrier attached ends up with equal width spaces either side of the disc.  As the 280mm disc does NOT have any retaining bolts (as per the std 240mm discs) you need 4 bolts with the correct thread to suit the wheel studs.  It is a metric fine size IIRC.  These will allow you to bolt the disc on without the wheel, so that you can check you have the right washers between adaptor & Hub.  Hope that makes sense!!

You need to read the Word doc I sent to help limit confusion. 
 

Why not skip al the hassle and go for a set of refurbished 4 pods and discs ?
 

Devinci wrote:

Why not skip al the hassle and go for a set of refurbished 4 pods and discs ?

15 inch wheels mate.
 

If you do the maths you will understand, but briefly due to the combined surface area of the AP's pistons being smaller than the standard 48mm pistons they do not exert as much pressure on the pads. In fact the AP's need a 280mm disc to have the same performance as the standard 240mm discs. The upgraded 280mm discs give about 6% more braking effort than the AP's without the cost and effort of refurbishing corroded AP's. I actually went one stage further and fitted 294mm discs on the front. With that increased performance at the front you really do need the 280mm conversion on the rear whereas with the AP's you don't. What is surprising is that MG fitted such small discs for a car designed in the 1990's, the rear calipers were designed to work with 260mm discs and cope with 280mm's with no problems, however the 280mm's with the standard calipers do lead to a small amount of pad overhang. I overcame that by using Mini R56 calipers that were actually used the 294mm discs by BMW themselves.
EDIT
I have just read Ellisojo's last post, selling my AP's paid for the Mini Cooper calipers, the mini brake discs and the MX5 rear discs plus the steel, bolts, spacers, caliper rebuild kits and new pads all round. This also fits under 15" wheels. If I was doing it again I might go for RX7 four pots, they are about 10% more piston surface area and weigh about a kilo lighter than both the standard cast or AP calipers.

Thank you..that is a very interesting post.
My 15 inch wheels are limiting me but I am also getting the impression that the AP 4 pots aren't that drastically superior to warrant spending on 16 wheels and tyres.
Two questions.
1. Can you fit those 2 pot Mini callipers under 15 inch rims
2. Who makes the brackets to make the callipers fit
A really good reason to use Mini callipers and discs ifor me is being able to get competition pads. A better pad material is a Huge improvement in stopping power regardless of disc size
Thanks.