Front wheel bearing

[79royale]

On my 79' royale, I discovered that the nut on the front wheel bearing was loose. I tried to clean out the bearing with WD-40 and then pack some grease in the bearing. The bearing still seems to be O.K. My question is how tight do I make the nut that holds the bearing/spindal assembly together? It seems that the tighter it is the more pressure-heat is on the bearing.

Thanks,

Dave

[Roux]

Dave,

Not sure what the bearing setup is in that car. On my '82 RP31 the front bearing is a three piece race design so you cannot overload the preload when you tighten the nut. Post a picture of the upright and we can see if it is the Triumph/Lotus etc design or the later custom upright. By the way, I just ordered new bearings for the front of my car and at $37 each they are not all that pricey.

Steve

[Joe911]

The part number for the Spitfire bearings are 03062/03162 and 07100S/07210X (cone/cup). This is what was in my Titan. They are a tapered bearing and you tighten them until there is some drag to seat the bearings and back off about 1/8-1/4 turn until the drag is minimal but there is no noticable play in the bearings. If you play around with it you can get it were it is right but it is a compromise.

It is very easy to pull the bearings out and repack them. Just put a glob of grease on your palm and force it in to the rollers until it comes out the back side - put a thin layer on the race (cup) and reassemble.
Best of luck.

[bryancohnracing]

Per the Royale Manual (I have a copy)

7/16 draw bolt for front spindle: 65 ft pounds
1/2 draw bolt for rear cv/hub: 65 ft pounds

I used all but one of my bearings over, cleaning and regreasing them, torqued to 65 ft lbs and they roll nice and free.

Bryan

[79royale]

Thanks for the info guys. Now I can re-pack the bearings, torque them, and have confidence in them.

Dave

[Roux]

Bryan,

You mention a manual. Does it cover all of the RP** cars? Or is it specific to the model you have? Where did you get it?

My main interest is of course the RP31M. I have no serious issue to solve, but reading through technical literature sometimes teaches you something you would otherwise do wrong.

Steve

[TedV]

Per the Royale Manual (I have a copy)

Not to hijack the thread... but where could I find a copy of that manual too? I'm needing to learn about RP-31's also