3 speed thrust bearing

[Mark Atkinson]

Hello Friends,

I need advice on the 3 speed thrust bearing, I recently took mine apart to check on the bearings condition before fitting to Slippery. It was very stubborn, Graham B said a couple of taps with a hammer is usually all that is required. I had to resort to the 20 ton press. This broke the bearing.
The issue was that the dust cover was exceptionally well seated and had to be seriously ‘belled’ to come out of the lip. Which is why the bearing broke I think!

Please may I ask if this is the norm, and if so, what is the accepted practice for fitting the new dust cover?

I do understand all the arguments for fitting s 4 speed thrust, but after thinking about it, remembered I am making the car to be as close to 1925 configuration as I can manage.

Kind regards, Mark.

[Mark Atkinson]

Bump! My request for help was about to go to page 2 without any suggestions, which
is a strange place to be, alone in the crowd! 
Any advice or shared experiences would be very useful.

All the best, Mark

[Ian Williams]

I am confused Mark, a three speed release bearing should be easy to dismantle, there are two 1/4" holes behind the housing with allow the bearing to be drifted out. The Dust cover is never normally that tight in the housing so I am at a bit of a loss, do you have any photographs?

[Tony Betts]

I agree IAN,

I've cleaned plenty for resale.

The dust cover isn't even pressed in, there are usually a couple of pinch marks.

Although you never know what the last club fisted idiot who worked on it done.

Tony.

[Mark Atkinson]

Thank you Ian and Tony,

This certainly was not easy to disassemble, the lip holding in the dust cover is a stout one. It looks to have never been taken apart before.

As you will see in the attached pictures, the old cover distorted considerably before it came out, the force of the press breaking the old bearing. the retaining lip partially distorted in a couple of places, but, it was mostly the dust cover that bent.

I assumed that the new bearing would come with a pre fit dust cover that would be dished, so that it would 'press' into the lip under pressure, but I can see no way of doing so with the flat one.

As you will see in the picture, I put a lever under the retaining lip in the housing and managed to put a small bulge into it, it took considerable hand force to make this little nick! Have I found a new variation in Austins thrust bearings?

I guess the big question is; does anyone have a 3 speed bearing for sale ! ?

Kind regards, Mark.


   

   

[Ian McGowan]

David Cochrane stocks them, part number BJ21 at £125 ea.
http://www.a7c.co.uk/index.php

[Ruairidh Dunford]

Brand new three speed clutch bearings are available here Mark: https://www.theaustinsevenworkshop.com/s...ch+bearing

[Ruairidh Dunford]

Are you looking for the bearing or the cover plate?

[Tony Betts]

Hi IAN,

At that price you can get two from the 7 workshop. Only £54 each.

Or I have an original new old stock one in my beaulieu trays for even less.

Tony.

[Mark Atkinson]

Thank you Ian and Ruairidh,

I have a new bearing and cover from the Austin Seven Workshop, my problem is that the old one was very difficult to remove because of the substantial dust cover retaining lip, which resulted in the distortion seen in my pictures. 

The new dust cover has a diameter which is 2mm larger than the diameter of opening in the housing. 

I had a phone chat with Tony B after his post and decided to roll back the lip, which took quite a bit of time and force, following which I managed to spring the new cover into place in the housing. I then dressed the lip back down to retain the dust cover.

I think I have just been unlucky that my housing had to much material when Austin made it in 1925. 

Thanks again for everyones support.

Kind regards, Mark