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Rear Bearings and SpacersAs mentioned in a previous page, I was concerned about the 54/1871's rear suspension. The U-joints and the components in the cast axle/bearing carrier are pretty marginal for the application, and have a reputation for being short lived and very sensitive to imperfect installation.John Nesbitt sent me a copy of a very detailed posting by Tim E on the Europa list.> Question. Is there a relationship between which model and which problem and which solution? Do the TCs have fewer bearing problems? Do specials last longer? Etc. > Brent With regards to loose hubs, nuts, tab washers, shaft splines, bearings, Lock-tite, etc, the issues and fixes are the same across the board.... S1, S2, TC & Spcl. With regards to wheel bearing durability, the S1/S2/TC are of similar durability. The non-Spcl TC's inner bearing is different from the S1/S2inner bearing only in ID (30mm Vs 31mm) The OD, width, ball size and count are all the same, hence durability is similar. The TC Special has a larger inner bearing (same as the outer bearing) which is incrementally more durable. With regards to U-joints, the S1/S2 uses smaller, weaker u-joints and they need to be replaced on an irritatingly regular basis. The Twin Cams use larger u-joints which last much longer. My 3 Europas (one S2 and two TC's) were daily drivers during the snow-free months and I ususally drove them about 20k miles per year. With the S2, I found that bearings/u-joints would last 1.5 seasons before something would fail predictably on schedule. It was usually an inner bearing or a u-joint that failed... outer bearings "never" failed. So I routinely replaced "all" rear bearings and u-joints at the beginning of each driving season so I could face the inconvenience on my schedule rather than fate's. The TC's (non-Spcl) were more reliable. Bearing reliability was similar, but u-joint problems were reduced. I could stretch the interval to two full seasons; but I was tempting fate and ended up having a mid-second-season inner bearing failure. So I reverted to replacing everything at the beginning of every driving season just to avoid the inconvenience of an un-timely failure. All totalled, I ended up driving about 220k miles in the S2 and one of the TC's without ever being stranded due to bearing/ hub/ u-joint failures. Regards, Tim Engel Bearing, Spacer, and U-joint SpecificationsAll Europa rear outer wheel bearings are the same (6206). S1/S2 rear inner wheel bearings were smaller than the outer bearing, but had a larger ID, 31mm Vs 30mm. That made it easier to install the inner bearing since is was a clearance fit over the outer shaft-journal. The 31mm ID was unusual and made sourcing parts problematic The TC non-Spcl rear inner wheel bearing was the same (under-sized) size and capacity, but changed the ID to a common 30mm size. The made it easy to find parts, but meant that the inner bearing had to be pressed over the outer shaft-journal before being pressed onto the inner journal. A minor inconvenience more than off-set by easier sourcing. S1/S2 Europa's can be updated to TC non-Spcl inner bearing spec by simply machining the inner shaft journal down to 30mm OD. No other changes are required. The TC Spcl increased the rear inner wheel bearing's size and capacity by using the existing outer bearing on the inner position as well. It's a larger bearing overall, but retains the 30mm OD. Of course, it also has to be pressed on over the outer journal before being pressed onto the inner journal. Since the TC Spcl bearing is 7mm / .2755" larger in OD and 3mm / 0.1181" wider than the smaller S1/S2/TC inner bearings, retro-fitting it to earlier cars requires hub carriers with appropriately larger inner bearing seats/pockets. Since all the rear wheel bearings are sealed units, the inner grease seals are redundant. The serve only as glorified dust shields to keep out grit that might tear-up the bearing's seals, and not to keep grease in. Seals weren't installed in early Europa's, but were added later. When retro-fitting to early Europa's, the hub carrier (housing) must be chamfered 45 degrees x .030" around the inner bearing pocket's outer corner, to assist in fitting the seal. Bearing, Wheel, Rear Inner, Europa S1/S2 (Renault Powered) The S1/S2 inner bearing is a European manufactured sealed bearing similar to US made Extra-Light series single row radial, but with non-standard 31mm bore. It does not have a US made/marketed counterpart. You can turn the stub-axle/shaft's inner journal down to 30mm and use a Fafnir 9106PP (Extra Light series single row) as specified for the Europa TC (non-Special). The 9106 is commonly available over-the-counter at industrial supply and bearing supply companies. Bore 31mm / 1.2205" Bearing, Wheel, Rear Inner, Europa TC (Non-Special) Bearing, Wheel, Rear Inner, Europa TC Special and Spacer, Rear Wheel Bearing, S1/S2/TC non-Spcl inclusive Seal, Rear Wheel Bearing, Europa S1/S2 Seal, Inner, Rear Wheel Bearing, Europa TC non-Spcl Seal, Inner, Rear Wheel Bearing, Europa TC Special U-Joint, Europa TC and TC Special U-Joint, Europa S1 / S2 Also fits the following: Alfa Romeo 54-70 Giulietta, 1600 Giulia, 54-70 Spyder Sprint 69-72 1750 All Austin 54-69 A30, 35, 40 ,50 ,55, 60 68-72 America with auto trans. 73-75 Marina Austin Healy 58-72 Sprite. Capri 70-72 1600 Fiat 60-74 1100/103 D, E, H, 1100R, 1200, 1500, 1600, 1800, 2100, 124 all, 125 Ford, English 53-74 All Hilman 45-72 All MG 36-75 All Except 1100 Morris 48-71 Minor Nash Metropolitan 54-63 All Triumph 59-76 Herald, GT6, Spitfire, Vitesse Volvo 56-76 All except 164 & 164E |
