So i brought my 1997 Cooper back in Jan 2018. I got it for a reasonable price but it needed allot of work. Nothing major, but lots of parts that should have been replaced along time ago.
Im by no means a mechanic and i consider myself to be open to learn, which is why i wanted a project Mini.
In Feb 2018 the car was on 73,633 miles and the garage replaced both front bearings. I brought them myself and they were genuine Timkin.
The first failed in Jan 2019 and the second failed in May 2019.
When the first failed in Jan 2019 i took it to a different garage. They believed the first may have been fitted incorrectly and also noted that the castle nut was loose.
So when the second failed in May, a neighbour offered to help. He's an exceptionally experienced guy who built a 1968 classic from the body up, so i trust him and his judgement. We only got around to fitting it on Thursday and it was a pig of a job. This time i went for a Mini Spares branded version as i can't be bothered to spend £50 a time when their one is about £11. The bearing seemed ok when it was removed, but we replaced it any way. My neighbour inspected everything and was happy with the condition of the surrounding parts.
Everything went back together fine, but while he was there, he had a quick look at the bearing fitted by the second garage in Jan 2019. The castle nut was loose. Once tighten it was fins again.
The car is currently on 74,625, which means i have driven this car for 992 miles.
Both garages claim they fitted the bearings correctly and packed them with grease. Timkin claim their bearings never fail this quick. JBW claim the 13" deep dish will wear bearings quicker, but won't kill them after less than 100 miles.
I can't find a torque setting for the castle nut, so i can't even be sure if they are over or under tightened. Is it work adding some thread tight?
Has anyone else had problems like this, or can give advise. Every time i seem to drive this Mini there is a problem and I'm loosing my bottle driving a car where the wheel bearings fail / castle nuts undo.
thanks
Marc