The new taper roller wheel bearings, oil seals and thrust washers arrived in the post today. Whilst H was watching the TV I went into the garage and set about fitting the new bits. When I checked the codes on the new bearing I found they were different to the existing ones. It was easy to see the difference. The new bearings are narrower. The difference is enough to take away the play. I did a dry run on the rear wheel putting the bearings, seal and trust washers together. They fitted perfectly. I disassembled it all again then greased up the bearings and reassembled the wheel. The thread on the "new"stainless steel wheel axle is damaged and try as I might can cannot recover the thread.
That means I have had to go back original standard steel item. The original item was rusty where the axle was exposed to the weather. The got the Dremmel out, fitted a sanding wheel and set about de-rusting the axle. It only took a few minutes but it was clear the rust had badly pitted the steel. I cleaned up the worst of the rusting without damaging the diameter of the axle. I not the black spray paint tin out of the cupboard and gave the exposed end of the axle a good coat of paint. I shall try to fit the axle at the weekend. The paint should be hard by then.
