Fellow SOLers,
I have been lurking on the list for quite a while
now, but this is my first posting. My LBC is a
69 Sprite with about 90K miles. It's pretty
much original except for an ugly orange paint
job. I went out for a short cruise last weekend
in order to test my newly installed water
temperature gauge. When I got back I decided to
bleed and adjust the brakes for the summer driving
season. I bled the back brakes, then went to the
right side front. When I reached around the back
of the wheel to feel for the bleed nipple I realized
that the entire wheel was incredibly HOT. It was
too hot to hold my hand on the road wheel for more
than a couple of seconds. I noticed at that time
that the flexible brake line to that wheel was leaking
when the brake pedal was pushed. The leak must have
been very new because I did not notice any significant
loss from the master cylinder.
This means I have two problems. First, I obviously need
to replace the flexible hose. Since all the hoses are
probably original I will be replacing them all. I
noticed in the VB catqlog that they have two kinds,
the standard ones and stainless steel braided ones
that are listed as high performance racing parts.
Does anyone on have any experience with these stainless
steel hoses? They are sold as a set (presumably 4) for
$70, about the same price as the standard hoses.
My second problem is the overheating wheel, which may
have destroyed the brake hose. My first thought was
that the wheel bearings were shot and that excessive
friction was heating the wheel. I took off the two
front wheels to compare the feel of the bearings and
saw no difference. Both sides seem OK with no obvious
slop or excessive noise from the bearings. The other
possiblity is that the brake calipers are rubbing the
disk even when the brakes aren't being applied. The
resistance on both sides of the car seem about the same.
The overheating disk seems a little warped, but I don't
think its too bad since the wheel doesn't shake on hard
braking (at least it didn't on my short drive before I
discovered the problem). Any insights into this problem
would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Bob Grant
Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology
Harvard Medical School
grant@vp4.med.harvard.edu
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