Hi,
I'm almost done installing all new brakes on my '66. I ran into a couple
glitches. One is that the slotted cross-drilled rotors weren't centered in
the new calipers. That will be easy, once I buy some washers to get the
right offset.
The beneficial thing about doing this work is I found out the sad shape my
wheels were in. The reason I'm replacing the brakes is 'cause the left
front grease seal went out and sprayed grease all over the rotor and
calipers. It turns out that the left seal is only half the thickness of the
right seal, and had a spacer ring under it. Instead of about 1/2 inch, this
seal was about 1/4 inch. There was a big gap between the seal and the inner
bearing. No wonder a river of grease flowed out. Also, this gap could allow
outside moisture to get in. The grease was real loose and watery. The seal
was also chewed up a bit. Because of 1600 engine problems, I didn't put
very many miles on the car since getting it within the last year. Until my
2000 swap and the 550 mile journey to Doheny put a strain on the seal.
Is it normal for a '66 to have a thin seal like this, with a gap to the
bearing? My new replacement seal (and the old right side) overlap the
bearing somewhat.
Other things wrong - the right hub looks like it went through a war. The
surfaces that mate to the rotor, and the wheel rim were chewed up and
uneven. I spent some time filing and cleaning up this problem. My mistake
was that I didn't pull the wheels earlier and inspect them before a long
trip. The car looked good cosmetically on the surface, but lots of problems
were lurking underneath. Engine, suspension, and hubs, etc. Now I can't
stress enough the need for others to pull their wheel hubs and check the
condition of the seals and bearings.
Fred - So.SF
'66 2000
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