Alli's '73 Bronco Build

[NATEandALLI]

We're back. Been a while. Real life gets in my the way some times. What we have been able to do is collect all the parts to put disc brakes on the truck. I pulled spindles, caliper holders and calipers off a 73 Blazer and recently got hubs and rotors off a 83 Bronco. I'd like to replace all the brake lines on the truck - all hard and rubber lines. My question is, does any one have a comprehensive list of the brake lines/hoses/fittings needed for the Chevy front brakes? Would like to get everything ordered up in one shot if possible.

TIA for any help and happy holidays.

 

[NATEandALLI]

New Years bump. Any info on the brake lines?

 

[NATEandALLI]

Ok back again. It took a while but I got the spindles and hubs refurbed with new bearings and a fresh coat of epoxy paint. One thing I noticed as I was test fitting the pieces together was that the inner bearing that goes onto the spindle didn't just slide on. Seems like it has an interference fit which makes some sense since the outer races have to be pressed into the hub. What I'm wondering is once the hub is all assembled with the inner bearing in place along with the rear seal, how exactly do I get the hub on if it feels like the inner race neeeds be pressed onto the spindle? This is my first foray into rebuilding a 4x4 front axle so I don't know if that inner bearing is supposed to just slip onto the spindle or what. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[NATEandALLI]

Found what I needed to know. See step 24. http://www.fullsizebronco.com/forum/23-technical-write-ups/102256-wheel-bearings-spindle-bearings.html

 

[DirtDonk]

Be great if they'd let us access that page. I'm starting to hate that site! Been trying to sign in for a year and they just keep telling me that "I have to post more to get more priveledges" Which is funny, since I can't post!@

Anyway, I'd be interested in seeing what the article says. If you can copy-n-paste it here that would be great.
Assuming they just tell you to wobble it on carefully until it lines up enough to push on? Or do they say to "just use a hammer" like some certain TV personalities do when installing hubs over spindles?

Thanks

Oh, and did you follow the bearing adjusting procedure too, according to the Dana/Spicer instructions?
The YouTube and forum directions are not always consistent and don't always agree. Luckily there is a certain amount of leeway, but it's good to be at least close.

Paul

 

[NATEandALLI]

The link works for me without being a member of their site. I found the thread in a Google search. Maybe try logging out and then see if you can get to the thread.

Here's the info:
Step 24: Confirm the inner wheel bearing will fit the spindle. My bearing set did not fit the spindle. I had this issue with both sides. Is what I did to help was I used 800 grit sandpaper and lightly buffed the spindle all the way around to remove the tarnish and any possible burs etc that may have been left over from the old bearings. This took a while and I kept testing the fit regularly. You have to be careful here because if the bearing does not fit the spindle, it can get stuck on there very easily and can be extremely difficult to remove. If you do get a bearing stuck, you can use a small screwdriver and lightly tap the inside ring of the bearing to straighten it up on the spindle to remove. Once you can take the bearing on and off the spindle a few times without it getting stuck, you are ready to install it into the hub. NOTE: Getting the inner wheel bearing was one of the most difficult things to do on this job. You have to be careful not to damage the bearing if it gets stuck on the spindle, which mine did several times. Take your time here to make sure it fits nicely before moving on to the next step. A little bit of work getting the bearing to fit.

My situation is that I can't even get the bearings on the spindle. I definitely wouldn't hammer them on or do anything forceful like that. In all my years of doing car/truck stuff, I've never had wheels bearings that didn't just go on (although i have had bearing races stick on a spindle before but that was taking a hub off, not putting a hub/bearings on). I didn't have the forethought to check the bearing fitment ahead of time so it wasn't until after I had already packed the bearings with grease before I tried putting the bearings on the spindles. And to be clear, I was just test fitting stuff on a bench - the front drum brakes are still on the truck. I wanted to make sure everything went together correctly before doing the swap.

Anyways, now that I've seen that I'm not the only one to encounter this, I'm just going to chuck the spindles up in a lathe and polish the bearing surfaces until the bearings slide on easily. Easy peasy. ;D

 

[DirtDonk]

Thanks for the quote. I'm not sure why they don't like me. Maybe it's the browser I use? But neither of my normal ones work, so I suppose I could try Explorer or that other one to see if that makes a difference. Even talking to the admin there seems to just draw blank stares like they've never had this issue with anyone before.
But thanks for letting me know you don't have any trouble, so I have some incentive to go back and try again.

I admit I would not have expected the bearings to be ill fitting like to that extent. I know they're a super precise fit and have always been a tight fitting component. And that the spindle can get a build up or deformation that can cause trouble. But I've never run across one I needed to do more than take some gunk off of the spindle for.
But anymore I should be used to the fact that the good old tight tolerances we used to be blessed with are no longer the norm. In fact things not fitting is probably more the norm now!

At least it's just a tiny bit you need to tweak it to get them to work.
Hope that does it.

Paul

 

[sprdv1]

Be great if they'd let us access that page. I'm starting to hate that site! Been trying to sign in for a year and they just keep telling me that "I have to post more to get more priveledges" Which is funny, since I can't post!@

Paul

LOL, they watching you man....

 

[sprdv1]

The link works for me without being a member of their site. I found the thread in a Google search. Maybe try logging out and then see if you can get to the thread.

It's a sign.. stick w/the EBs

 

[NATEandALLI]

Okay, got the problem taken care of. The problem wasn't a matter of manufacturing tolerances but the fact that I got the spindles off a '73 Blazer in a junk yard and it had who knows how many hundreds of thousands of miles on it. There was a smidgen of an high spot/edge just outside of where the old bearing sat and this was what was hanging the new bearing up. I chucked up each spindle in a lathe and took the edge down with some emery paper and then did a final polish with some 400 grit sand paper. With the edge removed, the bearings slid on just fine.

I did the disc brake swap on the super cheap and used old original parts. I doubt anyone would run into this with new spindles but if you have old used spindles, this might be something that happens. Hopefully this'll help someone in the future.

Also got the motor pulled this week (for sale in classifieds) and scrapped off 10lbs (we weighed it) of 45 year old under coating. Took advantage of some great Black Friday sales and ordered up a bunch of parts (1" body lift, all new brakes lines, new master cylinder, etc). Oh also got some 33" Falken Rubitreks and 15x9 slot mags on order. Finally having some fun with this project.

 

[sprdv1]

Nice.. Glad you got it figured out. Now on to next issue right lol