Front Axle Problem... (1 Viewer)

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Mar 27, 2003
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Today, after about a forty minute drive on the freeway I arrived home only to have a huge clunking and grinding in the front axle when I tried to parallel park.

I repacked the axles about four months back and the birfs looked good still. There was minor clicking, but that went away when I swapped the birfs side to side. This was my first thought of what could have possibly gone wrong.

My other thought was that I also use 100 series pads up front and because they are not the perfect shape for the 80 there could be something wrong there.

The truck isn't moving for awhile, but hopefully it can go by friday. I have a date that I don't want to miss.
 
Maybe something has come loose, perhaps a caliper. When you installed the pads did you relieve the inner edge where they overhang the 80 series rotor? It is possible that you could have enough wear to break that piece of the pad off if you did not relieve them. :-\
 
I thought I was F'd. It is the caliper. Gonna take care of that tomorrow hopefully.
 
Rogue,

You're about the fourth or fifth person that this has happened to that I have heard about. Those caliper bolts go on at 90 ft lbs (IIRC.) A friend spent big $$$ replacing the calipers, brake lines, and other stuff that got messed up when his fell off at speed.

Be happy.
-B-
 
The Wulf is correct. 90 lbft it is. I would not suggest "guessing" on that one, Mr Torque Wrench knows best....... ;)
 
I use the torque wrench, but I do know somone (Pimp maybe?) that puts a touch of loctite on them too just to make sure.

Just glad you are ok dude - bad sheet could happen.
krank.gif
 
When I pull my calipers off to do my birfs (something like pull a pin or 2 and hang on wire ect...) I don't loosen said bolts do I?

Just checking.. I need to make sure I do this job 100% correct as I don't need brakes falling off. :doh:

R
 
Yes you do. :whoops:
 
OK, I think my new tube of medium duty lock tight is in order as well as Torque wrench.
 
Cdan, -B-, and the rest-a-y'all

Haven't even got my hands on the new 80 yet, but I've been trying to devour as much information as possible on them and try to learn from others mistakes. Thanks Rogue! So what exactly happened here...the caliper fell off? Because of too much torque when the pads were replaced? My uncle had a 96 that his only complaint about the brakes was he went through them every 10k-15k miles, but never heard of this one. Can someone elaborate or point me to a place where it was already elaborated? Thanks. Sorry if I'm asking questions that were covered recently...spent most of my time on the 60 tech forum before. Thanks
 
It's basically the two large bolts that hold the caliper onto the hub; they have a tendency to loosen if not torqued properly. Since you need to remove the calipers to do essentially any type of maintenance on the hub (wheel bearings, birf repack, etc.), it's good to keep this all in mind.

You don't, however, need to loosen these bolts if you are just changing the pads; pads can be changed easily with the caliper still in place.
 
The 80 front caliper bolts require 90 ft-lbs to install correctly. The rears are less as I recall - 60? At any rate, I think many have not applied this much force when installing as there's not a lot of room to swing a wrench, though you'll find a way if you're aware you need to apply that much force.

Regarding loctite - I don't think this is neccessary. I use a touch of ANTI sieze on mine, along with the correct torque and have had them on and off a half dozen times over 10 years with no issues. Correct torque is the key.

IdahoDoug
 
Here is what happened....

The upper bolt that attaches the caliper to the knuckle fell out sometime during my drive and when I went to back up the caliper lifted into the wheel and snagged the stuck-on wheel weights. Not too big of a deal as it turns out. The fix cost me less than $5 which included the OEM bolt and a cheap bolt from NAPA as a spare for a couple of days and a glove box backup for next time, but I hope I never need it.

Thanks Dan...
 
Rogue,

EXCELENT, Now, on to Friday night ;) Good luck :)



D-
 
[quote author=IdahoDoug link=board=2;threadid=5513;start=msg44132#msg44132 date=1064336610]
The 80 front caliper bolts require 90 ft-lbs to install correctly. The rears are less as I recall - 60? At any rate, I think many have not applied this much force when installing as there's not a lot of room to swing a wrench, though you'll find a way if you're aware you need to apply that much force.

Regarding loctite - I don't think this is neccessary. I use a touch of ANTI sieze on mine, along with the correct torque and have had them on and off a half dozen times over 10 years with no issues. Correct torque is the key.

IdahoDoug
[/quote]

Locktite and anti-seize would modify the effective torque, right? I don't either, just the torque wrench. I checked the torque 3 times when I reinstalled the calipers...felt those two bolts were just too critical to have incorrect torques on them. So far, they're still tight after 25K mi. Makes you wonder if the dealer actually uses a torque wrench? I'm sure a tire shop wouldn't.
 
[quote author=cruiserdan link=board=2;threadid=5513;start=msg44224#msg44224 date=1064358221]
Rogue,
EXCELENT, Now, on to Friday night ;) Good luck :)
D-
[/quote]

Luck? Who needs luck? ::)
 

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