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Front end rebuild questions>?

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Tr3aguy

Tr3aguy

Jedi Knight
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OK so I have a couple of questions. I started the tear down on the suspension and found a few items that I wondered about. In this first photo should there be a shim on both sides of the brake caliper?? Notice that someone used some black tape to hold two shims together.....nice

DSCN4532.jpg


And in this one what is the purpose of the spacers>>or blocks on the springs??

DSCN4533.jpg


And in the last Photo. Should I reuse the spindle?..I see no obvious signs of stress or wear....

DSCN4531.jpg
 
Hi JP,

Interesting. I don't believe that I had any shims as all on mine. Also interesting the blocks in your Springs. I assume the PO was trying to compensate for a week spring or maybe trying to level a ride height?

Not sure about the spindle. Looks like there is a little wear there but doesnt look like heat related bluing. Probably just polish it with a little emery cloth before reusing but I would let the experts way in on that one.

Cheers,
Tush
 
FWIW, my passenger side spring had a hard rubber block on it. Think I removed it....
 
The shims go between the caliper and its mount, to center the caliper over the rotor. (Hence only on one side of the mounting tabs.) Some cars don't need shims, it depends on how the tolerances stack up; but many more have had them left out at some point and get by (perhaps due to worn rotors). I think the factory may have been a bit over-concerned about centering those new-fangled calipers :smile:

As noted, the rubber blocks are aftermarket items designed to help raise the ride height. Maybe because the spring sagged, or perhaps the PO wanted the ride higher. Since the blocks themselves tend to accelerate aging of the spring, I would take that as a sign to replace the springs, or at least compare them to the dimensions given in the manual.

The fit between the spindle and bearing races is kind of important, I wouldn't use any kind of abrasive on the spindle that might increase the clearance. What I see looks good, but if you have some doubts it wouldn't hurt to measure both vertically and horizontally. Or slide the new bearing cones into place without the hub, and see if they will rock on the spindle.
 
You need to check the diameter where the inner race contacts the spindle. It looks to me like the bearing has spun sometime in the past. Kinda hard to tell just from the picture.
 
TR3driver said:
The shims go between the caliper and its mount, to center the caliper over the rotor. (Hence only on one side of the mounting tabs.)
Click to expand...
And since both pistons are independent, this is totally irrelevant. As soon as you put the pads in and push on the brake pedal, the pads will push forward until they hit the rotor, 1mm left or right won't make the slightest bit of difference in the world
 
Well, not totally irrelevant. The slot for the rotor is only so wide, and the spindles flex in hard turns (taking up more of the width). If the caliper is off center enough, the rotor rubs on the caliper in hard turns.

But I agree, the pistons are self-centering, the shims make no difference to brake function itself.
 
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