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Date:         Sun, 19 Jun 2016 15:41:20 -0700
Reply-To:     Neil N <musomuso@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Neil N <musomuso@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: Remove Brake Caliper: Steering Knuckle Off Vehicle
Comments: To: Scott - IMAP <scottdaniel@turbovans.com>
In-Reply-To:  <71d34826-087c-316a-ea77-340a8f78acc3@turbovans.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8

Thanks Scott. Ya I figured if the bolts were *that* tight, I'd likely rip the vice off the bench before bending or otherwise harming the steering knuckle. The person who gave me these parts may see this post so I hope he's not bugged by me posting here about it. I'm certainly grateful for those parts! Regardless, yes. I need an impact wrench!

The rebuilt Teves callipers on my '81 just aren't great. The cores are so old now... On one, the bleeder screw is incredibly loose when cracked open for bleeding. And that caliper was a replacement for the first rebuilt I installed. That one leaked at the seam right out of the box. Moreover, the pistons aren't positioned correctly. Then again, the anti squeal plates are missing so the groove in each piston may be a moot thing. Still, two different sets of pads wore at an angle. I think in part due to the groove in each piston face and lack of anti squeal shim. (pad is allowed to be pushed at an angle) I don't know how the pro mechanics deal with the down time and frustration of crappy parts.

My '88 has better brakes and I'm attributing that, in part, to caliper design improvements and possibly to cores that have been rebuilt fewer times. Hopefully. The callipers I installed on my '88 were new not rebuilt. They were likely one of the last in existence. Surely the 86+ callipers are all rebuilts now.

Neil.

On 6/19/16, Scott - IMAP <scottdaniel@turbovans.com> wrote:

> I have seen those bolts so damn tight it's unbelievable. > I even got a long swivel head breaker bar just for getting the right > angle with the parts on the van and being able to get enough force > generated. > > I doubt you're going to harm a heavily made spindle/upright clamping it > in a vice .. > if the caliper bolts are hyper tight you still might have a problem. > > Impact wrench is super useful for some jobs. Really gotta have one and > a compressor. > Or just take it to some shop and say 'please just buzz these bolts off' .

> That's a good upgrade ....been sitting on the parts for that myself for > quite a while.

-- Neil n

Blog: Vanagons, Westfalia, general <http://tubaneil.blogspot.ca>

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