Normk
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Re: E450 Rear Brake Pad Replacement - long post w/pics
A person doesn't get very far on vehicles these days without metric tools. When I had my tool business, inch sized tools were on the wane excepting in the heavy truck, equipment & agriculture equipment fields. Not that people weren't buying some but the bias was in the metric direction for both new tool aquisition and replacement. Not disputing j-d's posts at all but simply making an observation. In the larger sizes the sizing becomes so close to identical that it doesn't matter so many of we old timers are light in the metrics above one inch while the young guys are often the other way. For the home hobby type wrenching, it might be worth while to emphasize j-d's excellent point regarding the ability of 13/16" to make a tight fit onto 21 MM as this technique can be very useful in both directions in dealing with rusted or partially rounded heads. One can often tap a smaller sized socket into place to deal with a damaged head. Another trick which should be part of everyone's tool kit is to use a tin of valve lapping, sometimes called "valve grinding compound" which is carbide grit in a water or grease carrier. Go out to your local auto supply store and buy a tin! Also buy some blue Loctite as is at least as useful. The valve lapping compound is a tremendous help in dealing with damaged screw heads, rounded bolt/capscrew heads, especially good when one has to use an open end wrench. The additional grip is equal to spreading sand onto an icy sidewalk. Seriously! Get some as a tin will last forever in normal use. Have a tight screw in a plastic light housing or dash panel? Push hard enough to make the Phillips screwdriver grip and you will likely break the plastic. Dip the screwdriver into lapping compound and no problem to get enough grip without hard push. How about all the different "Phillips type" screw heads? Add to that the likely that you don't own professional quality screw drivers. Use lapping compound. Done! Brilliant when used on power screw driver or cordless drill bits. Loctite (blue) is usually misunderstood as something which makes things very difficult to remove but on new threads only adds about 10% to the break away torque (the effort needed to start the screw turning). On used threads, especially when there might be some corrosion, the Loctite prevents corrosives from entering the threads and so often makes for easier removal. HIH371Views0likes0CommentsRe: E450 Rear Brake Pad Replacement - long post w/pics
I pull the wheels on our rig every year and clean + never-seize the pilot holes and wheel hub. Nasty to be on the side of the road, as you said, trying to force a wheel off the hub! Even nastier, as have seen many times, for someone to have to come 100 miles on a tow truck to have someone fight the wheel off at $100.00 per hour! If we keep plugging away at this thread, we can add to CloudDriver's excellent foundation in the hope it will save grief for someone.426Views0likes0CommentsRe: E450 Rear Brake Pad Replacement - long post w/pics
Good trick, j-d. It was common practice on Japanese car the small truck brake drums back when dinosaurs still walked the earth. If the wheel is thick enough, as with these Fords, it can work well. Never could figure out why the Japanese would thread tiny little brake drums (which was an obvious and good thing) but the North American makers ignored this on much bigger and tougher stuff. Don't even get us started on transport trucks! Whaling away with a big sledge hammer to release some of those wheels is not for the faint of heart. ;)428Views0likes0CommentsRe: E450 Rear Brake Pad Replacement - long post w/pics
Good points, ron.ditmer I should also have strongly emphasized that nothing done or recommended by CloudDriver was wrong. I also simply wished to expand on what he might have said excepting that fingers were likely already tired from making the long post. ;)430Views0likes0CommentsRe: E450 Rear Brake Pad Replacement - long post w/pics
We generally coat the slider surfaces of calipers or caliper support with never-seize to reduce sliding friction inherent in application and self-adjustment. Ditto the surface if the wheels to wheel hub to reduce the tendency for rust in that area. Rust is a problem in removal of the wheel, also if drum brakes are used, drum has the same problem in removal as do the wheels. Another issue regarding rusting of the wheel or drum to the wheel hub is that loss of material can allow the wheel or drum to move out of concentricity with the wheel hub causing problems with balance and brake application. The wheels do not have to be many thousandths or an inch out of "true" to create a significant vibration. It is to be expected that you bled the brake fluid to replace the fluid in the rear portion of the system? Old fluid has absorbed water and other contaminants from the air which increases internal corrosion and gumming up moving parts. In order to bleed the system, the caliper bleeder nipples must be opened so this is the first thing a technicial does in servicing that area. It is much easier to free a tight bleeder nipple when the caliper is in place as opposed to loose and able to move around. If the bleeder nipple cannot reasonably be removed, it is more economic to replace the caliper and it is best to know this before remounting the caliper and pads only to have to remove it all again. The caliper lock "wedges" have a finite life so having to remove again may require replacement. I noted that you used some "carpenter" C-clamps to push the caliper pistons back which indicated that your caliper pistons were not exceedingly tight. Otherwise those screw clamps would not have been able to effect the movement. It might be worth the mention that a tight caliper piston is an indicator that the caliper needs replacing. I don't know of anyone bothering to service calipers these days as replacements, either now or exchange, are so modestly priced. The application of brake effort to the caliper pads should be as even as is possible, both within the caliper and on both sides of the axle. If the caliper is no able to slide easily, as noted above, the brake application will be higher to the pad on the piston side which makes for uneven application/release and excessive wear to the most movement resistant side. In addition, having resistance to release will cause the pad to drag after release, particularly after harder application. This can cause excessive pad wear to the pad which is dragging, over heating, pulling of the vehicle to one side during braking and when brakes are released. It is important to inspect the calipers for both proper movement in the mounts and also of the caliper pistons. We used to see many home brake jobs with big problems subsequent to the work. Another caution is that some jurisdictions prohibit the service of brakes, steering or suspensions by other than a certified person. This came about because of public reaction to some horrendous accidents. Good write-up, CloudDriver. I also like to block the axle hub when working on our rig at home. Seen a few which have come off stands but don't want to even think about that! HIH428Views0likes0CommentsRe: Low priced leds, fast shipping
I have installed the LED panels shown in the first photo (with key chain in view) into several RV and other vehicles from Class C house lighting, to stove vent light, exterior lights, supplimental brake lights on motorcycle luggage, etc. They work well with the following reservations: 1) The connectors use small bayonet size bulb sockets rather than large size so most applications require fabricating adapters by soldering the provided plug into a salvaged bulb base. No problem as it only requires breaking the glass out and soldering. 2) The double sided tape provided fails quickly where the panels are installed into overhead lights. This was remedied with better tape or dabs of silicone RTV. 3) Some panels have their wiring polarity reversed at manufacture but since the plug and socket allow the connection to be reversed, it simply requires these to be plugged red to black. The last ones I bought off EBay cost about $2.00 each. There may be better options but am very happy these as are the others for whom I did an install. HIH113Views0likes0CommentsRe: Robinhood 1977 dodge 440 heats up on freeway
Problem with this theory is that removing the viscous clutch and installing the same fan onto a non-clutch hub is that fan will now turn at engine speed and all will be as with the other 1/2 of vehicles on the road. The reason for the viscous clutch has nothing to do with improved cooling. The viscous clutch is installed to allow the fan to free wheel/not require the power to drive, when cooling requirements are low. Of course, electric fans are another improvment on this same intent. navegator wrote: If the unit has a viscous fan clutch, and the clutch has gone south the fan will block air from passing through the radiator. At freeway speeds the fans with fan clutches actually turn backwards in the air stream, and you will see the temp go up if the fan is actually turning with the speed of the engine, the fan is runing to slow for the air coming into the radiator area, and actually creating a wall or air in front of the radiator. navegator509Views0likes0CommentsRe: Robinhood 1977 dodge 440 heats up on freeway
Typically, the fan is not involved at highway speeds unless the configuration has a lot of restriction to air flow. Highway speeds are generally able to move more air through the radiator and engine compartment due to movement than the fan is able to impart. A common issue is "chalked up" radiator (internal) tubes which are too restrictive to flow volume and in which the deposits ("chalk")insulates the coolant from the tube and so reduces heat transfer. The radiator may appear to be clear but having it checked by or pull and take to a radiator shop. They should be able to flow test the core for volume. +1 on ronfisherman's reference to the lack of a thermostat. No way to know what you mean by "I have been through the cooling system" but please do not take offense by the suggestion that you may not have the expertise to identify issues. We used to see this frequently when was still in the business as the causes are not always evident to the inexperienced. The problem created by not having a thermostat installed is not excessive coolant flow rate but rather turbulance and changed flow path. A bad thermostat is a common cause of the symptoms referenced because a thermostat which has a partially depleted wax pellet will be unable to open completely. Any time and engine is overheated, IME, the thermostat should be replaced. Another possible is that the lower radiator hose is collapsing and so restricting flow. These hoses usually have a coil spring inside the hose or a reinforced wall structure to resist collapsing under "suction". The Chrysler V8's of that era were bad for filling the cooling jackets with sludge/mud and often would benefit from flush using a back-flush machine using air bubbles. If you have not compared radiator inlet & out;et tank temperatures under load, you may be advised to do so as this will indicate heat transfer efficiency. Another possible is that there is so much heat introduced into the cooling system from the automatic transmission that this is driving the cooling system over its ability to extract heat. A large transmission cooler can be the solution to this issue, but again, measurements by an experienced professional may save you money in the long run. Of course there is the possibility that the engine is not actually over heating....? What are the indications of excessive temperature? If the dash gauge, have you checked to ensure that the temperatures are actually high? Hope something here is helpful.66Views0likes0Comments
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