Front brake rotors and hubs

Last week I removed the rotors, which overall went smoothly except for the outer retaining ring inside the manual locking hub. The first one took me 45 minutes to remove (no exaggeration) and the second about 20 (once I figured out what to do). From what I understand, this is typical if you don't have the exact right tools (e.g., dental picks or the fingers of a Lilliputian). I ended up using surgical tweezers that have tiny teeth on the end for gripping. After that, everything was cake. Out came the two retaining rings, the clutch assembly, two lock nuts, a lock washer, and the outer bearings. Once I popped the rotor off, I removed the seal and the inner bearings. The grease inside was a yellow/black mixture, but it didn't smell burned and the Timken bearings spun smoothly once cleaned with odorless mineral spirits.

The previous owner had not replaced the front brake pads for about 53 years, so they were ground down to about 1/8" thick (see left), which carved deep grooves into the rotor surfaces, front and back. I wasn't sure if the rotors could be shaved smooth, but the guys at Brake Masters did a great job for just ten bucks a rotor. They look like new.

I was seriously considering a rotor upgrade, perhaps dimpled and slotted rotors for gas dispersal, but several forum threads on IFSJA.org made it clear that a better investment for stoping is an upgrade in calipers and pads. I've bought the larger calipers for a mid-80s K20 Suburban and carbon metallic pads. I also have the extended brake lines that came with my BJ'S Off Road lift kit (bjsoffroad.com). With smoothed rotors, better brake pades, and larger-piston calipers, I think the new brake system is going to work quite well, especially in light of the larger tires (31's or 33's for which I'm in the market).

I also had to replace a lug on the right front hub. I spayed in multiple times PB Blaster penetrating oil to facilitate removal. Then I put my BFH on the stubby lug and then hit it with a hammer several times (warning: wear ear protection). It popped out on the fifth hit. When I get ready to put the tire back on, I'm going to have to put a little extra care in attaching the lug nut to the new lug to make sure it seats fully in the wheel hub housing (it's about 1/8" short of being fully seated).

I fully scrubbed all of the inner hub components and the inside of each hub itself with mineral spirits and an old toothbrush, inside an old plastic tub (what I refer to as my 'cleaning station'). I used about a gallon of the spirits, which worked quite well. Once cleaned, I took this time to scrub the rust off of the hub assembly using a drill bit with wire brush attached in my cordless drill. This wasn't about getting the thing polished, just for cutting down on the mild rust build up. After everything was dried and wiped clean, I greased all of the components and the front spindles with Lucas Oil's Red 'N Tacky #2 bearing grease (FYI, it ain't red--it's pinkish purple).

I put in the regreased inner bearing and new seal on each rotor, hammering them flush with the back of the inner rotor assembly with a small hardwood block. At $3.97 each for new Timken seals from Auto Zone, I saw little reason to reuse the old seals; besides, I'd damaged mine slightly getting them out (too cheap to buy a seal puller--I'm tired of buying tools I'm only going to use once or twice a year).

Reassembling the second rotor took about twenty minutes total. However, the first one took me about an hour an a half because of a locknut issue. I greased the front left spindle and put on the rotor assembly, the outer bearing, and the first locknut. Unfortunately, I thought I had the nut threaded properly, but I didn't, so I mashed the first full revolution of the threads on the spindle. Amateur/stupid mistake, I'm sure (and not one I repeated on the second hub/rotor install). After reworking the nut and threads to guide smoothly and securely, I added the lock washer and second locknut (torquing it to 50-60 ft-lbs.). Then I reinstalled the clutch assembly, the two snap rings (after grinding the tips of the outer snap ring for easier removal next time, on the advice of an IFSJA.org member). So the rotors are back on and ready for calipers.

Next up on my plate is the extended brake lines front and back, which might be a bit difficult because the rear hard brake lines are frozen. I'll probably have to cut them off so that I can use a socket to remove them from the drum housing safely. We'll see.

Assessment and progress report

It's been a month since my last post because I've been either under the Jeep or at work since the new semester is now in full swing. In the foreground of the shot above is the new leaf spring, at rest below the top of the drum brake hub. If you look above the far drum brake/wheel hub, you can see the old leaf spring which is above to top, making it clear how much of a lift these new springs will give me. (The old ones are simply shot; they're in a pile near my garbage cans now.)

In this shot, the shocks are removed, as is the track bar, which I have since reinstalled with a relocation bracket.

I've installed a 4" lift kit from BJ's Off Road, which is a great kit and went in easily. I was lucky that the hidden nut welded to the frame rail next to the gas tank held fast so that I didn't have to drop the tank to hold it in place while putting the new left rear spring on. Once the springs were installed, I added Rancho RS9000XL shocks front and rear, plus Rancho's RS5000 steering stabilizer shock (see pic below).

In order to improve axle articulation off road (and to compensate for the 4" lift), I installed BJ's sway bar quick disconnects. I can pop them off to get the axle moving when I need it but put them back on when I need stability on roads. I also replaced the sway bar bushings, as well, because they were rather crusty.

Inside the car, I've also fixed the right rear passenger door handle/elbow rest. I just popped the door panel off, installed the retaining clips, and screwed it back on. The leather steering wheel cover was also ripped and stained, so I cut it off and put an aftermarket matching-ish steering wheel cover.

So I've done it...

As some of you may know, this project idea began about a year ago when I began talking with my wife about the possibility of building some kind of off-road rig. I've been watching the car build-up shows for years (Trucks!, Xtreme 4x4, Overhaulin', Rides, and so on), and I wanted something to work on that wasn't going to be a daily driver or something I had to keep running at all times. I jumped around, thinking about a pickup, a mid-sized Cherokee from the 80's like my dad once owned, or perhaps a Baja Bug (also something my dad once owned, though his was decidedly more for street use). I'd settled on a late sixties Baja Bug, having owned a '73 Bug and a '79 Vanagon, and currently commuting regularly in a deisel New Beetle.

But then I had to weigh in the possibility of fitting three kids (albeit little ones) in the back seat, plus adding a tow hitch to my wife's Odyssey in order to get this thing to the OHV/trail areas. After much deliberation, I turned my attention to a full-size Jeep (FSJ). A college kid who lived three blocks from RCC was selling his '88 Grand Wagoneer, a bugly beast in need of some upgrades but otherwise straight and solid with good mechanics. Since I'm going to be improving this thing with suspension, brakes, some engine mods, and bigger tires, I just wanted a solid shell and nothing in great shape that I would remove/upgrade later. If I was removing it, I wanted it to need removal. Saves me money. So for $1400 (perhaps a few hundred over what I should have paid), I took it off his hands, and now I'm off and running.
It has a few dents (front right fender and back left), but it rides straight and true. The roof rack has been removed, which is fine (I want a black safari rack). The leather inside is in great shape except for the driver's seat, which is a bit shredded. The engine leaks (shocker), as does the rear differential. There's also some oil around the NP 229 transfer case. Also, it sags big time in the back (in the pic above, the right rear tire sits two inches lower than the left rear tire--can you say "collapsed springs"?). I'll repair the leaks eventually, after the lift kit is installed. I will be giving it all new fluids once it's up in the air and safer to drive.