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Thread: Meindl Mk IV Build - Graduation

  1. #81

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    Quote Originally Posted by MechanicalKnowledgeNone View Post
    What kind of rivets are those that you used to attach the F panel to the frame?
    Hi MKN, I just used the standard factory five rivets that come with the car. Nothing fancy at all!

  2. #82
    Senior Member edwardb's Avatar
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    Short of an actual official calibration lab, overkill in our builds IMO, I'd check your torque wrench against another known good torque wrench. Even though the physics can be calculated, I personally wouldn't try to calculate and use weights, etc. Just not something you want to get wrong. Another possibility is a device like this one that I've found are reasonably accurate and can be used to check your torque wrench(s). You clamp one end in a vise and put your torque wrench in the other for a good sanity check. I have a different brand, but this one from H-F is very similar and not very expensive: https://www.harborfreight.com/12-in-...ter-63917.html. Also can be used to convert a regular wrench into a torque wrench.
    Last edited by edwardb; 10-23-2018 at 09:43 AM.
    Build 1: Mk3 Roadster #5125. Sold 11/08/2014. Build 2: Mk4 Roadster #7750. Sold 04/10/2017. Build Thread
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  4. #83
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    I ran into some issues with some of the steel locking nuts that came with the kit. Some seemed to be over-crimped, making them almost impossible to use. I replaced one of the front suspension bolts & nuts after the nut required almost 60 ft/lbs to simply run down the bolt. Before checking it, I was having to use 1/2" drive ratchet and propping my feet up to be able to pull it.

    That may be what happened to yours.
    ---Boyd---
    MkIV #9042 build thread
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    Delivered Feb 2017, Graduated Nov 4, 2019

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  6. #84
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    Quote Originally Posted by edwardb View Post
    Another possibility is a device like this one that I've found are reasonably accurate and can be used to check your torque wrench(s). You clamp one end in a vise and put your torque wrench in the other for a good sanity check. I have a different brand, but this one from H-F is very similar and not very expensive: https://www.harborfreight.com/12-in-...ter-63917.html. Also can be used to convert a regular wrench into a torque wrench.
    That's a slick tool - thanks for the reference. May have to swing by HF on the way home today.
    Mk4 #8861 Complete kit. Delivered: 27 Apr 2016, currently a roller.
    Gen-2 Coyote, clutch, TKO600, midshift, and solid axle from Forte. Many pieces from Breeze and Replicarparts.

  7. #85

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    Quote Originally Posted by edwardb View Post
    Short of an actual official calibration lab, overkill in our builds IMO, I'd check your torque wrench against another known good torque wrench. Even though the physics can be calculated, I personally wouldn't try to calculate and use weights, etc. Just not something you want to get wrong. Another possibility is a device like this one that I've found are reasonably accurate and can be used to check your torque wrench(s). You clamp one end in a vise and put your torque wrench in the other for a good sanity check. I have a different brand, but this one from H-F is very similar and not very expensive: https://www.harborfreight.com/12-in-...ter-63917.html. Also can be used to convert a regular wrench into a torque wrench.
    Thank you, Paul! That's great to know and now i won't be trying to rig up that manual torque calibrator anymore - glad to cross that off of my list of to dos! I'll go ahead and buy that torque adapter you mentioned - thanks for the good suggestions, as always!

  8. #86

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    Quote Originally Posted by Boydster View Post
    I ran into some issues with some of the steel locking nuts that came with the kit. Some seemed to be over-crimped, making them almost impossible to use. I replaced one of the front suspension bolts & nuts after the nut required almost 60 ft/lbs to simply run down the bolt. Before checking it, I was having to use 1/2" drive ratchet and propping my feet up to be able to pull it.

    That may be what happened to yours.
    Thanks, Boyd. Yeah, that sounds similar to what was happening to me. Did you get your replacement bolts & nuts from factory five? A pair is on its way from them now so hopefully that one will go on without any issues. Thanks, again!

  9. #87
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    Hey there! Just finding your build. Good luck, congrats, subscribed and all the other things we say. Just looking forward to following along. I won't be of much help as I'm a total noob, but I love watching these go together.
    "Doddmoore," Mitchell Moore on facebook, Follow Tonks347Cobra on Instagram
    MK IV Complete kit, SB Ford 347, Holley Sniper EFI, TKO 500, Moser 8.8 Solid axle, Wilwoods, Power Steering
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  10. #88

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    Quote Originally Posted by doddmoore View Post
    Hey there! Just finding your build. Good luck, congrats, subscribed and all the other things we say. Just looking forward to following along. I won't be of much help as I'm a total noob, but I love watching these go together.
    Thanks, Mitchell! Actually, you are helping - I've been following your build thread and your detail is really helpful to me. Thank you!

  11. #89

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    Just got the replacement nut & bolt from factory five today for attaching the front upper control arms. They seem to match the ones I was using before so that's a good sign. One quick complete beginner question: if i try to just spin these nuts onto the bolts with my fingers, they run into a good amount of resistance after a few turns. I think this is completely to be expected (and i think that's part of being a lock nut, right?) but i just wanted to confirm that I should be seeing this sort of resistance. Given the bolt stripping i did last time when i encountered resistance, i just want to make sure. So this is ok, right, and it's not a sign of a mismatched nut & bolt? Again, sorry for the naive question... Thanks, guys!
    Last edited by PeteMeindl; 10-26-2018 at 09:52 PM.

  12. #90
    Senior Member cv2065's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by PeteMeindl View Post
    Just got the replacement nut & bolt from factory five today for attaching the front upper control arms. They seem to match the ones I was using before so that's a good sign. One quick complete beginner question: if i try to just spin these nuts onto the bolts with my fingers, they run into a good amount of resistance after a few turns. I think this is completely to be expected (and i think that's part of being a lock nut, right?) but i just wanted to confirm that I should be seeing this sort of resistance. Given the bolt stripping i did last time when i encountered resistance, i just want to make sure. So this is ok, right, and it's not a sign of a mismatched nut & bolt? Again, sorry for the naive question... Thanks, guys!
    If you look at the nuts closely from the front side, you can see that they are not a perfect circle and kind of oblong. They should thread on correctly from the start, but then will tighten up and need a wrench to continue as the bolt hits that imperfect circle. Just be sure that they are threaded correctly from the get go.
    MKIV Roadster - #9380 - Complete Kit - Delivered 7/17/18 - SOLD 5/2023
    Build Thread #1: https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/show...V-Build-Thread
    MKIV Roadster - #TBD - Complete Kit - Delivered 11/6/23 - In Progress
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  14. #91
    Senior Member edwardb's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by PeteMeindl View Post
    Just got the replacement nut & bolt from factory five today for attaching the front upper control arms. They seem to match the ones I was using before so that's a good sign. One quick complete beginner question: if i try to just spin these nuts onto the bolts with my fingers, they run into a good amount of resistance after a few turns. I think this is completely to be expected (and i think that's part of being a lock nut, right?) but i just wanted to confirm that I should be seeing this sort of resistance. Given the bolt stripping i did last time when i encountered resistance, i just want to make sure. So this is ok, right, and it's not a sign of a mismatched nut & bolt? Again, sorry for the naive question... Thanks, guys!
    Those are called distorted-thread locknuts. What you're describing is how they work. They hold stronger than a nylon insert lock nut. They are intended to be one-time use.
    Build 1: Mk3 Roadster #5125. Sold 11/08/2014. Build 2: Mk4 Roadster #7750. Sold 04/10/2017. Build Thread
    Build 3: Mk4 Roadster 20th Anniversary #8674. Sold 09/07/2020. Build Thread and Video. Build 4: Gen 3 Type 65 Coupe #59. Gen 3 Coyote. Legal 03/04/2020. Build Thread and Video
    Build 5: 35 Hot Rod Truck #138. LS3 and 4L65E auto. Rcvd 01/05/2021. Legal 04/20/2023. Build Thread. Sold 11/9/2023.

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  16. #92

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    Thanks a lot, CV and Paul! That sounds great and makes sense. I'll let you know how progress goes this weekend - Hope you guys have a good one!

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    Front Suspension Progress

    Today we made some good progress on the front suspension and have two questions about next steps. First off, we torqued the new nut&bolt that factory five sent us that holds the upper control arm onto the frame and it worked fine - so no repeat of the bolt stripping incident of last time, which is great news. The right side, which we hadn't torqued before, also went on just fine. We then torqued the pivot bolts on the upper control arms, the castle bolts holding the spindles, and the steering arms. All went on well.

    Then we added the shocks. Our spacers were a little too wide to fit but with some sanding, we got them down to the right size and so now the shocks are installed. We haven't torqued them yet as i just wanted to post the pictures and see if we did anything that looks wrong. Please let me know if you see anything - thank you for taking a look!

    Here are 2 views of the left front suspension as it currently stands:




    And here are 2 views of right front suspension:




    It's great having a family working on this as it seems that on almost everyone step I wonder how you can do this without at least four hands!

    We also started on the front brakes, just beginning their assembly here:


    Again, let me know if anything looks wrong. Thanks!

    We have 2 things we ran into today that are our next hurdles.
    1) We tried to put the hubs on the spindles but they didn't seem to go on more than 1 millimeter, even with some light tapping as the manual suggests. Any suggestions for how to get these on? Is it ok to put some grease on the spindle? I've read that some people freeze the spindle and heat up the hub but i also read that heating up your hub is bad for the bearings. What's your advice as to how to approach getting the hubs on?
    2) In working on the brakes, the instructions say to grease the slide pins with the supplied grease. We didn't receive any grease. What sort of grease do you guys recommend we use for the slide pins?

    Thanks a lot for your advice - we couldn't do this without you. Enjoy your weekend!

  18. #94
    Senior Member edwardb's Avatar
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    Pictures of your assembly look OK from what I can tell. Regarding the hubs onto the front spindles, not unusual for them to be a very close fit. Also necessary to have them dead straight onto the spindle to slide on. Make sure you don't have any burrs on the end of the spindle or the inside of the hub. If all looks clean, it's OK to take a length of emery cloth and polish around the spindle a little to get just a little more clearance. A little grease won't hurt anything, but isn't going to help if you're at zero clearance. I've never had to freeze or heat anything to get them on.
    Last edited by edwardb; 10-28-2018 at 09:28 AM.
    Build 1: Mk3 Roadster #5125. Sold 11/08/2014. Build 2: Mk4 Roadster #7750. Sold 04/10/2017. Build Thread
    Build 3: Mk4 Roadster 20th Anniversary #8674. Sold 09/07/2020. Build Thread and Video. Build 4: Gen 3 Type 65 Coupe #59. Gen 3 Coyote. Legal 03/04/2020. Build Thread and Video
    Build 5: 35 Hot Rod Truck #138. LS3 and 4L65E auto. Rcvd 01/05/2021. Legal 04/20/2023. Build Thread. Sold 11/9/2023.

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  20. #95
    Senior Member Fixit's Avatar
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    Another suggestion...
    If you didn't smear some chassis grease or anti-seize into the threads of the upper control arm adjuster sleeves, take it apart and do it now. You and your future alignment guy will thank you later.

    (I have the exact same style arms on my '65 El Camino and learned the hard way. With the weight on the suspension I could barely turn the sleeves with a BIG wrench. Granted the Elky is twice the weight of the Roadster, but I had to take it all apart and lube the sleeves.)

    Linkage
    Last edited by Fixit; 10-28-2018 at 05:20 AM.
    John D. - Minneapolis 'Burbs

    1965 El Camino - LT-1, 4L60e, 4wh discs, SC&C susp.
    2013 F-150 Platinum - Twin Turbo 3.5
    2018 Mk4 Roadster w/ Coyote - #9365 - Build Thread Delivery 7/3/18, 1st Start 1/4/19, 1st Road Mile 5/5/19, Legal 6/18/19, In Paint 2/25/21, Done (?) 4/2021

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  22. #96

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    Quote Originally Posted by edwardb View Post
    Pictures of your assembly look OK from what I can tell. Regarding the hubs onto the front spindles, not unusual for them to be a very close fit. Also necessary to have them dead straight onto the spindle to slide on. Make sure you don't have any burrs on the end of the spindle or the inside of the hub. If all looks clean, it's OK to take a length of emery cloth and polish around the spindle a little to get just a little more clearance. A little grease won't hurt anything, but isn't going to help if you're at zero clearance. I've never had to freeze or heat anything to get them on.
    Thanks, Paul - I really appreciate all your help. I'll go get some emery cloth as well as look closely to see if there are any burrs that might be holding us up. Thanks again for your advice!

  23. #97

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    Quote Originally Posted by Fixit View Post
    Another suggestion...
    If you didn't smear some chassis grease or anti-seize into the threads of the upper control arm adjuster sleeves, take it apart and do it now. You and your future alignment guy will thank you later.

    (I have the exact same style arms on my '65 El Camino and learned the hard way. With the weight on the suspension I could barely turn the sleeves with a BIG wrench. Granted the Elky is twice the weight of the Roadster, but I had to take it all apart and lube the sleeves.)

    Linkage
    Thanks, John! A little preventive medicine like that can help a lot down the road - thanks for the advice!

  24. #98

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    More Front Suspension Progress

    Thanks to Paul's good advice, with just a little rubbing with some emery cloth, the hubs went right on the spindles, so great news there. Thank you, Paul! We also torqued up the shocks and made some further progress putting together the front brake calipers today.

    Here's how things look now. Front right suspension:


    Front left:


    Current state of the front brake calipers


    This week we need to go buy a socket big enough to torque down those hubs. Thanks for all the help this weekend, guys! Hope you all have a good week.

  25. #99
    Senior Member cv2065's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by PeteMeindl View Post
    This week we need to go buy a socket big enough to torque down those hubs. Thanks for all the help this weekend, guys! Hope you all have a good week.
    If you go to O’Reillys, Advance Auto Parts or Autozone, they have a free rental program for lots of things, including that large socket. I’d just call ahead to make sure they have one in stock.
    MKIV Roadster - #9380 - Complete Kit - Delivered 7/17/18 - SOLD 5/2023
    Build Thread #1: https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/show...V-Build-Thread
    MKIV Roadster - #TBD - Complete Kit - Delivered 11/6/23 - In Progress
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  27. #100

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    Thanks, CV - good idea!

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    Question on getting gear fluid in the rear axle

    We got to do a little midweek work on the car tonight, basically torqueing the hub nuts - it took all my weight to get that wrench to click! - and putting on the dust caps. We need to get some brake cleaner before putting the brakes on so we started mapping out next steps once we finish this part of the front suspension. I had a quick question. We have the standard 8.8 Moser solid axle as seen here:

    In the manual, they fill the rear axle with gear fluid by taking the back off and filling it up. I think if we do things this way, the pros are that it's easy to fill it up, but you need to create a new gasket seal with rtv or something similar. Another option could be trying to pump the fluid in through the gear oil fill port (which i think is the small circular plug you can see in the picture above on the near side of the differential). I think the pro there is you don't need to create a new gasket seal but the con is you need to a pump to pump the fluid in. What are your thoughts on the best approach? Maybe this second approach isn't even valid. Thanks a lot for your advice!

  29. #102
    Senior Member Fixit's Avatar
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    It's not that bad of a job to fill the axle through the plug on the side.
    The gear-oil bottles have a nipple on them. Put a short length of fuel hose on the bottle, the other end into the axle, and squeeze.
    John D. - Minneapolis 'Burbs

    1965 El Camino - LT-1, 4L60e, 4wh discs, SC&C susp.
    2013 F-150 Platinum - Twin Turbo 3.5
    2018 Mk4 Roadster w/ Coyote - #9365 - Build Thread Delivery 7/3/18, 1st Start 1/4/19, 1st Road Mile 5/5/19, Legal 6/18/19, In Paint 2/25/21, Done (?) 4/2021

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  31. #103

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    Quote Originally Posted by Fixit View Post
    It's not that bad of a job to fill the axle through the plug on the side.
    The gear-oil bottles have a nipple on them. Put a short length of fuel hose on the bottle, the other end into the axle, and squeeze.
    Thanks, John! I'll follow your advice - sounds good.

  32. #104
    Senior Member Fixit's Avatar
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    Be forewarned that gear lube STINKS to high-heaven, and is the gooey-est stuff created.
    Be careful when squeezing the bottle you don't blow the hose off!

    - Have the axle sitting level on all axis, and have the plug ready (on the socket with some sealant already applied).
    - Squeeze about a 1/2 bottle into the axle, then put any "differential additive" if needed into that bottle of lube. Continue filling.

    Most rear-ends will take the better part of two bottles, probably more.

    - When the lube starts to run out of the fill plug hole, it's full.
    - Quick like a bunny screw the plug in. (Don't cross-thread it!!)
    John D. - Minneapolis 'Burbs

    1965 El Camino - LT-1, 4L60e, 4wh discs, SC&C susp.
    2013 F-150 Platinum - Twin Turbo 3.5
    2018 Mk4 Roadster w/ Coyote - #9365 - Build Thread Delivery 7/3/18, 1st Start 1/4/19, 1st Road Mile 5/5/19, Legal 6/18/19, In Paint 2/25/21, Done (?) 4/2021

  33. #105

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    Quote Originally Posted by Fixit View Post
    Be forewarned that gear lube STINKS to high-heaven, and is the gooey-est stuff created.
    Be careful when squeezing the bottle you don't blow the hose off!

    - Have the axle sitting level on all axis, and have the plug ready (on the socket with some sealant already applied).
    - Squeeze about a 1/2 bottle into the axle, then put any "differential additive" if needed into that bottle of lube. Continue filling.

    Most rear-ends will take the better part of two bottles, probably more.

    - When the lube starts to run out of the fill plug hole, it's full.
    - Quick like a bunny screw the plug in. (Don't cross-thread it!!)
    Ha! Ok - more good stuff to know! Hopefully i won't squeeze it out all over myself! Thanks, John.

  34. #106

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    Front Brakes and Start of Rear Axle

    This weekend we made some progress, getting the rotors and brakes on the front suspension and then starting work on the rear axle. For the front, we put the rotors on, then mounted the brakes we'd built previously. We haven't torqued down the brakes yet as we just wanted to make sure things look ok to you guys. Here are some pictures - please let us know anything that looks off.

    One question on the brakes: they seem a little tight on the rotor right now. The rotor can turn with your hand but there's definitely some friction. Is this ok?

    2 view of the front right brake:




    2 views of the left:




    We also started work on the rear axle. We put on the C shaped caliper axle mount brackets and the caliper mount brackets. At first we weren't sure how to torque those down given the tight spacing but eventually we figured out that we could use those crowfoot wrench heads and put them on our torque wrench at 90 degrees and that worked out well, I think. I'd never seen that done before so we learned another new thing - every weekend we are learning something totally new to me. We couldn't yet put the gear oil in as although we have about 40 allen wrenches, somehow we didn't have the right size to remove the plug. So we'll get the right size this week and fill the rear end next weekend. Here are 2 pictures of the rear axle.





    Thanks, again, for all of your help, guys! Hope you all had a good weekend.

  35. #107
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    Ah, yes - the crowfoot on a torque wrench trick! It's one of my favorites.

    I can't see in the pictures, but are your discs approximately centered in the caliper openings? I had to disassemble and redo the shims a couple of times until mine looked good.

    Also, I had significant friction on my rear brakes until I found the pin between the brake pad and piston. If you orient the parts so the pin drops into the relief, then the pads can be further away from the disc and they turn more freely. Been a little while, so sorry if I'm soft on the exact description. Vaguely remember that I rotated the piston to line things up properly.

    If the pistons have moved toward the disc, you can get a cheap tool at HF or the auto parts store to rotate the pistons while you push them back in and get more clearance. The pistons will naturally move to take up any excess clearance as you use the brakes (this is how they account for brake pad wear), but this initial setup makes sure that you've got enough clearance for it to work right.
    Mk4 #8861 Complete kit. Delivered: 27 Apr 2016, currently a roller.
    Gen-2 Coyote, clutch, TKO600, midshift, and solid axle from Forte. Many pieces from Breeze and Replicarparts.

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  37. #108
    Senior Member Fixit's Avatar
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    Fronts look good. There'll be some drag on the disc(s) until the parts get to know each other, but if you can spin the rotors by hand with not much effort you're good.

    Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but unless the rear caliper brackets are stainless, I'd get some paint on them...

    Initiator is correct about the rear pads. The caliper pistons need to be "clocked" to match up with the dowel pins on the pads (If they don't line up out of the box). It's something like a $15 tool - looks like a 1" cube with pins & nubs on all the facets (example). It's not a lost investment, you'll be able to do rear brakes on most anything after purchase.
    John D. - Minneapolis 'Burbs

    1965 El Camino - LT-1, 4L60e, 4wh discs, SC&C susp.
    2013 F-150 Platinum - Twin Turbo 3.5
    2018 Mk4 Roadster w/ Coyote - #9365 - Build Thread Delivery 7/3/18, 1st Start 1/4/19, 1st Road Mile 5/5/19, Legal 6/18/19, In Paint 2/25/21, Done (?) 4/2021

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  39. #109
    Senior Member chmhasy's Avatar
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    There should be some space between the rotor and caliper mounting bracket.
    brakeLeftFrontTopCh.jpg

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  41. #110
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    As has been alluded to but just to confirm -- disk brakes pads stay in contact with the rotors and drag slightly which is normal. Sometimes not noticeable until the brakes are bled and the pistons have moved out. But still normal behavior. They should turn without the wheel/tire in place, but may be fairly stiff and not turn too much further when you let go. With a tire/wheel mounted, they'll freewheel a little more. But you'll still hear the pads dragging.
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  43. #111

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    Thanks a lot, guys - this is great advice! I don't know what we'd do without the good will on this forum. Thank you!

    Initiator and John, I'll definitely get that tool you mentioned. This is a stupid question but is that just for rear brakes? I noticed both of you mentioned its use for rears and so just wanted to see if it's something i should use on the fronts as well.

    John - ugh - you're totally right, we forgot to paint those parts! And this is the one time we torqued things down before posting a picture... well, serves us right... A couple questions on the painting:
    1) is POR15 a good way to go for these parts?
    2) Here's a naive question: if i take these parts off, do i need new sets of nuts and bolts since these are lock nuts? Or can i reuse them?
    3) Is it ridiculous to paint the parts without undoing all the bolts and removing the parts? (just thinking if i need new nuts, then maybe this saves me from getting new sets)

    chmhasy - thanks for pointing out that lack of gap. I've checked it out and it looks like the picture I posted just isn't lined up that well. If i look straight down, i do see a gap where you circled things. So i think that's good.

    Paul - thanks a lot, as always! That's encouraging news. One thing you mentioned was that the rotor will not turn much further when i let go. Mine spin when I apply pressure but don't turn at all after i let go. This isn't just due to the brakes, though. Even before we put the brakes on, the hubs would spin with your hand but would immediately stop if you didn't apply force. Does that sound like a problem? I haven't tried them with wheels and tires mounted yet.

    Thank you, guys! We really appreciate your help.

  44. #112
    Senior Member edwardb's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by PeteMeindl View Post
    Paul - thanks a lot, as always! That's encouraging news. One thing you mentioned was that the rotor will not turn much further when i let go. Mine spin when I apply pressure but don't turn at all after i let go. This isn't just due to the brakes, though. Even before we put the brakes on, the hubs would spin with your hand but would immediately stop if you didn't apply force. Does that sound like a problem? I haven't tried them with wheels and tires mounted yet.
    I assume you're talking about the front hubs. They should spin pretty freely without any rotors or calipers. Obviously hard to provide any diagnosis with only a word description. But they should turn several times around when given a good push. I've never had any issues with those so don't know what the problem might be, if there is one. Maybe others have some observations or ideas. If by chance you're talking about the back, those will never spin freely with just the hubs due to the differential, posi, etc. Even with tires/wheels installed.
    Build 1: Mk3 Roadster #5125. Sold 11/08/2014. Build 2: Mk4 Roadster #7750. Sold 04/10/2017. Build Thread
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  46. #113
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    Quote Originally Posted by edwardb View Post
    I assume you're talking about the front hubs. They should spin pretty freely without any rotors or calipers. Obviously hard to provide any diagnosis with only a word description. But they should turn several times around when given a good push. I've never had any issues with those so don't know what the problem might be, if there is one. Maybe others have some observations or ideas.
    I can tell you that before I put brake fluid in and bleed the brake system, my front rotors, without wheels, would spin for about 10-15 easy revolutions if I gave them a good spin. Then after the brake fluid was in, perhaps only 3-5 revolutions with just a very minor/slight hisssing sound of the brake pads on the rotors, With wheels and tires on, they spin very easily... (flywheel effect) for several revolutions... until I stop them instantly with a slight push of the brake peddle.

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  48. #114

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    Thanks a lot, Paul and BadAsp! This is good to know but doesn't sound like good news for us... Yup, I am talking about the front hubs. Unfortunately, even before installing the brakes, the front hubs required some force with your hand to spin and they wouldn't continue spinning, even for 1/8 of a turn, once you stopped pushing. My amateur thought might be that either we put them on incorrectly somehow or possibly that the bearings within the hub are not working so well. Should i have lubed them up? If you guys have any thoughts on how i might've mis-installed the hubs, please let me know. If we can't think of something, I'll ping factory five and see if they've had any issues or if they have any advice. Thanks, guys!

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    Senior Member SSNK4US's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by PeteMeindl View Post

    Initiator and John, I'll definitely get that tool you mentioned. This is a stupid question but is that just for rear brakes?
    Remember, there are NO stupid questions

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  50. #116
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    Quote Originally Posted by PeteMeindl View Post
    Thanks a lot, Paul and BadAsp! This is good to know but doesn't sound like good news for us... Yup, I am talking about the front hubs. Unfortunately, even before installing the brakes, the front hubs required some force with your hand to spin and they wouldn't continue spinning, even for 1/8 of a turn, once you stopped pushing.
    I'm not going to be much help as to what's wrong, but I can tell you the front hubs shouldn't have that much friction before (and probably after) the brakes are installed. Something's not right. Any chance something is rubbing on the rotating parts?
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  52. #117
    Senior Member Fixit's Avatar
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    3) Is it ridiculous to paint the parts without undoing all the bolts and removing the parts? (just thinking if i need new nuts, then maybe this saves me from getting new sets)
    I'd just go ahead and prime/paint them in-situ. They're going to be buried inside the wheel where nobody'd know.

    As far as reusing NyLok nuts - Once or twice and (IMO) you'll be OK. I've reused the NyLoks on my Mercruiser stern drive a few times over 5 years when changing the pump impeller. Those fasteners are in a much harsher environment than a few bracket bolts.

    The bolts/nuts that can't be reused fall in the category of "torque/stretch to yield" - They are mission critical fasteners on things like connecting rods, main caps, etc. They are one-shot fasteners. You're literally stretching the bolt a bazillionth of an inch and putting it into distress - but into it's maximum strength zone.
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  54. #118

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    Quote Originally Posted by initiator View Post
    I'm not going to be much help as to what's wrong, but I can tell you the front hubs shouldn't have that much friction before (and probably after) the brakes are installed. Something's not right. Any chance something is rubbing on the rotating parts?
    Thanks, Initiator. Yeah, as far as i can tell, nothing is rubbing on the rotating part of the hub (beyond the brake pads rubbing against the rotor). I'll take the brakes off this weekend to make sure, though. I'll also ask factory five about the issue as well. This is good to know that something is definitely wrong though. Thanks!

  55. #119

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    Quote Originally Posted by Fixit View Post
    I'd just go ahead and prime/paint them in-situ. They're going to be buried inside the wheel where nobody'd know.

    As far as reusing NyLok nuts - Once or twice and (IMO) you'll be OK. I've reused the NyLoks on my Mercruiser stern drive a few times over 5 years when changing the pump impeller. Those fasteners are in a much harsher environment than a few bracket bolts.

    The bolts/nuts that can't be reused fall in the category of "torque/stretch to yield" - They are mission critical fasteners on things like connecting rods, main caps, etc. They are one-shot fasteners. You're literally stretching the bolt a bazillionth of an inch and putting it into distress - but into it's maximum strength zone.
    Thanks, John! Great - we'll go ahead and paint them without taking it all apart. Thanks again for the good catch in noting that we missed that. Won't be the last time for us, I'm sure! Thanks for the nylok nut advice as well. Glad to hear i can mess up a time or two without ruining them!

  56. #120

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    Hub issues and progress on the rear axle

    Hi guys, hope everyone has had a good week! So we have been working to resolve an issue with our front hubs as they have been showing more resistance to turning than seems normal (normal seems to be that the hub will rotate a few turns when given a firm push. Ours just stop moving right away). To try to isolate the cause, we took off the brakes and the rotor and tried spinning the hub. Still same sort of resistance with little to no spinning after we apply force. Then we untorqued the hub nut and pulled the hub off, just trying to rotate it in our hand a bit. Interestingly, at first it didn't spin much but after fiddling with it for a few minutes, it started to spin with a little less resistance. Excited, we then put the hub back on the spindle and started spinning it. After a few more minutes of spinning (perhaps we were just loosening it up or spreading around the lubricant in there?) it started to spin for several rotations after a good yank. We also noticed that some red lubricant had oozed out of the front of the hub. But given the spinning, we thought maybe we had somehow solved the problem and were set to move forward. So we started torqueing that big hub nut down - but unfortunately, when we tightened that nut down, the resistance returned. So it seems that somehow the big nut for the hub is impeding the hub's ability to spin... Any thoughts on what we are doing wrong, guys? Thanks a lot!

    On the progress side where things are going better, we assembled more of the brackets on the rear axle. Things generally fit together well with a little filing and sanding - I think things seem to be going pretty well here. A couple pictures:

    The right rear control arm:


    The left rear control arm:


    We had to sand down the spacers some to get them to fit in with the short upper link tube into the bracket on the rear axle. But i think we got them together ok. None of these are torqued down yet.


    One thing we've noticed is there's a hole in the axle covered by some masking tape - i imagine we're supposed to get some sort of plug and plug this up? Is that right? Here's a picture of where it is (it's still covered by the masking tape).


    Hopefully we're making 2 steps forward for every 1 back!
    - Please let us know if anything looks wrong in our pictures - that's always a huge help for us.
    - We're really stumped on the lack of hub spinning issue - any suggestions here are really appreciated.

    Thank you, everyone! We have a bunch of family things going on the next couple weeks so we won't get as much done on the car as we'd like. Happy thanksgiving to you all if we don't talk before then!

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