So I'm replacing a front brake caliper on my '86 Wagon and have run into trouble. The caliper seized and would not retract for love or money.

 

I've had the axle/brakes/etc. apart several times in the past year for new axles, wheel bearings, shocks and it's always gone back together with no issues.

 

This time, however, I CANNOT get the axle nut (both sides) back on far enough. Not much off, but cannot get them on far enough to put the cotter pin installed. I know it must be something painfully obvious, hence my "dumb" feeling.

 

Opinions on where my problem is?

 

The caliper/brake shoe bracket mounts betweeen the dust shield & rotor correct?

Wrong axles?

No, been running these axles for 10 months or so now. Initially I took apart the wheel end b/c I could hear/feel a caliper dragging. Turned out, the passenger side caliper was seized.

 

Ordered a new caliper then new pads b/c that side was worn due to the dragging. Ended up putting the new pads on both sides and now am trying to put it back together.

Only thing I can think of is if the rotors were too small for the axles if you changed them too and or it could be that there is a hang up in the brake pads they need to be retracted more. As far as I remember the shield went between the caliper and the spindle housing..

rotors....it very well may be them. Ok, gonna go measure & do some research. Thanks

So your problem is nothing to do with the caliper, but getting tight enough the 36mm nut on tue axle?

 

When you put the nut on, there are 2 washers behind it. A cone shape and a flat one.

Check the flat ones are still good. They're actually curved, but are supposed to curved side out so the nut pushes on them like a spring washer (I suspect most of the stripped hub problems posted in here is because these washers installed backwards).

Edited May 19, 20169 yr by wagonist

Alrighty fellas, I believe I can officially say that it's the rotors causing the problem. They are indeed, the wrong ones.

 

Overall, they're too thick but it's not the actual area where the shoes touch. It's the part that comes out that the hub bolts to, as shown below...

 

 

Thanks for the suggestions guys, and especially to Len Dawg with the rotor comment.

an extra pat for Len Dawg guessing as nowhere did you even tell us you fitted new disc rotors !

I wholeheartedly agree. I couldn't see the forest for the trees.

Too funny... somebody else had a problem with a distributor firing issue and I pointed out that the set screw sometimes fall out of the well yA know... rotor like what happened to me.. what's really going here? Ha ha ha!

 

I suspected possible rotor change by the statement _>that the right side was dragging<_ so figured the rotor was probably going to changed and when the problem was on both sides.. I sipped my coffee and said to myself hmmm there's nothing but the caliper itself and I don't think the shield would cause that big of an issue maybe he changed his rotors because it's just the right thing to do..

 

From the mind of Dawg...