Tire wear, what's causing this! ? ?

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Almost the only way to fit a 440 into that 68 on a 318 K is with the Schumacher mounts.
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thats one way. you can also use a 73 style k-frame and build a DC style k-frame or use schumacher mounts on the 73 k-frame or even us an engine plate...
 


hey guys im missing one of these washers .... anyone want to donate one? PM me.....


1968 plymouth barracuda
1973 440 magnum dodge charger
1973 A-body C-arms and front disk brakes, etc...
 
some one said
"Start a new forum page for new issues !"

i disagree, forum starts with one project and it leads you from start to finish with any and all issues that might come.


with that said. i have my front end pretty much all put back together with one issue. seems my brake pads are too thick - i squeezed in the piston and still the pads are slightly too big. again for reference i have front 73 A body disc brakes so i purchased 73 A body front bake pads and they look similar to the ones i removed but like i said too thick ....

wrong pads?


any solutions ????

thanks!
 
BigB; Are you absolutely sure the pistons are absolutely retracted. Sometimes on used , in service calipers, when you squeeze the pistons back, they push a small amount of debris back which piles up between the piston and the casting, preventing the pistons from fully retracting. 2nd; are the rotors the factory correct thickness? 3rd; maybe the pads are too thick. Im assuming the test was done trying to fit the caliper onto the rotor and the slider bolts were fully removed, and that there were no thick asbestos type stick-on insulators on the pads. The oem type was a thin steel film.
 
AJ/FormS said:
BigB; Are you absolutely sure the pistons are absolutely retracted. Sometimes on used , in service calipers, when you squeeze the pistons back, they push a small amount of debris back which piles up between the piston and the casting, preventing the pistons from fully retracting. 2nd; are the rotors the factory correct thickness? 3rd; maybe the pads are too thick. Im assuming the test was done trying to fit the caliper onto the rotor and the slider bolts were fully removed, and that there were no thick asbestos type stick-on insulators on the pads. The oem type was a thin steel film.
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i could go home and press them in a third time. (1.

the rotors are factory yes (2.

thats what i was thinking maybe pads were too thick. i removed those insulators to have more clearance. but still no luck. (3.


i will press them in again when i get home thanks. :cheers:
 
Big B; Trying to press them in may not be the total answer.If the pistons appear to be flush with the casting then theres no point in trying to put them deeper. If, however they appear to be out of the bore by an amount similar to what you need, then its possible that theyre not seated. And if there is debris in there,it has to come out. It was fine for it to have been in there with the old pads because it wasnt affecting anything. Now however any debris in there may have lodged itself between the piston and its bore, during the parking of the piston. This could cause the piston to stick. But thats not the worst of it. You have to ask; "where did that debris come from"? Well 2 things come to mind. The first is knowing that flex hoses rot from the inside out, it may be rubber dust. The second possibility is rust.As you may know, brake fluid is hydro-scopic; that is, it has an affinity for water. It absorbs water from the atmosphere. This water, since it is heavier than brake-fluid and doesnt mix with it, collects in the lowest parts of the braking system, the calipers and wheel cylinders. The rust particles can be larger than the bore clearance, hence the sticking. But it gets worse yet. When temperatures fall below freezing the water freezes and the caliper may become inoperative. Imagine that scenario.
-There is one more thing to consider. If the master cylinder is FULL, and capped, it will not allow any more fluid to return, and the pistons cannot seat.
-You could perhaps try a pad set from another vendor to compare thicknesses.
-Also, I have had to file-fit some pads that were absolutely too thick. They file easily with a sharp coarse file,or emery paper. I use a caliper to make sure they finish flat, and parallel to the back-plate, within a few thousands of an inch. Break-in takes care of the rest.
-Oh yeah,and finally; the outer perimeter of the disc often accumulates rust scale, at a point just outside of where the pads ride.If you havent already knocked it off, that may be your problem. It can build up pretty thick, certainly enough to not allow the loaded caliper to pass over it.
-Happy wrenching
 
got it! it was a combination of old debris spider web tiny little things and such. and the master cylinder being full so pressure was hard. alright guys!!!
about done with this project.
its been a blast.
will update with photos soon/
alignment and new tires next
also turning the spring mounts upside down to lower rear an inch. from my SS spring swap.
 
Alright guys get her all put together! Some one tell me if my brand new driver side shock just shot the ****.....

So it's been sitting on jacks for some time now through out this project I put the wheel back on dropped her down softly and ! Wouldn't you know it shock starts spewing all its innards out. Let's out a few oz. of hydraulic oil.

What happened!? Was it me was it a faulty shock? Can I return it ? Warranty? Help
 
Sorry Big, I forgot about you. Yeah the shock is faulty. No you didnt do anything wrong. I have launched my car over speedbumps and never lost oil from a shock. Busted an oilpan, once.Knocked the alignment out,once.Shocks always survived.
-Glad to see you got things sorted out.Waiting for the pics.
 
thanks yeah. i had that shock replaced already.

got new brakes in bled the brakes already and all those are good to go.

got her done and it is already driving 100 times better even though i have not gotten new tires or an alignment.

one issue is that my steering wheel is set at a 45 degree angle meaning it is turned a quarter of the way but is set driving straight. can anyone put their two cents in...

is my pitman arm set to the wrong degrees?
because its drives straight and all that but my steering wheel is off.
 
Glad you got it fixed! Haven't even started mine yet lol.
 
Saverio said:
Glad you got it fixed! Haven't even started mine yet lol.
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its easy as long as you have all the right tools and right parts.

the hold up for me was
just the wrong idler arm and pit-man arm. 1.)
having the bushings machined pressed 2.)
and lazy-ness 3.)

once i got all the parts together it was easy..
once you start ask away with any questions i would love to help and answer as best as i can.
hope this thread helps toooo... :blob:

photos coming soon....
 
As to the steering wheel being out.Count your steering wheel turns,lock to lock; devide by two. Turn the steering wheel exactly that amount from either lock. If the steering wheel is correctly clocked,or very near to, then nothing is wrong, except the tierod adjustments. Your alignment shop will center the wheel.
 
aj/forms said:
as to the steering wheel being out.count your steering wheel turns,lock to lock; devide by two. Turn the steering wheel exactly that amount from either lock. If the steering wheel is correctly clocked,or very near to, then nothing is wrong, except the tierod adjustments. Your alignment shop will center the wheel.
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i checked it and its two full turns to the left and one and a half to the right.
Is this something that seems logical to an alignment fix? Or this something with my pitman arm being set too much to the left?


Thanks guys.

I'VE BEEN DRIVING HER to see that everything is good and she drives straight and really really well.... the SS rear suspension is a little bouncy but prefer it to and old suspension that rocks and flows like a boat in water. . .
 
The pitman arm has a master spline, and the steering box has IIRC 4 matching splines ; each at 1/4 turn. That is to say the splines are 90* apart. So since your steering wheel is so little out, you probably just need your tierods equalized. But yes its possible the P-arm was miss installed, but I highly doubt it.
-Plan1
Take it to the alignment shop, as is. They will center the steering for you. Its part of every alignment.As is adjusting the steering box. And if you ask for a 4-wheel alignment check. They will check the thrust angle. A bad T-angle will set your car, dog-tracking. This is not east or cheap to alter on a leaf-spring car. So I would specify to have them check it first, ask them to explain your options to correct it, and how much it will cost. Then make your decision accordingly. The thrust angle does not absolutely have to be corrected. Esp. for a DD .For the most part,only the guy behind you will know when its out.I only mention it because our As are somewhat notorious for dog-tracking.
-Plan 2
Get the car off the ground, high enough to slide under it.The vehicle weight will need to be on the wheels.This will require ramps or blocks. Ok,center the steering wheel and lock it there.Slide under the car with a tape measure. Carefully check the tierod lengths.The important measurement is between the ball centers.Since the ball-centers are encapsulated, and you cant even see them,you can use the studs. You may have to do some estimating. The important thing is to get them both at least close to the same. If your toe is pretty close now, then add the two measurements together, then divide by two. reset both tierod lengths to this new measurement. If your frame is straight and no steering parts are bent, and caster/camber is close, this will get your wheel close to straight ahead. Lastly check and adjust the toe, by adjusting each tierod length equally.That is to say what ever adjustment you do to one side, you must also do on the other side.
-Plan 3
-Heres what you do; A) remove the arm, B) center your steering wheel between locks, C) anchor it there, D)go turn your front wheels manually so that they are pointing more or less straight ahead, E) slip the pitman arm onto the nearest masterspline, F)With the steering wheel still locked straight ahead,and the wheels now pointing close to straight ahead, fine tune the position of the front wheels with tierod equalization, until the wheel look pretty good. G) set the toe as best as you can, and H) truck er off to the alignment shop.
I think its worth mentioning again; I think the problem is really just equalization.
I also think its prudent to advise you not to drive it this way. Since your steering box may be out of the reduced sensitivity zone, for straight ahead driving, theres a really good chance your car will feel twichy when driving straight, even with a perfect toe adjustment.It wouldnt hurt the tires or anything else. Its just awful annoying.
-Hope this helps.
 
thanks guy...

thanks to everyone who helped and was part of this project.

since my photo tagging is up and running again i will post more soon.
 
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