[Scarebird]

Originally Posted by NeighborsComplaint

Just a quick update. I just installed my rebuilt third member and went to install my rear disc kit. Not exactly the bolt on kit I thought I had bought. There are tabs to terminate the rear axle hardlines and connect to hose to the calipers that must be welded to my fully painted rear axle ... my newly installed axle bearings and seals will have to be removed and replaced to allow machining. The shop says new bearings and seals will be needed as the newly intalked ones will likely be damaged pressing them off.

I am assuming it is not our kit because we weld soft line tabs on every rear kit that can use them.

Also, your machine shop can turn your axle flanges WITHOUT pulling the bearing or sealing - it will just be noisier...

[NeighborsComplaint]

Correct, not your kit. I wouldn't be comfortable with a soft clamp pinching a rubber brake hose to keep it in place.

The provided tabs have a hex hole to engage the brass hex fittings and lock like factory so I will use them. I could fab new hard lines from the rear axle T all the way to the calipers but I had already bought the replacement hard lines before deciding to go with the disc conversion so I will shorten them.

It just seems dumb not to have the caliper brackets fabbed with tabs already in place. With a simple bend of the existing hard line, you could attach to the hoses and have a bolt-on install.

The machine shop does not want to turn the flanges down by clamping onto the raw forged section of the axle. They are concerned that the run-out will result in imbalance so they want to clamp onto the machined surface where the bearing now resides. I think it is overkill but I don't have a choice since they are the only game in town beside Opel Engineering ($$$) that can do this. I would have thought any place that machines rotors could do this but apparently not.

It is amazing that none of the so-called driveline, axle and driveshaft shops do not have the capability do this.

[Scarebird]

Originally Posted by NeighborsComplaint

Correct, not your kit. I wouldn't be comfortable with a soft clamp pinching a rubber brake hose to keep it in place..

What are you talking about? Note the welded tab, it uses the supplied clips to retain the hose like the front hoses are retained. When we started in 2003 that is how we did it, not liking the zip tie to the axle tube method others used.



This is the drum-in-hat setup, note the tab peeking out in back?



If the drive shop pressed out 2 studs they could grab the pilot with the 3-jaw chuck and use the tailstock with a live center on the spline end of things.

Their lack of competence disturbs me.

[NeighborsComplaint]

Originally Posted by Scarebird

I am assuming it is not our kit because we weld soft line tabs on every rear kit that can use them.

There you go. That is what I was grousing about with the kit I bought. It comes with the soft line tabs but they have to be welded to the rear axle housing (they are radiused for this). I could grind them and weld to the back of the brackets but the soft brake lines furnished in the kit would be way too long. I have to shorten and flare the hard lines to terminate at the tabs after they are welded in place on top of the axle axle housing about 6" in from the axle flanges ... bolt-on kit they (Inline Tube) said, but I guess I should expect this kind of thing from a $300 kit (rotors, brackets, loaded calipers, ebrake cables, hoses, etc.) right?

With regard to the machine shop, I can't really tell the only place in town who can do the work, how to do the work there are no alternatives. I live in the NW Suburbs of Chicago and could find no one able to chuck the axle in a lathe and turn down the hub, as crazy as that may seem. You would think any axle/driveshaft shop could do it but everyone's solution was to call Moser and order new axles with the reduced flange size.

Also, someone commented about cutting the inside of the rotor. The manufacturer included a warning/disclaimer against doing this as too much material must be removed. I didn't throw a caliper on it but I am guessing .050" would have to be cut plus a corner chamfer to allow the flange to seat fully.