TCS 3442R restoration

[BDA]

IIRC there's a flat rubber gasket/seal/islator (or whatever it is) that is less than 0.1" thick that goes between the caliper mount and the upright. Looking at the parts manual exploded diagram, it looks like if you didn't have that, the caliper mounting face would be too far inboard and so might cause your problem. The funny thing is that I don't think I see the rubber piece I'm talking about in the parts manual diagram so maybe I'm all wet, but I can see that rubber piece in my mind's eye. I'm sure there is such a rubber piece and I'm pretty sure that's where it goes but even if I took my upright apart I wouldn't be any more sure since I have different brakes.

Maybe someone else will know what I'm talking about and check my memory.

[Sherman Kaplan]

I double checked that the races were fully seated in the hub.   The more I thought about the problem, especially on the right side, I think that something may have been off since the car was new.   I tried the old pads, which had about 24,000 miles (original from the factory).  They did fit better.  I did notice on the right side, the inside pad was thicker than the outside pad. 

I also posted my question on the Yahoo message board as some people frequent that site and not this one and vice versa.  JB Collier responded and suggested that I sand the pads.  That will definitely help on the left side.  It will also work on the right side, but I will only need to sand the outside pad and they will end up different thicknesses.  That is why I would like to figure out how to center the caliper on the rotor.

 

[Sherman Kaplan]

BDA, yes there is a thin rubber gasket.  I reused the one that was there.  As I mentioned, I have had the caliper mounting  bracket on and off numerous times.  I have tried to make sure that the gasket is seated properly.

[BDA]

I'm glad I wasn't imagining it. It sounds like thinning the mount lugs might be your only choice.

[Sherman Kaplan]

That is about the only thing I can think of.  Is this a safe idea?  I don't think it would be a lot of material.  Dakazman said not to grind. I'm wondering if the original caliper bracket castings were not that accurate?  On Serge's video about the front brake calipers he mentions that his were not centered. He was lucky and could shim his.   

Someone on the Yahoo board said that the calipers don't have to be centered.  I'm a little OCD so I would like to try

Sherman

[jbcollier]

 Could you shim the caliper bracket?

[BDA]

The disc should be centered. In spite of the fact that it doesn't seem right to modify the standard setup, taking a little material off the mount is not a big deal. If you know someone with a mill, that would be best but if you're careful with a file, you should be alright.

[Sherman Kaplan]

JB, unfortunately it will only shim towards the chassis, not the other way.   The only way to move the caliper towards the outside would be to file the caliper mounting.  BDA, that is what I'm going to do, take a file to the mount and go slow.

Sherman

[jbcollier]

A machine shop could mill it quite easily and it would be perfectly plane and square.  Worth the small expenditure.

[jbcollier]

Just do one thing first, assemble the hubs without the felt seals and see if it makes any difference.

[Certified Lotus]

I have a dim memory of something similar and it ended up being something I assembled incorrectly. I also installed new rotors and pads and the new pads didn’t fit. I’m going to have to dig deep into the memory banks to remember what it was. I’ll look at the thousands of photos I took and see if I can spot anything. But I know I did not file or cut anything.

Your restoration is coming along nicely!

[cwtech]

My memory is often questionable!

Wasn't there mention in the past of replacement wheel bearings which were wider (thicker) than original bearings causing problems?

[dakazman]

Hey Sherman, I took a picture of my setup However stock. My rotors are not centered , both are closer towards the inboard side and The rotors turn freely. The pressures of the hydraulic fluid is the same to both pucks unless it’s engineered in or the area is different.
Dakazman

[Sherman Kaplan]

Thanks everyone.  I spent the morning with a file and sandpaper.  I filed the mounting boss for the caliper very slightly and sanded 3 of the 4 pads.   The rotors are still not centered.   Dakazman, my rotors are closer to the outboard side, but I'll put that down to tolerances of everything.   I filed so little on the mounting boss, that I'm not sure if I did anything.  However, the good news is with the filing and sanding the rotors turn freely with only a very slight sound of the rotor rubbing the pad on both sides. My understanding is that this is normal. Without the pad the rotors turn with no noise.    As I'm just an enthusiastic amateur my plan is to have all of my work checked by a professional before the car is put on the road so if anything is wrong it will be fixed before I run into a wall. 

I have reassembled the rear brakes and that went smoothly.  As I have the self adjusting brakes, which I have read don't work real well I took advantage of having everything apart and drilled an access hole in the backing plate if I ever have to adjust the brakes manually. 

For setting the end float on the front hubs I know the manual says to use a dial gauge.   The mount for my dial gauge is not long enough to work.  I read on the Knowledge Base that the end float can also be set by tightening the hub nut to 5 lbs and then back off to the next flat to align the cotter pin.  I did that and it seems fine.   Anyone set the end float that way?

My next project is to finish the brake lines.   

Thanks again,
Sherman

[Certified Lotus]

Did you split your calipers to rebuild them?