2 Attachment(s)
While they were at it ...
Badbird Larry commented:
"Those are some nasty looking parts in there. They look like they are 50 years old. They might even look 51 years old."
I was kind of surprised that they had re-used the old springs. They are not bent or rusted and they look to be installed correctly so I guess that they are OK. The next time I have the brakes worked on, though, I will have to remember to specify that they install new brake hardware.
Don asked:
"Were they almost to the rivets or actually to the rivets? To the rivets would usually mean an audible squeal...maybe just starting though. Anyway, Glad you're good to go now. Nice and quiet now I hope."
The one shoe that I picked up and looked at was worn almost to the rivets. Maybe one of the other shoes was worn to a rivet. The mechanic told me that is why the brakes were squeaking. That made me feel a little dumb. The car was telling me that the brakes needed work and I was not listening.:(
Don asked:
Quote:
Originally Posted by
dhbfaster
Dennis, did they check the wheel cylinders? And do you know how old those are? I can't really tell anything from the picture.
Yes they did replace the wheel cylinders, which is kind of funny because they were only three years old. They replaced the new wheel cylinders and kept the old springs. Oh, well.
Now we get into the bigger development. When Don brought up gear oil I mentioned that I had a lot of gear whine from my differential. It had done that since I had bought the car 3 1/2 years ago and it is loudest at 55 mph. The car would also wobble a little at 10 mph and would (most of the time) shake at 50 - 60 mph. I had balanced the the wheels and rotated the tires but the wobble did not go away. I had gotten used to the shake wobble and whine symptoms so that they didn't bother me much and it was in the back of my mind to do something about them someday. Well, ....
When the mechanic called me back to say that the brakes were finished, he asked if I knew that the differential was "leaking on one side" and said that the rear end was "howling". He said that what I thought was gear whine was a bearing going bad and that the differential needed to be rebuilt.
Example differential for a 1965 Falcon:
Attachment 5456
Well, uh, gee. It wasn't like he was coming up with this out of thin air because I had suspected that there was something going on. So I said, in Roger fashion, "OK. But while you are at it ..." I asked them to install new wheel bearings, inspect the u-joints, and check the drive shaft to make sure that it is straight and balanced, and check to see if an axle was bent. That was yesterday.
Example Ford 8-inch differential rebuild kit with four bearings:
Attachment 5457
He said that they would get to work on it starting this morning and that he had a press that he would use to remove the wheel bearings. He said that they would send the drive shaft out to have it spin tested for balancing and straightness. He said that he could easily spot a bent axle and did not think that finding a replacement, if necessary, would be difficult.
Not that I am going to do it, but if I were to add posi-traction, now would be the time. Usually, there are pluses and minuses to everything. I asked my mechanical engineer buddy what are the minuses to posi-traction. He said: "They are noisier, and that is what you are trying to get away from. They are also a maintenance item because they have a clutch surface that wears out."