How to detect front wheel bearing failure

Hey Jack!

When did you get a Spyder?

Well I'll be dipped.  Now I know that another change from the old site is that I should post on Speedsters

and peruse Spyders if I want to see what Danny and Lenny are up to.

Jeeez

9/16" excessive toe-in???  Over one-half an inch?  Was that a typo, Jack?

Either you would have a hard time turning the steering wheel from center, or you would be following every bump in the road.

.How to detect front wheel bearing failure.....

If the wheel passing your speedster looks like it came off your car, it probably did and this thought will coincide with the front end crashing down onto the pavement  ...I'm just say'n :~)

Gordon & Allan--9/16 toe in is what we found.  The last Carlisle drive wasn't as nice as previous, that's for sure.  It was a bit "squirrley" and the steering seened to be "seeking".  Add the bearing growl and I'm wondering whats going on.

I must have hit a hell of a bump somewhere along the way to cause that kind of toe in. The tie rod may not have been tight enough to prevent movement in the toe in adjustment.

The car feels like it has power steering now compared to before.  Tracks perfectly straight ahead and solid as a rock.

Toe is is very simple and quick to check and I'll just look at it each time I change the oil.

The Speedster drives absolutely sensational now. I'll be glad when I have learned everything!

Ha

The only problem with "learning everything" is that it takes a lot of time and, after a while, you begin forgetting what you've learned, replacing it with angst over knowing that you used to know something, but you forgot it.  Follow that?

I'm glad that you caught the problem, Jack, and, yes, it makes a big difference whether these little cars, as light as they are in the front, are properly aligned.  Doing a periodic check, even if it's just toe-in, can catch things before they become nasty.

gn

Could someone please describe how to check toe in at home ? The Muir book says the front of the front wheels should be 1/8" less than the rear of the front wheels but it seems impossible to get a measurement straight across front or rear. I'm sure there must be an easy way. Thanks...

Just had an idea. Use a square and drop a straight line to the floor, mark those and correct from there?

Take a measurment from the forward side a tire groove on one side to the same on rear position on the other side, adjust the tie rod until your front measurment is 1/8" LESS than the rear measurment.

Thanks for that Alan, but I don't get it. Did you mean to say ...measure a front groove on one side to a front groove on the other side, repeat on the rear groove of each side and make sure the front lateral measurement is 1/8" less than the rear ?

yes.....

That's how Russs and I did it.  We saved a lot of re-measuring by putting a dot of white-out

on each tire---at the first grove towards the outer edge of each tire. Then we had a clearly marked place to measure. Very easy deal. 

I notice that most of the books (Muir Haynes, etc) stay away from advice or how-to about alignments. I bought a simple tool for Camber adjustment that attached to the wheels and you read a bubble that shows the camber you have. So simple.  The toe in is simple too.

I used a 4' level to see how flat my garage floor wasand thought it was satisfactory----which it was.

It makes sense that someone at home who really cares about getting it as perfect as possible is going to have a better result that someone in a shop who has the equipment but is quick to call  "good enuff" and push the job out the door.

Anyway--another in s very long series of lessons learned.  And Gordon--I'll definitely take that advice to check the alignment as often as I do the valves.

Ther i  also a possability of incorrect bearings the 67 disc brake spindle is odd and worse some of the new aftermarlet spindles are also odd. you have to prefit  your bearings everything dry  to make sure its all tight fitting   67 or 70 bearings Check and re check your parts.. 

Getting a car right is getting harder... Its stupid! 

Don't rely on this before you get definitive advice but a lot of the disc brake conversions were Ghia disc brake units fitted to Beetles.  If this is true of yours maybe Ghia bearings will work?

My Vintage came with front discs --I added the rears later.  I ordered a couple of sets of pads for the front brakes to be certain I had the right pads. 

When Wild Bill and I were looking into getting new bearings for Dave Bash at Carlisle, we stopped by the Intergalactic temporary headquarters of Special Edition on the show field and asked Carey what to buy.   He said; "Any VW bug or Ghia for 1970-1971",  so that's what we got.

Those Intergalactic SE field repair bearings from Carlisle are still running just fine BTW    Again a mega thanx to all SOC'ers who slapped those devils in there that day.

Gordon---Great story---I was there and saw it happening---great tribute to the helpful folks of the SOC.   Just curious,  were the races replaced too?

quote [Jack Crosby]"--Already getting ready for next spring's Pismo caravan from the East and Midwest!"

Jack, I must have fallen asleep on this one. I assume that the caravan is to Carlisle?

Pretty sure the races were replaced, Jack.

Yeah, they came as a set.

The excessive heat turned the spindle blue and there was concern that the race was 'welded'...but a screwdriver doubling as a punch and some sharp whacks disloged it. 

Damn!  Gordon says the races were replaced---that's a hell of a job to do in the field--I am impressed.  Russ and I did mine in my garage which is well equipped and it was a fairly intricate procedure---but to do it in the parking lot at Carlisle---well, I am impressed!

Yes--we want another West Coast run to Pismo next year and hope to get some others to join us in a Grand Caravan accross this big ole country.  I can tell you that doing the drive across I-40 which duplicates the famous Route 66 road was a fabulous, wonderful drive.  Truly a once in a lifetime trip in a Speedster.  Crossing the Texas Panhandle through Amarillo, driving in light snow in JUNE in Flagstaff Arizona , driving under the giant "Welcome to New Mexico" sign, The Mountains East of California, Going through the very intersection where James Dean "bought the farm" in a Spyder (great place right there for lunch), The Mountains East of California where the smell of orange blossoms was fabulous ,  The farms around Bakersfield and on to the Pacific ocean--Jeez--what a trip!!  I have flown this route 200 times on commercial airlines plus a dozen times in our own Cutlass but in a Speedster on the Route forged by Route 66---forgettaboutit!!!! 

From the east cost it can be 4 nights or from the Midwest maybe 3 nights, which is what it is for us. The motels are great and inexpensive and the resaurants, some of which are historic, makes for a once in a lifetime adventure.  We were in Tahiti last February---yes,a great trip that very few folks can expierience because of the 15 hour flight and expense.  It was super but the last West Coast Speedster trip was so much better. 

It would be fabulous if we could get a caravan together for early June '13. The West Coast folks are wonderful and their hospitality is sensational. I hope we can get a few hardy, adventurous souls to join us for this trip. We can start a thread soon to promote it but who would consider such an adventure in early June of 2013?  

Jack, I live near San Francisco and have looked forward to taking a solo trip eastward for a long time. Any chance I might join your group on your return trip back east...after your next trip to Pismo---hopefully in 2013?

Barry

Jack is suffering from some sort of speedster induced dementia that's a giant step beyond madness...but...what an exciting, thrilling idea!!

This goes to the top of the 'Bucket List'

There's a few pics of old route 66 in this album if someone needs to see them.

http://s1224.photobucket.com/a...ed1/#!cpZZ1QQtppZZ32

Barry---absolutely you'd be welcome!   We found that the trip back East is just as much fun as the trip out.

Jack, I must have been "out of the loop" on this one. I checked out SOC EVENTS and couldn't find anything except something about the "West Coast Meet," which might have been merely a local event for us west-coasters. At any rate, I missed it, but that's nothing unusual for me.

Will you be posting next year's plans for the "West Coast Meet" (or whatever it's called) by that time so I can plan for it? And....was this the AKA for the Pismo gig? My wife has no interest in taking a cross-country trip, but she loves the local stuff.

One last question: what's the eastward destination? Pennsylvania?

I don't thionk next year's West Coast event has started planning--they jus held the recent one in June.  I won't be posting anything about it ---someone on the West Coast will be doing so.

Jack

Oh Goofy one....

To be totally honest, I was pretty bummed this last June at Pismo with the showing from the North,

I remember when Jack, & Jim came all the way from the East coast to join the group.

I have to remember that this event is not as important to some as it is to others, and of course $hit happens, so I'm over it now...But The Northerner's have trouble just getting cars for their Tour of the whores....I love seeing Terry, Dale, Theron etc, & the last thing I want to do is separate the North from the south.... I Personally look forward to this event all year and although the SoCal gang cruise together during the year a bunch of times, the yearly meet is a chance for all to join in....

It looks like next year is going to most likely be Solvang although San Luis Obisbo is still in the running...I will take a vote soon, so that we can firm up the plans...but most of the responders are from the south so you can imagine where the votes will go....

we will see what happens....

Popping out a race is not a big deal all you need is a hammer and a punch  and to reinstall.. Use the old race to drive the new one in. Ive done it many times on other Vws when rebuilding suspencions

Don't give me crap Vince, I even came the year I had pneumonia.  I have a big event I must oversee next year, I won't know until January 2nd if it conflicts with a get-together for SOC. If it doesn't, I'm there!

-=theron

Vince, it is my bad luck that I have to live in the "sticks," away from all the SoCal action. BTW, IIRC we shook hands (maybe we didn't because IIRC you had a drink in both hands) at the 2005 anniversary of JD's death at the Jack Ranch cafe outside of Paso Robles. You had a cream-colored car with white sidewalls (?) and had a beautiful woman hanging on your arm. I showed up ("slinked" is a better word) in our Prius. I mean, who would show up in a Prius for such an event? Not too hip, but I got to check out the rods as well as the great Speedsters and a couple of Spyders. Great fun, good beer and more laughs than I could handle. Please put me on the list for Solvang, SLO, etc.

Barry

barry---I live in Hot Springs, Arkansas.  We are 45 miles south of Little Rock, Ar and I-40 passes right through Little Rock, so that's where we leave I-40 and head for home. 

Where in PA would you be heading?

Jack, for some reason I thought you would be from the east coast, what with Carlisle in the SOC news lately. I would probably tag along until it either rained or if I got too much sun (no top on the car) and started to hallucinate.

I joined the Air Force in 1955, spending nine months in electronics school in Mississippi, followed by another three years in Amarillo, Texas. People in the South were far more cordial and hospitable than many Californians, probably because we are getting packed in like sardines out here. I have been seeing several TV shows that took place in the South. Everyone seems to be driving pickup trucks, and I had really been kind of reticent to drive a Spyder for fear that someone would pick a fight with me for driving a sports car instead of a PU truck. Maybe I should stop watching so much TV.

I was teased as being a "damnyankee" when in the service, but we always called you guys "rebels," so it kind of evened out. It was all in fun then. I told my friends from the south that I wasn't a "yankee" because I was from California. No matter. They said that anyone not from the south was a "yankee." End of argument.

Sadly, there were no sports cars in Amarillo. The only ones I saw were in Road & Track, and I followed the (mostly) european races faithfully.The only sports car in Biloxi at Keesler AFB was a beautiful Jag XK150 that one of the students owned (I was in AF electronics school there for nine months). I never met the owner, but we all thought he must have been from a wealthy family. 

My wife and I took the motor home to New Orleans in 2009 and passed through Vicksburg, Mississippi on the way back. Stupidly, I missed any of the old places that played "blues.." Morgan Freeman owns a blues club in Jackson, Miss., IIRC, but we didn't know that at the time. We did pass through a bit of Arkansas on the way home, mostly via the back roads. It was the first time I had never seen cotton fields.

Wikipedia: Irregardless is an informal term commonly used in place of regardless or irrespective, which has caused controversy since the early twentieth century, though the word appeared in print as early as 1795. →

Barry, my wife is a great sport about all my car shananigans, but I still catch flack about the

50th Anniversary run for James Dean...She thought it was a morbid event to say the least...

I say we do it again for the 60th....

come to think about it, We seldom mention the women in our lives on this forum, but i'm thinking most of them are pretty good sports for letting us be the kids we truly are, and also for joining in on the runs, especially here in SoCal where we run often and fast, when you think about it, these little tubs are just slightly safer than a Harley...Matter of fact, I bought my first tub 8 years ago so that

my wife could sit beside me rather than behind me...

Theron...I don't mean to pi$$ off the "administrator" or anyone else in the north, Im just stating

fact, we have over a dozen tubs easily that come from the south, and drive over 350 miles to accomodate the north, a few drive shorter distances, a few drive more, but the reality is that

for the last 6 years we have done this, and every year the showing from the North has been

less and less.....

Warren White will drive 150-200 miles just to join the SoCal run for a day, Larry Bull, does the same.

I was planning to join the Tour d Hoe up north last year but something came up at the last minute

and I had to pull out, but Jimbo made it....A few of us made the trip to Carlisle for the East run.

So don't think you are being singled out here, some are more dedicated than others, and we need

to accomodate the masses.....

We all appreciate what you have done to bring us all together, (except for this new site of course)

but whats fair is fair....you created a monster...

thanks by the way....the entertainment value is priceless....