in this video we will be discussing the installation
of disc brake drop spindles made by EMPI this is a 1969
vw beetle we will be converting it to the five by 205
lug pattern using this kit
ok let's get this wheel off
now we get to the fun part
i have loosened the nuts already this case nineteen millimeters on the ball joints
seventeen millimeter on the tire rod end typically this would be a castle nut
it appears this tire rod end has already been replaced
the castle nut been replaced with the locking nut
tire rod ends and ball joints can be kind of stubborn at times to get them to come out
of their seats these ball joints have been in these cars
a lot of years oftentimes you can get lucky
with just striking the spindle
and they will come loose if they don't
well then you may have to invest in a pickle fork
the trick is take the pickle fork strike it on the end they will come loose
the disadvantage this method is the pickle fork can tear the boot
next to me to remove the brake line
you'll need to start here loosen the break line here first
then at the backing plate break these loose
want to have something on the floor as you will get some brake fluid
dripping from there
this break may not have been working at all as i don't see
any brake fluid coming out
oh theres a little bit
from there with this loose we've got the lower ball joint
loose this is the eccentric cam this is what they will be using
in order to preform the alignment this does adjust the
camber of the wheel
pull the weight up off of it
now if you do you still have a stubborn ball joint
this is where the pickle fork or even a good pry bar will come in
and we're ready for the new parts
here we'll put on new spindle
the pry bar come in handy here
don't forget your original washers
when tightening down the ball joint nuts the lower one can
be a bit finicky the trick to that is to apply pressure to it with a floor jack
if you jack that ball joint up into the spindle tight
it can't really spin
that makes it a lot easier to tighten it down
if the eccentric camp starts to spin
a set of channel locks can assist you in that
keep in mind you will need to get
the vehicle aligned afterwards
it's important to know when you go to install your drop spindles
in May of 1968 volkswagen introduced a larger tie rod end
a little stronger in design little harder to bend
however when you go to put in your new drop spindles all
of the new spindles have the larger later 1969 style
tire rod end so you go to put on your brand new drop spindles
and your tire rod end doesn't fit because it's too small good to know
you have the early ones when a situation is encountered
there earlier tire rod end will have to be replaced
with a 69 and later tire rod end so that ill will fit the spindle
if the ball starts to spin inside of the tire rod end that will make it very difficult to get the nut tight
the new replacement tie rod ends have an allen key slot
to assist you to keep that from spinning during tightning
when installing the bearing races into the rotors
manufacture strongly recommends the use of a press
the press helps ensure that the race will be installed straight
in the rotor and greatly reduces breakage of the rotor
keep in mind the manufacture offers no warranty whatsoever
against broken rotors and they say the use of a press
greatly helps reduce the possibility breaking one
it's imperative to remember that as you're installing the race
if it does start going in cooked stop the procedure
pull the rotor out turn it over bang the race out with a screwdriver or kind of a pry tool
you can use to make that work and do start process over
if you proceed you will break the rotor and you'll have to buy another one
that race is properly installed
turn the rotor over a repeat the process on the opposite side
when packing the wheel bearings pretty simple procedure
we're gonna take enough grease put a ball of grease in your palm
you're gonna take the bearing firm and simply start scraping
the grease off of your palm to get that nice and packed
as you're packing the bearings should start to see the grease start coming through needles on the other side
you want to repeat that with both the inner and outer bearings
there is now ready to install
once the wheel bearing is nice and packed
place the bearing into the race
grease seal
this is a good opportunity to use one of the larger
bearing race installers gently tap into place
we're ready to put the rotor on to the car a few important steps
to be taken prior to installing you want to put some grease
into the rotor
this will ensure good lubrication for the bearings throughout her life
secondly very important
to use a brake cleaner some sort to clean the cosmoline
away for the rotor these are packed in cosmoline which is a rust inhibitor
and it keeps the rotor from rusting
during transit transport on its way to your car
if you do not clean this cosmoline off
it will cake up on the brake pads you will get brakes squeal
brake vibration ultimately it will
warp the rotors and again you're buying new rotors
make sure the rotors nice and clean prior to install
lets go ahead and throw the rotor on
make sure you get the brake rotor nice and clean
very important to get the cosmoline off
one question we get a lot is about brake calipers how do the brake pads
sit in these when properly installed
little different than a normal car and if you haven't seen a done it can be a little alarming
the pads simply sit like so
keeping the springs flat
that's how they will sit when installed on a vehicle
when installing the brake calipers these torque to 29 foot pounds
after you've got the caliber tight to the bracket you wanna check your spaceing
here to make certain that the calipers center compare to the rotor
there are instances due to machining tolerances
where the caliber could be a little off-centered manufacture does offer shims
included in the kit these are used to space the caliber
left or right depending upon what is needed based on these gaps
in this instance nothing was needed this caliber fit perfectly right out of the box
included in this kit are longer brake lines as the brake line positioning in the caliber
is further away than what the standard wheel cylinder would have been we'll install these
we'll be using aftermarket wheels on this vehicle so
wheel studs will be necessary
little Loctite on the wheel stud
we're ready for our wheel