christopher bogart wrote:what do i need to do the neon rear disc brake setup on a 1997 jbody car
Joshua Dearman (Neon GP Thread) wrote:
Also guys just a little clarification, the dust shields are being sent un-modified as every installation is different. Some may not need to be modified and I know if I could have shields on my installation I'd rather than not have them, so thats why I did that. The reason being is that these brackets are cast and each different from the next so some brackets require more facing to get a flat hub mating surface as to not introduce unwanted toe or chamber. The more material removed to get a flat surface puts the rotor that much closer to the dust guard which will them require that much more spacing and or added clearance to be made on the lip of the dust guard.
Although there is a maximum of possible clearance that can be made by cutting down the guard.(this will make ALOT more sense one you get to installing your setup so dont worry if you scratching your head) The likely need of putting spacer shims behind the rotor will be more likely than not. However with a mildly faced bracket once you put a shim on the rotor which you may have to do anyway, the need to cut the dust guard has the possibility to no longer exist.
So, to boil this down, I suggest going to autozone or kragen which now started carrying special well made wheel spacers which work great is spacing the rotor.
There effectively high tolerance washers which I've found to be within 0.0001" on average of each other, alot better tolerances than you will find with standard bolt washers.
I'd go pick up 20 total pieces which gives you practical maximum of 2 per wheel stud, anymore than that and you're more brave than I am.
First thing I do is attach the dust guard to the bracket with the 8 small screws and throw it on the car(once the axle has been ground to clear the bracket of course), put the hub on and put one washer on each stud and throw the rotor on and tighten all the lugs....turn the rotor by hand and listen and visually inspect for any rotor to dust guard rubbing, if very light rubbing is present and the interest of keeping the guards is in the installers interest throw a second washer on the studs and repeat.
If this eliminates the rubbing no modification to the guard is required. If rubbing is still present (in my case) take the assembly apart and modify the dust guard. You can find a picture of this modification in the swap sticky.
The best/fastest/easiest way to modify the guard is use the same grinder you used for grinding down the axle, which is already part of the minimum required hand tools for the swap, and put on a 1/16" thick abrasive disk on and make slicing stabs through the material just on the outside of the cutting line of interest which happens to line up with the highest point on one of the ridges(makes it easy to identify and easy to make it clean and do it properly).
(you will know what im talking about once you check out the pics of the modified brakcet in the sticky and have the guards in your hands)
Then once you completely stab cut the outer part of the bracket off just go and smooth up the edge and bring the high spots down to the line of interest.
This taken about 5-10minutes per bracket.
So its up to you, you can modify the brackets first as a preemptive measure or just assemble and assess the need.
Anyway, there are further creative ways to mitigate the rubbing issue such as heat and tap to lower the lip of the guard, cold bending, ect..ect..
Another technique I often thought about but never tried was to grind down the casting line present on the outer most ridge of the ebrake friction surface, looks like an easy 0.060" to be had there as well if not more. The reason I never did this was because, for me, the goal was eliminate ALL situations where over the counter parts cant just be thrown right on the car without modification first.....something to think about....and to each his own.
If the goal is to get the kit on the car in one shot, one day, go get good wheel spacer washers and cut the guards right off the bat...been there done that...it works every time.
Since I'm not sure of everybody's goals thats why I shipped them as I did......on that note, these are junk yard parts and junk yards are basically commercial recycling centers in massive bulk metal and they often treat the vehicles as such and just throw them on the ground without much give-a-$hit. This causes some guards to be bent as they are the lowest point of the rear brakes by about 0.75" past the rotor. (Another reason why I WILL NEVER sell junk yard rotors...ever. No idea what has happened to those bastards.)
This GP I was very fortunate and found lots of good quality guards and was very pleased as I'm sure most of you will be with the condition of your guards....anyway, that hopefully explains any issues that might arise from that. Just bend them back....or cut them down....once you cut them you'll notice ALL of the effected area that has been bent will be cut off since the real material of interest is well behind the rotors.
Also, you will find the guards to have loose paint....this is because I hot tanked them(and the brackets) to remove the years of junk and grime, along with that comes some additional work to remove the paint but just throw some nice tough remover of any kind to complete the job and bam....nice shinny new guards. You'll find the parts I ship out to have little to no road residue of any kind which makes the swap that much easier and cleaner as I hate working with new rotors and pads with grease all over the place and I'm sure you don't like it either. Be sure to paint all surfaces as to eliminate rust(or remove rust that is currently present as the machined surfaces likely already do have light surface rust already starting)....hit em with a drill and a wire wheel...good to go.
If any of you are confused about any parts of this, please read it again, if you're still confused please ask for clarification as you are likely not the only one with the confusion at that point.....There are no stupid questions just stupid people who proceed with this swap without clear concise knowledge of whats involved and inevitably screw something up. Trust me...I've been there and done that as well. (The only people who should take offense at this statement are people who NEED TO ASK QUESTIONS)