wheel bearings and brake discs

[dutch-van-driver]

Hi All,

I'm the owner of a 700L van. I'm trying to prepare it for the MOT and just finisched repairing the head-gasket (damaged during previous MOT).

Now I'm trying to change the wheel bearings (and clean the disc brakes). The problem is that i can't get the disc off. I removed the wheel, removed the brakes and removed the 4 bolts in the disc itself. How should I proceed to get the disc off (do I have to remov another bolt or something like that?). Or is it just trying to hit it with a hammer to remove the disc? :confused:

I hope the wheel bearing can be next then. I can get some help from coleages at work on that one but I have to remove most of it so it can be placed in a press.

Thanks for any help.

Marc

[Jack]

Not sure if vans are different but my car has two screws holding the disk on. I recently changed my disks for new and noted that one of the disks was stuck solid with rust! It took me ages to get it off. See the thread "brake disk stuck on" on this forum for details of how it was done (hammer blows mainly).

Whilst rear bearings are a piece of cake to change (I can now do one in about 40 minutes flat, which isn't bad for an amataur) I understand that fronts need the press, but it sounds like you've got that covered. Just make sure you've got the right wheel (see wheel bearing thread - also on this forum).

Good luck!

[Alan the Vanner]

Firstly, from one van fan to another, welcome to the Forum.Not sure if vans are different but my car has two screws holding the disk on.
Yep, they are different. As mentioned, held on in this respect by four bolts, and I guess the only way to remove them in this instance is by brute force and ignorance!
By the by, how does the "MOT" work out in the Netherlands? Is it any easier than in the UK?

[dutch-van-driver]

Hi,

I managed to remove the end with the wheel bearing and disc brake (I'm not that familiair with the english terms for it and come to speak of it also not of the dutch term since i'm not a mechanic) and I am going to take them with me to work to get the bearings out... (And maybe look at the discs and see how to clean them). The repair department is realy helpfull with helping me to get the car running again.


By the by, how does the "MOT" work out in the Netherlands? Is it any easier than in the UK?

I guess the MOT is almost the same as the APK in holland. The APK in holland is done by the garages themself and aren't that objective. At least that is the outcome of a recent test of the ANWB (Automobilists organisation ?).

BTW: I just found a realy bad spot of rust :horror: near the passangers door (drvers door in holland). It looks like I overlooked this when I started to restore the car. I already spend a (reasenable) amount of money to repair the engine (distribution belt, gaskets and so on) so I have to get the car running. I hope my girlfriend understands. I allready can imagine her reaction ( :rage: ) which is almost identical to what I felt when I saw the spot.

I just have to calculate that this is still cheaper then to get an other car. But I have to hope that this is still true.

Marc

[dutch-van-driver]

Well.....

the discs are of. The bearings are removed (to be replaced somewhere this week or next). The hydrolic press reached 200 bar before it "broke" loos.

Now I'm planning to replace the discs while I'm at it and the brake pads as well. It's a matter of waiting for parts and funds :laugh: .

I'm very disapointed in the design of the front suspension (allthough I should have been expecting it).

Marc

PS: Will keep you all posted.

[dutch-van-driver]

Hi all,

Just finished refitting the front wheels and wanted to check te rear wheel brakes. The left break was OK and came off almost without haslle.
The right rear brake was an other story. This one was stuck (I mean realy stuck because after trying to drive to get it a bit loose the rear wheel wasn't realy turning :rage: . After some brute force and ignorance :) I was able to get it off. A small piece of the outer rim broke off and the cylinder was leaking. :censored:

I am going to try to find a brake (trommel) on the scrapyard this tuesday. I'm hoping to find a good repair shop for the rust this month.

Marc

[Alan the Vanner]

Nice to read that you are making good, steady progress. :)

[E_T_V]

Just be aware that the rear drums are different on 500 and 700 vans. The 700 van has a PCD (distance between diagonal stud centres) of 4.5 inches. The 500 van's have a PCD of 100mm. The brake cylinders should be readily available.

[dutch-van-driver]

Hi all,

I had te refit the slichtly damaged brake drum. We went to a scrapyard that had 1 Meastro van (500L) but that had one brake drum that was the same as mine and the other (actualy both) where solid stuck. We just tried it a little but since the springs where missing it wasn't doable at all. We went home with some cosmetic stuff only so it wasn't a total mis.
Back home we started to fit a completely new brake cylinder. Only taking the air out the hydrolic braking system wasn't that easy. I bent the brake pedle :rage: :banghead: during the process and maybe need te replace it.

I'm going to bring the car to the welder (someone who is also a classics restaurator) next week. See if he can repair the hole in the (still looking for this english word for kokerbalk) :confused: .

The car is running, driving and braking at last. :) :) :)

I just hope that it will pass the MOT after the welding job. Could be that I missed to check up on something.

Marc