Not really routine but... I replaced the discs and pads both sides and the hub carrier and track rod end on the near side yesterday. Discs and pads have been covered elsewhere so I'll not bore you all with that but I thought I'd share my hub carrier adventures...


Getting the thing off wasn't a problem; undo the two top bolts and knock out with a drift, then crack the balljoint with suitable splitter... Getting it back on was harder than it looked. I tried a number of ways and the most successful solution seemed to be to fit the balljoint into the socket and nip up then bully a bolt into the bottom mounting holes and knock it through. By this time the hub carrier was skewed over and the top holes didn't line up. I put the old hub nut back on to the axle (with the car securely on stands) and jacked the hub upwards until the holes lined up... Big hammer helps too!


Wheels on!! Rusty door...

I've just got to sort the tracking out and kill the hamster that hides in the air box and then I'll be able to get started on Agnes...

Cheers, Luke.

Hey......wheels look good.....a whole new look for sparky...makes such a diff. Good tech post for the hub carrier...

kev

Cheers Kev, I'm gonna try and get the tracking sorted today...

That bolt came in very handy; it's about 6mm longer that the ones I have so worked a treat holding the spacer shown on.

So long as everything is ok with the car I'll do some cosmetic stuff today.

Cheers, Luke.

Luke P said:

...Getting it back on was harder than it looked....

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Yeah I found that too when I replaced them on mine...

It worked easyer though... Just put the bottom bolt first and then pulling the pillar outwards from the bottom and the same time pushing the top bolt in. Some lubricating spray and a litle sand paper to get some corrosion off of the bolts also helped.

Looking good Luke

Need some centre caps for those wheels???

kev

Your wheels look ace, Luke

purple haze said:

Need some centre caps for those wheels???

kev

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Funny you should say that, I've got my eye on some Abarth yellow and red ones with the original logo on Italian ebay . I've been trying to explain to my dad who is an oldschool Fiat fan (new mk1 panda in '82, 2 original 500's, a 127, Uno 45, Uno 70SX, Bravo HLX) that Abarth is a mindset these days, especially for us: Fast, loose, slightly sketchy and with a f**king big grin plastered across our faces!!

I love it!!

On a slightly sour note a big chunk of my boot frame by the catch came away in my hand earlier Might be a welding job... Good thing the old man's got a TIG set... I'll post the pics when I get round to doing it.

Cheers, Luke.

Ricambio on ebay has Abarth ones...i'm getting some yellow ones off him as he lives not far from me. Don't forget they come in diff size's.

kev

If you can get the bottom bolt in you can use a G-clamp (one handed trigger style ones are ideal) to force the hub carrier and strut to line up.

nitro_warrior said:

If you can get the bottom bolt in you can use a G-clamp (one handed trigger style ones are ideal) to force the hub carrier and strut to line up.

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I tried that first , got seriously annoyed with the g-clamp popping off though so I rolled myself a smoke and walked around for a bit thinking of a better way round it and then the old man chimes in with the jack solution... It works a treat... very controllable pressure; just don't drop a Panda on your foot

Cheers, Luke.