1ST Gen Camaro - Spindle, Hub and Bearing stength, Will they fail

[-DA]

If anyone is interested in learning about Non-Destructive Testing and Evaluation here is a link:

http://www.ndt-ed.org/EducationResou...itycollege.htm

It's got excellent, in depth info on the major NDE methods from the physics behind it to practiced methods and techniques.



-DA

[onseytote]

The "ring" test will work in some applications, ...

What is a 'ring test' ?

[Sleeper68]

What is a 'ring test' ?

Hit the part lightly with a hammer when suspended on string/wire etc. If the part "rings" brightly and loudly, it is a good indication there are no cracks. If the audible sound is dull, it islikely there are cracks in the part. This is a common test to perform on crankshafts. It is not the most scientific but it is better than nothing.

[Sleeper68]

To resurrect this thread from the dead...will they fail? Absolutely. I just had two failures last weekend. Check out the pictures

Basically is was a pair of stress cracks top and bottom that propogated toward the center. The last 3/8" thick horizontal segment of the snout snapped clean. Probably took two seasons from the start of the cracking. That was a coleman snout on a fabricated coleman tall spindle.

I think a lot of people think that parts failures are static events when in reality the part is slowly tearing over time until the final boom. Being proactive and checking out parts, even just visually, can really help.

This is exactly how my driver side spindle failed...and how my passenger spindle would have ultimately failed. A crack formed, then propagated over time. Eventually a second crack formed on the other side of the shaft and both cracks propagated towards the center until a fast fracture occurred when the spindle was heavily loaded while autocrossing. I had a lower control arm fail in a similar way as well. All are fatigue failures. Spindles are very heavily loaded components so I urge all to check their spindles regularly. I checked mine this past October but either missed the cracks or they weren't there then. Scary stuff. I am very fortunate for these failures to have occurred in a controlled environment and resulted in no harm to anyone.

It appears the upper crack on the failed spindle was there for awhile (hence the discolored beach marks). The lower crack must have formed later, but since the area is well greased, it could have been there for awhile before corroding. Interestingly, the passenger spindle also had a crack, but has not failed yet. This crack is pictured and is on the bottom of the spindle shaft. To be clear, I did not Magnaflux or MPI the spindles in October, I merely performed a visual inspection. Both cracks formed in the fillet where the 0.750" OD shaft blends with the tapered region of the spindle shaft.

[stab6902]

To resurrect this thread from the dead...will they fail? Absolutely. I just had two failures last weekend. Check out the pictures

Great information, thank you for sharing. I'm assuming these are factory GM parts, not reproductions? Might also be helpful to add tire info and roughly how much abuse they took before breaking (i.e. 5 years of 10 autocrosses a year or whatever) for context.

[Sleeper68]

Great information, thank you for sharing. I'm assuming these are factory GM parts, not reproductions? Might also be helpful to add tire info and roughly how much abuse they took before breaking (i.e. 5 years of 10 autocrosses a year or whatever) for context.

These are reproductions, purchased from SSBC in 2011. The spindles have about 25k miles on them. Autocrossed for the last 7 years w/ average of 8-10 events per year. 2015-2019 on 200tw 245/45R17 tires of various brands. 2020-present on 275/35R18 200 tw tires. Plenty of mountain runs throughout the years as well.

It is my suspicion that the spindles cracked late last year sometime, but I have no way of knowing for sure.

I actually designed a spindle to replace the GM short spindle in the summer of 2020 which uses a Coleman "Grand National" spindle pin. Spindle shaft diameters are 1.625" inner and 1.000" outer. I have yet to finish the project but this failure is certainly going to expedite the project.

[stab6902]

These are reproductions, purchased from SSBC in 2011.

Thank you again for the information! I wonder if there is an appreciable difference in strength between those and the OEM spindles. Probably a toss up, especially when there's no way of knowing what kind of abuse 50+ year old parts have seen or how good/consistent the repros are.