rotor not lining up

[Ishmael]

It takes me forever to get anything done on my car. One reason is that when I actually do find time to work on it in nice weather I can't just take steps forward. I know its the case with everyone but just once I want something to bolt on without a problem. My front rotors aren't centered in my calipers. They are too far inboard. Should I take some material off the abutment mounting pads? Or does it matter if they aren't centered? I'm just at the test fit stage.
Thanks

[MrQuick]

need more info:
brake kit?
hub used?
abutment used?
adapter bracket?

[Ishmael]

Its a c5 caliper over c4 rotor on the stock firebird hubs using touring classics bracket.

[Ron.in.SoCal]

The rotor needs to be centered in the middle of the caliper. Using a measuring device gets it perfect. So either there's a problem with the abutment bracket or you need to shim it. Pics would help...

Keep at it Bro!

[Apogee]

Scott, how "not centered" is it?

It's possible that you just have funky spindles or that the shoulder on the spindle where the inner wheel bearing(s) seat is worn, locating the hub and rotor further inboard than "stock". Is this ocurring on one side or both?

In any event, you want the rotor centered as close as possible with the TC Hybrid kit since the C4 HD rotor is already 4mm narrower at 28mm than what the C5/C6 calipers were designed for, 32mm. FWIW, PBR suggests centered +/-.5mm [.02"] for the OEM's which is a bit arbitrary IMO since double that works just fine in most applications. With the TC Hybrid kit though, I would do whatever was needed to hit the PBR tolerance.

Tobin
KORE3

[Ishmael]

Its about 1/4 on the inboard side and 3/8 on the other. if someone would tell me how to post a photo I would put some in.

[LSx_88_Ciera]

Click go advanced below the quick post window in the advanced window scroll down and click manage attachments.

[Ishmael]

Thanks. I don't know if the photos worked but The inboard pad won't push back any further and the rotor is about 1/8 off the pad or 1/4 off the caliper. Its about 3/8ths of the other side. The photos are a bit decieving.

[shep]

Don't some of the pontiac hubs set further back toward the spindle than the chevy's making a narrower track width? It looks like the abutment sholders could be milled off to gain the clearence you need not sure what that might do to the strength of the abutment though. Did you use any spacers between the spindle and the mounting bracket? There were also a couple of different spindles through the years some with a taller boss on the spindle than others

[Ishmael]

No spacers between the spindle and bracket. Perhaps the mounting surfaces on the spindle could be milled down. Could anyone with a camaro measure theirs for me? I thought about the abutment bracket as that would seem easier but I also wondered about the strength. Can anyone chime in on this?

[bijanmaleki]

Like said above, space the caliper out, of you have to get longer hardware and some good washers.

[Apogee]

Scott, I'd be very hesitant to start cutting down the spindle...not so much the upper mounting boss, but rather the lower steering arm mount. As for the abutment, we've had customers machine down the mounting pads up to 1/8" before for a variety of reasons without any issues, but the more threads you have there, the better.

I'd be more interested in figuring out why your installation appears to be different than the "typical" TC Hybrid kit installation. Running it as it looks now seems to be asking to eject that outer pad once it wears a little bit. Hopefully some others with the TC kit will chime in. Do you have any pictures of the installation process...spindle, bracket, hub, rotor, pab, etc? Maybe someone will see something that doesn't look right.

Tobin
KORE3

[Chad-1stGen]

There are two different types of Camaro spindles depending if the car care from the factory with disc or drum brakes. The difference is in the depth of the mounting points which appears to be your problem.

See discussion here:
http://www.pozziracing.com/brakes.ht..._brake_spindle

He has a crappy small pic of the spindles side by side but look at the mounting points.

It could be that you bought a drum spindle kit and are trying to use it on a disc spindle?

[Apogee]

There are two different types of Camaro spindles depending if the car care from the factory with disc or drum brakes. The difference is in the depth of the mounting points which appears to be your problem...

...It could be that you bought a drum spindle kit and are trying to use it on a disc spindle?

The difference between the disc and drum bosses is almost 5/8" with the disc boss being the shorter of the two, significantly more than what's shown in the pictures above IMHO. The steering arm mounting points are the same regardless of the A/F/X forged spindle being used.

Tobin
KORE3

[Ishmael]

Its a pontiac version of the f body spindle. the only difference that I knew of was that it used a smaller bolt in the boss. The boss sticks out 11/16ths. The hub is 3 1/2 deep.

[Ishmael]

Can't get the rest of the pics up. I've exceeded my quota.
The spindle looks normal - not a disc spindle.
The rotor is 5mm from the left and 11mm from the right.
I wonder if the hub is too short. Tobin, you told a guy at chevelles.com that the disc hub is 9/16ths shorter than the drum hub which is 6mm. If I had a disc hub on a drum spindle would it have caused this problem? I can't see it because if that were the case and I went with a theoretical drum hub it would put me 3 more mm than where I want to be.
The easiest solution here seems to be a 3mm spacer behind the rotor. Anyone know where I can get one - Tobin do you have them? Or should I be milling down the abuttment?

[gort69]

If you're using the Pontiac drum hub, that's probably your problem. They're different than the Camaro drum hub, and will locate the rotor diffently compared to the Camaro hub. If you have 1st gen Camaro drum hubs then nevermind.

I use the C5/C4 hybrid set-up, but with Speed Tech brackets and '68 Camaro drum hubs, and everything lines up perfectly.

[Ishmael]

How are the camaro and firebird drum hubs different? If the bird hubs are shorter can I get away with spacers?

[JRouche]

How are the camaro and firebird drum hubs different? If the bird hubs are shorter can I get away with spacers?

YES.. Shims or washers is the way to center the caliper. Dont remove material from the spindle or caliper mounts. You dont have a too tight fitment but more of a too loose fitment. Which is good.

I would use proper shims, not hardware washers. There is a diff. I would use machinery shims before washers. They have a smaller ID that will just clear the OD of the bolt and make for a fuller load surface. VS a washer that might have a smaller load surface.

But more importantly is the parallel surface of hardware type washers. They are NOT parallel. They are far from it, they are usually stamped and have a lip.. Get a ground washer, or shim to center the caliper.

Oh, and dont forget about the bolt. It may be too short after shimming. Make sure to replace the bolt with a quality piece if you have to. JR

FYI... You can get the rotor to spin centered within a blond hair with the proper shims. IMO.. Dont rely on the "centering" of the calipers pads to get you close. Get it spinning parallel and tight, and once you do you wont look back. JR

[cheapthrillz]

Try a cheap feeler gauge between the PAB and rotor. That's what I did and it works pretty well.