Beakdown yesterday at Sutton Scotney

Well its me yet again breaking down, Pulled into services yesterday as the bus was not pulling properly, on inspection the rear left wheel was covered in brake dust so thought they were binding, was left to cool off, tried to start remainder of Journey,,,,no gears, we did smell burning prior to stopping so assumed maybe clutch,,,going back to what happended on my breakdown in Belgium, (spun rear left hub ) put bus in gear , removed wheel cap,  and hey ho No drive to the rear wheel hub, axle is going round, now this again, have not taken the wheel off yet but there must be something more sinister lurking as this is the second time in a month even after replacing the Hub, brake shoes, castle nut,,did recently change the CV BOOT, BEARINGS were ok so were cleaned and replaced, Well at least its not engine out as i 1st thought so will check it all out tomorrow,,oh don`t you just love owning a bus eh  

Oh by the way if anyone has thought or ideas as to what can be causing this then feel free to fire away, any info appreciated.

Ron

Soz to hear Ron maybe we should of stayed with you after all, how did you get back  
 
I would have definitely said bound on brake shoes from all that brake dust, get the wheel and drum off first and things will be a little easier to diagnose hopefully.

Sorry to hear about that thought it might have been a sticky wheel cylinder keeping the brakes on but if its a spun hub again then its probably the axle shaft splines  are worn as well to wear the hub out so fast.

Wel got wheel off and Hub today, no splines left on the Hub, managed to get the castle nut off by hand as did not have a 36mm socket, anyway now off the road, how do i measure if the splines are worn on the axle ? how big a job is it to change the axle ?





 



Ron

Just had a reply from Pascal which i asume is the guy in BBT VW, He said the only reason for this to happen that he has ever heard of is that the nut was not torqued up enough, to that end i now need to source a beetle 1300 5x130 hub, 46mm castle nut and split pin, have trolled several site but as i have no part number on the inside of the existing drum i am not sure where best to source > help appreciated.

Ron

Parts soursced from Cool air, should have them by Thursday, Christian mentioned a spacer on the axle as i maybe running out of splines, will appear tight but when driven will come loose, anyone know of this spacer ?

Ron

Will need some Brute force and a 46mm socket and massive breaker bar.

I have got breaker bar and 42mm socket, are you sure its 42mm and beetle are usuall 36mm I have spacers on my rear axle (straight axle) is that what yours is maybe they are missing ?

Your splines might be alright if you are just missing the spacers could see the hub moving off the splined area without them if its like mine that in affect keeps them on the splines.

This is what I have Ron

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vw-Beetle-Split-screen-rear-brake-conversion-kit-New-/171096059218?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item27d61ead52

Daz

IRS Daz and i have the castle nut in my hand and it measures 46mm on the smooth back side and 40mm on the castle side, could not see a spacer and now on ssvc facebook i am getting,,bearing,,running out of splines,worn splines on axle, castle not not tight enough,change axle,,,ah well,,fun eh, will see how things pan out when parts arrive

would there/ should there be a spacer on IRS / Got to be Early bay IRS With Beetle 1300 drums 5x130,,,I think ?

Ron

Think Daz might have something there. In order to wear away like that you need play in the set up to start it wearing. I was thinking that the castle nut may not tighten up as much as it should and the nut may be tightened but there is still play in the hub. So a spacer may do the trick .Presume Carl as a similar setup as he has IRS. Is there any difference in the width of 4 stud & 5 stud beetle drums that might cause the difference. Hopefully the axle splines havn't worn bad enough to warrant replacement . Only other thing I can think of is if the wheel bearings have gone which makes the axle move around and wear the hub out that way. If you need a hand or some extra tools then give us a call. If its 1303 irs then its a 36mm nut. If its early bay didn't think beetle drums would fit as the axle is thicker so not sure what you have.
cheers owen

Spoke to Simon Buckland ( Butty ) and he said that my issue is with the brakes causing the drum to heat up and expand, he says its more than likely the issue,,,SO TODAY, i have fitted a new Hub and tried to adjust the rear brake however i am having great difficulty as they appear to bind no matter what adjustments i make, i have torqued up the castle nut but not put the split pin in yet incase it has to be all taken off again, can someone advise on the best way to adjust the brakes as the bible is not helping, is it worth buying a new brake cylinder also ? there is no leaking at all and all the bearings are tight, spacers not required for my set up as they are all encased behind the bearing plate.
Also i had to borrow a 36mm socket and Breaker bar, if anyone has these for sale let me know as i have got watches on ebay for them.

Ron

getting there, at least it drives now, did start removal of the engine and stopped phew, clutch is good.

Would have thought it would have to have got very hot for a long time to have any effect  myself,
With new shoes and new drums they shouldn't be rubbing that much and I think you had a new fiting kit in Germany so the springs should be releasing the shoes off the drum okay . You might have a sticking wheel cylinder, which is what I had at solstice services afew months ago that caused my brakes to overheat,. ended up replacing cylinder pipe and flexi due to corroded fittings though
I usually adjust the brakes up loosely at first then apply the brakes afew times to locate the shoes and then tighten the adjusters up so the wheel is difficult to turn, then back off the adjusters a couple of clicks and that usually does it quick run round the block and then check them again is what I usually do

Strange though Ron to happen twice, a bit of coincidence as Owen said maybe a sticky cylinder.

Breaker bar bought mine from halfrauds as with the 36mm socket which is just a ball joint socket.

Adjusting the drums . . . way I do it is adjust the stars equally on both sides until the hub doesnt move, then stamp on the pedal a couple of times and back them off a notch should do you.

Tried that Daz with the wheel fitted, should it be done with the wheel removed / Thought i had it all sorted today and then as soon as i turn the wheel the brake shoes start rubbing again, bit confused as the shoes on the rear drum are for both driving footbrake and the handbrake, maybe i am being thick ?

Learning as i go eh, will be having my Og fuch checked tomorrow to see if it is buckled too much which maybe a factor ? the hub appears to ware inside at the bearing end 1st causing wear to the inner hub and splines then get the wobble and the hub splines disintegrate, twice is odd though ?

Ron is in confused.com

Still a happy bunny, this will be beaten. Do think i need to proof read my posts, not as if i do 100 words a minute ha ha

I do the brake adjustment with the wheels on. If the hand brake is tight ie doesn't take much effort to put it on you could try slackening off the cable to see if that improves matters and or go for a short run to see if it sorts itself out. Personally it sounds like some sort of alignment problem but not sure how you check or fix that? .

Hi All

Would appreciate some help with adjusting my rear left brake, after changing the drum etc the shoes appear to be binding which maybe the cause of the overheating of the hub and trashing the splines, i have also changed the wheel and fitted a repro style one, looks odd but need to get this all sorted, anyway, i also really need confirmation that i have torqued the hub nut up correctly, i think i have it near where it should be, this is all to put my mind at rest as we are travelling down to Devon next weekend, if anyone can help i can come to them, should only take a wee while to someone who knows about brakes,,,i have fiddled and fiddled but no expert.

Thanks In advance.

Ron

will be going over to Carl and Helens tomorrow ( Sunday ) for the day to help with engine out etc.

i'm in all day or can see you tomorrow at carls or can come over to you happy either way.
cheers
owen

Thanks Owen,,just got back home from doing other bits and Bobs, think the weather is against it today but many thanks,

Ron