Build Thread 1978 Fairmont. I bet somebody back home’s thinkin’…I wonder why he don’t write..?

[MustangIIMatt]

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drivcat.com

Try the Moog hub assembly (part number at link above). I've installed dozens of those over the years, including on my GMC pickup when I had it and my mother's Taurus. For some reason they're the ONLY hub assemblies I haven't had problems with.

Moog can't make a damned tie rod end to save their lives, but they make one hell of a hub assembly. Timken used to be the , now they are .

 

[CarMichael Angelo]

It’s gonna be about 70 degrees here Sunday. Despite the fact that we will be in 3rd weekend in November, here in the South,...the drag strips are still open. ( at least they were last Sunday)

So, when considering whether or not to invest in some heavy duty upgrades, it only seems prudent that a “ reality check” gets put into the equation to offset what I think the car might be making for power. I mean, after all.....it has been almost 15 years since I last sat in anything that most could consider stupid fast.

5 teens in the 1/8...

Since then, I have no reference for fast..What I think is fast in reality may be just a tick north of slow by comparison.

So,...I have everything I need to check myself. If that track is open for a T&T this Sunday,...i’m thinking I drive it there, through the gates,..and put it on the track.
If this car runs a 6.50 in the 1/8,...it’s a 10 second 1/4 mile car. A 10 second 1/4 mile car breaks sht. I can justify upgrading the stuff in the rear if the car is that fast. A 10 second 1/4 mile car that weighs 3000 lbs makes 600 hp.
On the other hand,...if this is a 7.00 1/8 mile car...the 1/4 mile is more like 11.00 seconds..and that nowadays is nothing to worry about..If this car is a 7.00 1/8th mi. car, I may as well take it to church on Sunday instead.
But, since I don’t go to church, I’ll have to find some other innocent venue to take it to instead.....maybe the grocery store, or the laundromat.
For all of you fact checkers out there,..I believe that I’ve said over and over that the car would never see a drag strip..but a Dyno is too hard to come by in this city, and no where near as fun..so...Drag strip.

Sunday!, Sunday! Sunday!

 

[90sickfox]

I'm a member of 79-04 road race HPDE mustangs on FB. Guys there have been having issues with the MOOG bearings too. I know a bunch of old geesers here don't do FB...so I found an interweb link. For the last year or two the only way to get them to last on the track has been to the them apart when new and use good grease. This is a road race HPDE licensed racing group...cars are driven very hard and usually set up with wide wheels and legal racing mods. On a regular car they may last a year or two...but at the track apply last a few laps before going bad. People have been carrying spare hubs to change them out between races. Changing the grease has allowed people to run whole events or more without changing them. It's a shame how low part quality is nowadays. The lowest bidder gets the contract...and we suffer.

Things like this...

 

[Rdub6]

So I guess I should rethink using these in my 5-lug swap?

 

[CarMichael Angelo]

Are you using an SN95 style bearing and spindle? It's a notoriously poor double ball bearing design that fails easily. Chinese aftermarket bearings don't help much. Sorry you had to endure that much MAGA.

Kurt

Check out some autocross bearing greasing info for mustang foxes with sn95 brakes or cobras. That sealed bearing isn't as sealed as you may think. What one man has put together....another can take apart ( without damaging it ). The autocross folks say its due to cheap grease. All you need to do is correctly separate the bearing, clean the cheap grease out, and grease it up with a good synthetic high temperature bearing grease.

This discusses the process but the pics don't work.

How to regrease SN95 hubs. [Archive] - Texas American Iron & Camaro Mustang Challenge

http://1985mustanggt.com/Misc/SN95_Hub_Re-Grease_01.jpg Assembled Front Suspension http://1985mustanggt.com/Misc/SN95_Hub_Re-Grease_02.jpg Remove 36mm Axle Nut http://1985mustanggt.com/Misc/SN95_Hub_Re-Grease_03.jpg Turn Bearing over to access back side...

www.aicmctexas.com

DRiV | Quality Auto Parts

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drivcat.com

Try the Moog hub assembly (part number at link above). I've installed dozens of those over the years, including on my GMC pickup when I had it and my mother's Taurus. For some reason they're the ONLY hub assemblies I haven't had problems with.

Moog can't make a damned tie rod end to save their lives, but they make one hell of a hub assembly. Timken used to be the , now they are .

This sht don make no sense. ( especially that German FB sht) Surely, if replacement SN 95 hubs are SO bad that they fail in a matter of a couple of thousand miles, how come there is nothing out there between 2011 and now? Replacing the front brakes on these cars is a common mod, and there are still SN cars running around. You’d think if they were that prone to failure, there’d be a whole bunch of pissin and moaning in between then and now. Now i’m not disputing that...I have a very dead wheel bearing after what may be only a couple of thousand miles on the passenger side, and a very loose one on the other side.
I read that whole thread, ( unfortunately no pictures would work), and I now have a guinea pig set of old hubs to practice this on and just from reading the steps can pretty much figure out what I need to do.........but damn..

 

[90sickfox]

This sht don make no sense. ( especially that German FB sht) Surely, if replacement SN 95 hubs are SO bad that they fail in a matter of a couple of thousand miles, how come there is nothing out there between 2011 and now? Replacing the front brakes on these cars is a common mod, and there are still SN cars running around. You’d think if they were that prone to failure, there’d be a whole bunch of pissin and moaning in between then and now. Now i’m not disputing that...I have a very dead wheel bearing after what may be only a couple of thousand miles on the passenger side, and a very loose one on the other side.
I read that whole thread, ( unfortunately no pictures would work), and I now have a guinea pig set of old hubs to practice this on and just from reading the steps can pretty much figure out what I need to do.........but damn..

The info is in the FB site somewhere but I don't know how to find it. I admit it...I'm becoming an old geezer.

 

[90sickfox]

This is the tool that was made for this. They recommend recline grease...or mobile 1.

Got one of the kids at work to find it for me. Smh

 

[CarMichael Angelo]

This is the tool that was made for this. They recommend recline grease...or mobile 1.

Got one of the kids at work to find it for me. Smh

What are all of the triangular little ding dangs surrounding the ball bearings?

 

[67coupe]

First I’ve heard of design issues with the SN95 wheel bearings. Both my car and my dad’s have over 100,000 miles after the 5 lug conversion. Mine were new FRPP in 2006. Dad’s were junkyard units, still using the original hubs.

 

[CarMichael Angelo]

We’ll you gotta know that if the thing can be taken apart, and inspected, i’m gonna take it apart, and inspect it.

Came apart in about 10 minutes with nothing more than a big screwdriver, used to drive out the outside bearing, and then popping the balls out of the cage on the inside. There is nothing visibly wrong with this hub at all. It was still packed with green grease ( gone now because it was cleaned so i could see what the hell I was doing)
For that wheel to be as loose as it was, and the nut that held the hub on to be as tight as it was has me completely stumped here...a bearing doesn’t tolerate “ slop”..so I can’t necessarily blame sloppy clearances in the build...

The nut wasnt torqued to spec. From what I read, this nut needs to be something like 250 ft lbs..I didn’t have a torque wrench rated to that number 6 years ago ( but I do now) ..I just pulled it as tight as I could.

You don’t spose that the difference between tight, and fckin tight is gonna fix this do you?

 

[RaggedGT]

We’ll you gotta know that if the thing can be taken apart, and inspected, i’m gonna take it apart, and inspect it.

Came apart in about 10 minutes with nothing more than a big screwdriver, used to drive out the outside bearing, and then popping the balls out of the cage on the inside. There is nothing visibly wrong with this hub at all. It was still packed with green grease ( gone now because it was cleaned so i could see what the hell I was doing)
For that wheel to be as loose as it was, and the nut that held the hub on to be as tight as it was has me completely stumped here...a bearing doesn’t tolerate “ slop”..so I can’t necessarily blame sloppy clearances in the build...

The nut wasnt torqued to spec. From what I read, this nut needs to be something like 250 ft lbs..I didn’t have a torque wrench rated to that number 6 years ago ( but I do now) ..I just pulled it as tight as I could.

You don’t spose that the difference between tight, and fckin tight is gonna fix this do you?

Yes I do...

 

[90sickfox]

I would expect more from a USA made bearing. Maybe the race wore down even without overheating. That's one of the best looking bad bearings I've ever seen.

Now that you know....you can't unknow it.

Could put the mic on those balls. They might tell you something.

 

[67coupe]

Agree. Proper torque is critical for that bearing type.

From memory, torquing to 250ft-lb was a bear.

 

[KZGUNS]

hows the bearing fitment on the spindle look? I was expecting to see them tore up.

 

[MustangIIMatt]

We’ll you gotta know that if the thing can be taken apart, and inspected, i’m gonna take it apart, and inspect it.

Came apart in about 10 minutes with nothing more than a big screwdriver, used to drive out the outside bearing, and then popping the balls out of the cage on the inside. There is nothing visibly wrong with this hub at all. It was still packed with green grease ( gone now because it was cleaned so i could see what the hell I was doing)
For that wheel to be as loose as it was, and the nut that held the hub on to be as tight as it was has me completely stumped here...a bearing doesn’t tolerate “ slop”..so I can’t necessarily blame sloppy clearances in the build...

The nut wasnt torqued to spec. From what I read, this nut needs to be something like 250 ft lbs..I didn’t have a torque wrench rated to that number 6 years ago ( but I do now) ..I just pulled it as tight as I could.

You don’t spose that the difference between tight, and fckin tight is gonna fix this do you?

Torque on center-nuts on hub assemblies is critical. It's what controls the pre-load of the bearing.

Over-torqued a little is okay (hence why so many technicians hammer them on with an impact and move on to the next job), under-torqued can cause vibrations and shimmies and noise.

 

[a91what]

Its a good thing I read this... I need a larger torque wrench, I just tightened them as much as I could when I did mine.

 

[xecute]

Make sure you get the best grease and the hardest grade balls. On my Toyota, Mr2 and TRD and Mr RAV use 13 instead of 12 for each out bearing. Its a barst....um, sorry, not very nice when you loose one. Don't ask me how I know.....

 

[a91what]

careful you dont lose one into your coffee

 

[CarMichael Angelo]

hows the bearing fitment on the spindle look? I was expecting to see them tore up.

As was I..there is nothing wrong that I can see..ill repack that bearing with some " really good grease" that I don't have. And put that bitch back on. Ill torque it to 150, and put the tire on and ck. If there's movement, ill torque it to 200, and ck it again, finally ill pull that thing to 250.

First I need to know what grease to go buy, then ill get it. Then ill perform my " science experiment" tonight.

 

[MustangIIMatt]

As was I..there is nothing wrong that I can see..ill repack that bearing with some " really good grease" that I don't have. And put that bitch back on. Ill torque it to 150, and put the tire on and ck. If there's movement, ill torque it to 200, and ck it again, finally ill pull that thing to 250.

First I need to know what grease to go buy, then ill get it. Then ill perform my " science experiment" tonight.

For really good grease, the Lucas Red-N-Tacky or the Valvoline stuff that's labeled "Ford-Lincoln-Mercury" that is moly-fortified should do the trick.