Is this worn brake pad slide on spindle repairable?

rjaym

TJ Enthusiast
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Seems I could weld this up and resurface it - any other suggestions?

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Seems I could weld this up and resurface it - any other suggestions?

View attachment 658575

Yes, just be aware that you need or should use a newish flat, hard grinding disc. The weld pulls carbon out of the cast iron and gets very hard. If you use a flap disc, it will float over the harder material and remove the softer iron around it. You should consider a new brake pad to check clearances by sliding it back and forth parallel to the rotor.
 
Yes, just be aware that you need or should use a newish flat, hard grinding disc. The weld pulls carbon out of the cast iron and gets very hard. If you use a flap disc, it will float over the harder material and remove the softer iron around it. You should consider a new brake pad to check clearances by sliding it back and forth parallel to the rotor.

This is a great tip , Thank You for the insight Blaine .
 
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This is a great tip , Thank You for the insight Blaine .

Agree. Typical of Blaine’s attention to every detail. I’ve learned a lot about how to approach things as a tradesman better by getting into his head a little. He gets expected results by deliberate approaches.
 
Agree. Typical of Blaine’s attention to every detail. I’ve learned a lot about how to approach things as a tradesman better by getting into his head a little. He gets expected results by deliberate approaches.

If only it were that simple. I learned the hardness trick by taking a very deliberate approach to something that resulted in a very bad result. When I was doing the WJ conversions, I bought a new pair of OEM knuckles from Jeep for about 500. Rather than monkey with all the inserts and whatnot for flipping the tapers, I decided I'd just be Mr. Smart Guy, weld up the holes and then taper them from the other way. Instead, after trying every garage hack I could find to try and drill out weld that is now harder than any carbide tool I can find, they finally went in the trash. I learned 2 things, figure out when to cut your losses and we don't know what we don't know.
 
If only it were that simple. I learned the hardness trick by taking a very deliberate approach to something that resulted in a very bad result. When I was doing the WJ conversions, I bought a new pair of OEM knuckles from Jeep for about 500. Rather than monkey with all the inserts and whatnot for flipping the tapers, I decided I'd just be Mr. Smart Guy, weld up the holes and then taper them from the other way. Instead, after trying every garage hack I could find to try and drill out weld that is now harder than any carbide tool I can find, they finally went in the trash. I learned 2 things, figure out when to cut your losses and we don't know what we don't know.

I’ve outsmarted myself more than once. I’m not the dumbest person on earth, but I sure hope they don’t die.
 
If only it were that simple. I learned the hardness trick by taking a very deliberate approach to something that resulted in a very bad result. When I was doing the WJ conversions, I bought a new pair of OEM knuckles from Jeep for about 500. Rather than monkey with all the inserts and whatnot for flipping the tapers, I decided I'd just be Mr. Smart Guy, weld up the holes and then taper them from the other way. Instead, after trying every garage hack I could find to try and drill out weld that is now harder than any carbide tool I can find, they finally went in the trash. I learned 2 things, figure out when to cut your losses and we don't know what we don't know.

Kinda reminds me about the time I tried machining through a chilled surface on a raw casting. I had exactly 3 inserts left, it was an interrupted cut and they needed it ASAP. I thought I could just machine the surface they needed really quick. chucked it up in the lathe and went to town. That was the day I learned that chilled cast iron is harder than hell and when there is sand mixed into the surface from casting, good luck. Get the grinder out first.
 
If your brake pads wear enough of a groove in the knuckle the whole caliper can bind up as you're driving down a bumpy road....


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