Front Disc Brake Help

[edison1970]

Any help would be appreciated.  Putting the disc brakes back together.  The calipers that were on the car originally are junk.  Piston and bores are pitted beyond repair.  I purchased replacement ones from Oreillys along with hoses.  The problem is that the brake lines going from the frame to the caliper looks wrong.  If I remember correctly, the bleeder goes to the top so I believe I put the correct one on each side.  Look at how tight the brake line is pulled.  What am I doing wrong?

[lulurocks(Ken)]

Your  pics have me all turned around. Did you put the spindles on wrong side ?   

Here is a setup before install you can see the caliper hose orientation..

[6bblgt]

  you appear to have the calipers mounted to the rear - they go to the front

[edison1970]

I see your set up is different than mine.  Yours calipers mount to the front.  Mine are toward the rear.  Is it possible I have the spindles on the wrong side?

[anlauto]

YES...You have your spindles on the wrong side. You have to undo the two large lower ball joint bolts and switch the spindles side to side.

[edison1970]

Got it.  Thanks Guys.  Going on 9 years since I started this project.  They say that the mind is the first thing to go....

[RUNCHARGER]

No worries: I did that once and I think everyone else has as well.

[Brads70]

No worries: I did that once and I think everyone else has as well.

pretty common issue.

[edison1970]

Thanks for the help guys.  I made it right today.

[72bluNblu]

The spindles can be swapped side to side, the only thing that changes is the position of the calipers on the rotor. If you swap the calipers side to side too so the bleeders stay on the top it isn't a problem. It does take a different set of brake hoses to make it work though. On an E-body mounting them to the front is no big deal, but on some A-bodies the calipers need to be mounted to the rear to clear a front sway bar. That's usually a 73+ disk on a 67-72 A body deal.

But it's not "wrong" to mount the calipers to the rear, it just takes longer brake hoses.

[1 Wild R/T]

The spindles can be swapped side to side, the only thing that changes is the position of the calipers on the rotor. If you swap the calipers side to side too so the bleeders stay on the top it isn't a problem. It does take a different set of brake hoses to make it work though. On an E-body mounting them to the front is no big deal, but on some A-bodies the calipers need to be mounted to the rear to clear a front sway bar. That's usually a 73+ disk on a 67-72 A body deal.

But it's not "wrong" to mount the calipers to the rear, it just takes longer brake hoses.

And once again I'll explain that there's a reason the brake hose always should cross the centerline of the steering axis.....   By crossing the axis hose length variations do to the spindle sweep is canceled out.....

So if you want to move the calipers to the rear thats fine but you should relocate the brake flex hose to hardline attachment front the rear of the spindle to the front of the spindle....

Pay attention to how the factory engineers do it, they might know something.....

Yes, I've seen it done with the caliper & hose to hard line connection on the same side of the steering axis many times.. But watch how much the hose flexes & how much extra hose you need to allow for the steering & suspension  motion....

[72bluNblu]

And once again I'll explain that there's a reason the brake hose always should cross the centerline of the steering axis.....   By crossing the axis hose length variations do to the spindle sweep is canceled out.....

So if you want to move the calipers to the rear thats fine but you should relocate the brake flex hose to hardline attachment front the rear of the spindle to the front of the spindle....

Pay attention to how the factory engineers do it, they might know something.....

Yes, I've seen it done with the caliper & hose to hard line connection on the same side of the steering axis many times.. But watch how much the hose flexes & how much extra hose you need to allow for the steering & suspension  motion....

Sure, and if you use a longer hose it's still not a problem. It's not the most efficient way to do it, but it works just fine if you pay attention to the routing.

The "factory engineer" argument is completely wrongheaded. They designed these cars for bias ply tires, equipped many of them with front drum brakes, and dramatically undersprung the front suspension of every single muscle car era Mopar that left the factory. Yes, a lot of that was best practice at the time because of the technology available, but let's face it, automotive technology has improved just a bit in the last 50 years. Saying the factory did it best is not by itself a valid argument, and in a lot of cases the way the factory did it is wrong if you use a few modern upgrades, like radial tires.

And I didn't claim it was "best", I simply said it was possible and that it's not wrong. On an E body it's not usually an issue, at least with the stock brake options. I have no doubt there are aftermarket brake options out there that might require the caliper be put to the rear for clearance. And given the choice between running a longer brake hose or not running a front sway bar on a '67-72 A body with upgraded 73+ disk brake I'll run the longer brake hose every time, it's definitely worth the trade off.

[1 Wild R/T]

And once again I'll explain that there's a reason the brake hose always should cross the centerline of the steering axis.....   By crossing the axis hose length variations do to the spindle sweep is canceled out.....

So if you want to move the calipers to the rear thats fine but you should relocate the brake flex hose to hardline attachment front the rear of the spindle to the front of the spindle....

Pay attention to how the factory engineers do it, they might know something.....

Yes, I've seen it done with the caliper & hose to hard line connection on the same side of the steering axis many times.. But watch how much the hose flexes & how much extra hose you need to allow for the steering & suspension  motion....

Sure, and if you use a longer hose it's still not a problem. It's not the most efficient way to do it, but it works just fine if you pay attention to the routing.

The "factory engineer" argument is completely wrongheaded. They designed these cars for bias ply tires, equipped many of them with front drum brakes, and dramatically undersprung the front suspension of every single muscle car era Mopar that left the factory. Yes, a lot of that was best practice at the time because of the technology available, but let's face it, automotive technology has improved just a bit in the last 50 years. Saying the factory did it best is not by itself a valid argument, and in a lot of cases the way the factory did it is wrong if you use a few modern upgrades, like radial tires.

And I didn't claim it was "best", I simply said it was possible and that it's not wrong. On an E body it's not usually an issue, at least with the stock brake options. I have no doubt there are aftermarket brake options out there that might require the caliper be put to the rear for clearance. And given the choice between running a longer brake hose or not running a front sway bar on a '67-72 A body with upgraded 73+ disk brake I'll run the longer brake hose every time, it's definitely worth the trade off.

Accept that this isn't something from the era of the cars, it's something that still holds true to this day.....

[peterro]

Very funny. I just came in from the shop after taking the attached pictures. I've just got the car running right and next up I wanted to figure out what I did wrong on my brake setup. I sort of knew the flex lines were a bit short and not quite right. So I went out and took a few pictures to post on here to get some advice.

It seems I may have done the exact same thing. I don't remember what these spindles/brakes were from (it's been a bunch of years) but I do remember at the time trying to get lines that worked. They're too short and kink when at full turn.

Not only are they on the back of the rotor but am I right in that everything should swap side to side like edison1970? If I need longer lines, what is recommended when I try to buy them since I'm pretty sure the calipers aren't original e-body? Maybe someone recognizes the caliper types and knows what lines should be used.

Thanks in advance.

[anlauto]

Actually if we are talking about a "stock" 1970-74 E Body set-up, then hanging the calipers on the rear is "wrong" really no way to argue that.  

Is there other ways to do it ? Is there other styles of brakes that require it ? I'm sure there is, but that doesn't make it "right" for a "stock" 1970-74 E Body.