Had my first breakdown on the road the other day and have some questions
that need to be answered. Lost a wheel on mid axle,drivers side, at 60
MPH. Heard a screeching noise for just a second, just touched brakes,
then loud bang and looked in mirror to see cloud of brake parts exiting
coach and tire and wheel heading across median into oncoming lane.
thank god it did'nt hit anything. Coasted to stop with no problem,
for what its worth 950x16.5 tire on rear axle didnt rub on top of wheel
housing as I thought I'd heard it would and backing plate had about 1"
ground clearance so was able to creep down the road about 1/2 mile to
wide spot. Called wrecker on borrowed cell phone and when he got
there 1 hour later he decided there was nothing he could do to help
couldn't tow from front because of clearance problems . Considered
trying to tow from rear though book says not to but decided we'd
probably damage rear of coach w/hoist cables, Inquired about dolly
or carhauler but was told there was nothing heavy enough to hold
GMC.....
Got hold of friend in nearby small town and was able to round up
bearings and axle nut to cobble things together. threads were in bad
shape on spindle and really an oddball size so couldn't get die to run
threads so just forced new nut on and was able to make 200 miles to
home. Now,at my leisure, I'm going to have to pull spindle and replace
or repair. the bearing surfaces look OK and I'm contemplating taking
spindle to machine shop and having next smaller size threads cut on
it. Anybody know if spindle will come off without press? I see 4
little 9/16 bolts holding flange on but can't believe they're supporting
the whole weight . Another thing that has me puzzled, when I lost brake
fluid to rear brakes I had no front brakes although there was fluid in
one part of master cylinder. Do I need new master cyl or is there
something else that could be causing this? Also, looks like I will
probably need new hub are they still available from GM sources or
will junkyard auto parts fit? How about junkyard spindle? Am also
considering going to mid axle disk brakes as I'm going to have replace
lots of brake parts anyway. Have never had what I would call really
good brakes and am wondering if front brakes were working at all.
Would appreciate any advise or opinions
Bill 76 Edgemont
that need to be answered. Lost a wheel on mid axle,drivers side, at 60
MPH. Heard a screeching noise for just a second, just touched brakes,
then loud bang and looked in mirror to see cloud of brake parts exiting
coach and tire and wheel heading across median into oncoming lane.
thank god it did'nt hit anything. Coasted to stop with no problem,
for what its worth 950x16.5 tire on rear axle didnt rub on top of wheel
housing as I thought I'd heard it would and backing plate had about 1"
ground clearance so was able to creep down the road about 1/2 mile to
wide spot. Called wrecker on borrowed cell phone and when he got
there 1 hour later he decided there was nothing he could do to help
couldn't tow from front because of clearance problems . Considered
trying to tow from rear though book says not to but decided we'd
probably damage rear of coach w/hoist cables, Inquired about dolly
or carhauler but was told there was nothing heavy enough to hold
GMC.....
Got hold of friend in nearby small town and was able to round up
bearings and axle nut to cobble things together. threads were in bad
shape on spindle and really an oddball size so couldn't get die to run
threads so just forced new nut on and was able to make 200 miles to
home. Now,at my leisure, I'm going to have to pull spindle and replace
or repair. the bearing surfaces look OK and I'm contemplating taking
spindle to machine shop and having next smaller size threads cut on
it. Anybody know if spindle will come off without press? I see 4
little 9/16 bolts holding flange on but can't believe they're supporting
the whole weight . Another thing that has me puzzled, when I lost brake
fluid to rear brakes I had no front brakes although there was fluid in
one part of master cylinder. Do I need new master cyl or is there
something else that could be causing this? Also, looks like I will
probably need new hub are they still available from GM sources or
will junkyard auto parts fit? How about junkyard spindle? Am also
considering going to mid axle disk brakes as I'm going to have replace
lots of brake parts anyway. Have never had what I would call really
good brakes and am wondering if front brakes were working at all.
Would appreciate any advise or opinions
Bill 76 Edgemont
