Well, after the rear rotor/pad problem I experienced (stuck on rotor, a bit of hammer persuasion did the trick) I am now having issues with the fronts- finally got time to do them! But now, I followed the steps I found in another thread, and now the rotor when I put it back on, has too much play in it. I can wobble it too much. I torqued per instructions
https://www.rx7club.com/showpost.php...11&postcount=4
then backed off and retorqued. Still no cigar. Any particular reason why? Any ideas?

1984 GSLSE, by the way.

 

there will always be a smidge of play due to bearing spacing...how much play are we talking?

 

A lot. Enough that it makes me extremely doubtful if it'll stay on.

 

Maybe you have the wrong parts? Otherwise, if the races weren't fully seated when you torqued the nut, it may have settled into place and left you feeling sloppy. Maybe you should try re-torqueing it again...

 

Well, I got it. Now the caliper bracket won't fit behind the rotor!

 

if you can, post a pic to see how far we're off here....

 

I think I solved my problems...I didn't notice that where the bearings sit in the rotors are different from old to new. I am getting new bearings to see if it helps. Who knows, But I'll post tommorrow.

 

Sure you have the right rotors. The rotors and bearing seats should be identical.

 

Yes. I cross checked part numbers and looked up applications (I work at a small parts store) and they are correct, visually and numerically.

But today, I get new bearings (they look different than the old ones) that have a 'donut' around the bearing themselves. I was confused. Then I test fit, and voila, they fit like a glove. Install wheel seal, and continue with new rotors. No play, but no spin either. Tq to 50, back off, tq to 20. Still, no spin. I did make sure to pack the bearings well with grease, inside and out.

 

Back off the nut, wiggle the rotor, then retighten while spinning the rotor. As soon as the rotor starts to drag, back the nut off1/4 turn and spin. If it spins freely, install keeper and key, take it out for a drive, then recheck wheel for any wiggle..

 

Thank you Trochoid. I will keep that in mind fully when doing this. I've actually quit for the night, going to try and finish it up tommorrow afternoon. But before I do that, can someone double check me on my front rotor internal "stack"?

From inner to outer:
Seal (rubber malleted in)
Inner Wheel bearing metal "donut"
Inner wheel bearing, wider end facing towards engine
Outer wheel bearing, wider end facing wheel
Inner bearing metal 'donut'
one way washer
nut
lock thing
cotter pin
dust cap

 

85 FSM, sec. 11, p. 4 has an exploded diagram that will be your check.

 

I checked it, still nothing. I'm beyond frustrated at this point, so I detailed my engine bay.

 

It sounds like there is confusion on the bearing race (what you are calling 'doughnut', I believe). I think in the 1st place, you removed the old bearing from the old rotors and put them in the new rotors without the races. This would cause the slop that you saw. Now I wonder if something is out of order or you just have the nut too tight.

- When installing the bearings, you need to install the races first. Take them off the bearing and install in the rotor. The 'cup' of the race should face outward to accept the bearing. I got a cheap bearing race/seal driver from Harbor Freight and that made the installation a snap.

- Next pack the bearings with grease and install

- install the grease seal

- slide the assembly on and add the washer and nut. Tighten nut to about 25 ft-lb and spin a few times to seat it. There are a few ways to set the final position of the nut. follow the FSM, Haynes, or whatever you happen to be using.

- install retaining piece and cotter pin

That should do it. If there is clearance problems with the caliper or if the rotor doesn't track well (slight wobble), it probably means that your bearing races are not fully seated. This is assuming that the parts are correct and the nut was set to the correct pre-load. Look in the FSM diagram to verify your installation or add some pics here.

 

I think I got it. Did the front passenger's, had a tech friend check it. Looks good. Off to finish the driver's, bleed, and drive. Will update when done.