Blitzboy54
07-16-2023, 07:57 PM
Hey gang,
So a little background. When I purchased my kit I ordered a solid axle complete kit with the Wilwood brake upgrade on both front and rear. At the time of my order we were hitting the great parts shortage so I started getting out in front of things and purchasing parts I was sure I wanted (as an aside this is not a strategy I would use again, patience is a virtue). I knew I wanted a more modern looking rim so I jumped on a set of wheels from LMR. They had a great package with Nitto's. I received them a full 3 months before delivery of my kit. Before I purchased them I looked up the specs on the 17" Halibrands, the LMR wheels were identical. Well, when they arrived it turns out the ID of the rear wheels is actually a touch narrower than the Halibrands. I discovered this when I received my brakes form Wilwood and the calipers didn't fit the wheel. Since I already purchased the wheels it was too late to upgrade to 18" wheels. I mean, it wasn't but I had already spent the money and didn't want to spend more. I reached out to Gordon and he turned me on to this 4 piston setup. They sit much lower and have no clearance issues. So I returned the FFR kit and ordered the new set from Gordon.
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=147711&d=1620779435
As most of you know the axles on a Ford 8.8 are held in place by using a "C clip" that keeps it from sliding back out. They are kept from moving too far in by a center pin. There is a certain amount of "slop" built into this design. My axles both move in and out by about .030" (this is in spec). This is not something I had thought about since I didn't understand what that meant for my setup. Fords solution to this issue is use a floating caliper. This makes sense, floating axle uses a floating caliper. I however am using a fixed caliper because the floating caliper from FFR doesn't fit my wheels. The issue this creates is when I corner the axle moves and pushes the calipers back open a little. The practical effect is after cornering the brake pedal goes really deep. Effectively I have pump the brakes once after I corner to get them working properly again. The reason this is a problem is obvious. It took me forever to figure out what was going on. I bled them 5 times and checked every square inch of my braking system over and over. Once I figured it out it all makes sense. I found a couple old threads with guys that ran into this.
My problem was simple. I already purchased all these parts and I need to reduce the amount of axle play so the brakes that I already own work correctly. Gordon recommends rebuilding the traction lock but my axle is already recently rebuilt. He also said I could pull the axle and put a weld on the end and grind it back down to the desired thickness. This is a great option but I don't own a welder. Either I purchase new wheels/tires, purchase an entirely different brake system or remove most of the play. I opted for door number 3.
The C clips are a fixed width of .150, I have .030 of axle play so I purchased .025 shims from McMaster that are the same OD and ID of the Clip. I cut them with a cutting wheel. I opened up my rear end and removed the center pin. I pulled the C clips and married up the shims. The important step here is to make sure the shim in on the outside between the C clip and the differential side gear. Once installed the shim is housed nicely and cannot come loose. After re installing the center pin the play was reduced to .005.
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=187254&d=1689513636
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=187255&d=1689513636
Post installation.
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=187256&d=1689513636
I have driven the car 300 miles since this mod and it is working as I had hoped. I realize I should have used a different brake setup or different wheels but the money was spent and I didn't know what I didn't know. The end result is this. There is no more pedal issue. It no longer requires more distance to brake no matter the driving conditions. The problem is resolved.
Cheers
So a little background. When I purchased my kit I ordered a solid axle complete kit with the Wilwood brake upgrade on both front and rear. At the time of my order we were hitting the great parts shortage so I started getting out in front of things and purchasing parts I was sure I wanted (as an aside this is not a strategy I would use again, patience is a virtue). I knew I wanted a more modern looking rim so I jumped on a set of wheels from LMR. They had a great package with Nitto's. I received them a full 3 months before delivery of my kit. Before I purchased them I looked up the specs on the 17" Halibrands, the LMR wheels were identical. Well, when they arrived it turns out the ID of the rear wheels is actually a touch narrower than the Halibrands. I discovered this when I received my brakes form Wilwood and the calipers didn't fit the wheel. Since I already purchased the wheels it was too late to upgrade to 18" wheels. I mean, it wasn't but I had already spent the money and didn't want to spend more. I reached out to Gordon and he turned me on to this 4 piston setup. They sit much lower and have no clearance issues. So I returned the FFR kit and ordered the new set from Gordon.
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=147711&d=1620779435
As most of you know the axles on a Ford 8.8 are held in place by using a "C clip" that keeps it from sliding back out. They are kept from moving too far in by a center pin. There is a certain amount of "slop" built into this design. My axles both move in and out by about .030" (this is in spec). This is not something I had thought about since I didn't understand what that meant for my setup. Fords solution to this issue is use a floating caliper. This makes sense, floating axle uses a floating caliper. I however am using a fixed caliper because the floating caliper from FFR doesn't fit my wheels. The issue this creates is when I corner the axle moves and pushes the calipers back open a little. The practical effect is after cornering the brake pedal goes really deep. Effectively I have pump the brakes once after I corner to get them working properly again. The reason this is a problem is obvious. It took me forever to figure out what was going on. I bled them 5 times and checked every square inch of my braking system over and over. Once I figured it out it all makes sense. I found a couple old threads with guys that ran into this.
My problem was simple. I already purchased all these parts and I need to reduce the amount of axle play so the brakes that I already own work correctly. Gordon recommends rebuilding the traction lock but my axle is already recently rebuilt. He also said I could pull the axle and put a weld on the end and grind it back down to the desired thickness. This is a great option but I don't own a welder. Either I purchase new wheels/tires, purchase an entirely different brake system or remove most of the play. I opted for door number 3.
The C clips are a fixed width of .150, I have .030 of axle play so I purchased .025 shims from McMaster that are the same OD and ID of the Clip. I cut them with a cutting wheel. I opened up my rear end and removed the center pin. I pulled the C clips and married up the shims. The important step here is to make sure the shim in on the outside between the C clip and the differential side gear. Once installed the shim is housed nicely and cannot come loose. After re installing the center pin the play was reduced to .005.
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=187254&d=1689513636
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=187255&d=1689513636
Post installation.
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=187256&d=1689513636
I have driven the car 300 miles since this mod and it is working as I had hoped. I realize I should have used a different brake setup or different wheels but the money was spent and I didn't know what I didn't know. The end result is this. There is no more pedal issue. It no longer requires more distance to brake no matter the driving conditions. The problem is resolved.
Cheers