[DeTomaso] Fascinating front wheel bearing advice
F&D Terry
gt5s at bcpl.net
Tue Aug 14 07:24:18 EDT 2007
Mike,
If this is a long known problem, why haven't we heard of any other
bearing failures? I would think that someone would have had problems at
one of the yearly track events.
Fred T.
MikeLDrew at aol.com wrote:
>Hi guys,
>
>Claude Dubois, the former main European distributor for De Tomaso cars, told
>me a few days ago that Patrick Hals suffered a wheel bearing failure on his
>factory Gr4 Pantera recently, due to a long-known problem with the design that
>hadn't been properly addressed by his mechanics. I asked him to elaborate,
>and today he told me this:
>
>-----
>
>
> Hello,Mike
>
> When I begon selling Panteras (the first offical public introduction
>of that car was at the January Brussels Motor Show, months before the
>USA
> Launch) , I received three units from Modena , a yellow car, a red
>one , and a green one that became my demo.
>
> I tested that green car seriously , between other on a race track
>(Zolder,in Belgium) before sending a technical report to Don Coleman, in
>Modena,with a list of modifications I found necessary on the Pantera for
>further production. This report almost cost me my franchise and
> Don was sent back to Detroit,because Alessandro would not accept
>any advice from anybody,even on how to make an air conditionning system
>work
>
> In March , I went to Paris for a business meeting , with my green
>Pantera and on my way back ,on the Paris-Brussels freeway , one of my
>front wheel bearings seized and locked, and my nice demo came back in
>our workshop on a flatbed truck.
>
> My chief mechanic knew well that kind of problem, which can happen
> rather often in severe or competition duty with disc-braked cars.
>
> In fact, I had to abandon the gruelling (4 days and night non
>stop in the Alps and gravel trails of Yugoslavia) Liege-Sofia-Liège rally,
>in 1957,on
> my works Triumph TR3, when I was third overall , when a front
>wheel bearing gave up going down (like hell) the Allos alpine pass in
>France.
>
> So, I knew the feeling : it begins with a « longer » brake pedal
> travel (when the bearing begins to desintegrate and the disc wobbles
>and pushes back the brake pads in the calipers), and it is then time to
>stop , because the next step is a locked wheel or worse.
>
> For years after that 1957 problem on a TR3 , I rallied and raced
>those cars without a single front bearing failure.
>
> The problem had been adressed for ever , because my chief mechanic
>, a very smart engineer , made a modification which looks rather
>simple , but needs a very careful and experienced mechanic, with a good
>machine shop , to achieve.
>
> The modification is placing a calibrated spacer between the two
>inner cages of the two front wheel bearings , and locking them solid
>together : of course before locking them one must measure very carefully
>the needed clearance of the bearings and adjust them with some shims
>(like the shims used to adjust the backlash on the pinion in a rear
>axle).
>
> This is of course time consuming , and therefore expensive and this
>is why no car Manufacturer uses that method when aseembling the front
>end of our automobiles.......but this is in fact the best way to
>install the front bearings on a car.
>
> When I say « no auto manufacturer « , I am not right. There is ONE
>car that was assembled in productioin with that spacers system and it
> was the MG « B ».
>
> Because I knew nobody would listen in Modena , I said nothing to the
>factory , but decided to do something about that problem on the cars I
> distributed, in order to avoid warranty complaints :
>
> During the « pre delivery inspection » of the De Tomasos we
>distributed in Belgium , the spacers were automaticcally fitted to ALL the
>Pantera,Deauville and Longchamps , in my workshop , and we never had a
>bearing warranty problem after that.
>
> I also fitted that system on all the cars I prepared for
>competition during my career and this is probably why I never had a single
> bearing failure in racing, either. The modification also improves
>brake pedal feel.
>
> My Shelby GT350 R was equipped like that , and not only finished
>the Spa 24 Hours in second place overall ,but also did about 6 racing
> seasons without replacing the bearings. 2860 the Team Claude Dubois
>G4 Pantera was also modified like that.
>
> On a Pantera G4 , with the wide wheels , without spacers , bearings
>should be renewed before each endurance race.
>
> Possibly in typical USA light service on public roads , there is
>not too many problems , but believe me, in HD service , the front wheel
>bearings are just too small and subject to premature failure on a
>Pantera !
>
> Warmest regards , Mike !
>
>
>
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