[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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