Chevelle Restoration and Authenticity Guide 1970-1972. Dale McIntosh
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cap from the face of the rotor hub. You can now see the cotter pin, nut, and washer that are attached to the spindle. Remove these, allowing the rotor to be freed from the spindle. Regardless of the type of rotors, place the palms of your hands on either side of the rotor and gently wiggle or push inward. This will cause the outer bearing to come out of the spindle, where you can now grab and remove it. Set it aside.
As stated earlier in the drum brake removal section, a trick for removing the inner bearing and seal is to put the nut back on the spindle, pull the rotor out until the nut contacts the inner roller bearing, and give it a forceful tug toward you. This will move the nut, forcing the bearing and seal from the back of the rotor and/or bearing hub. It may require a few tugs before it separates itself. The rotor will now come off the spindle and can be set aside.
One-Piece and Two-Piece Rotors
Early Chevelles had what is referred to as a two-piece rotor. In this case, the machined rotor can be separated from the bearing hub and can then be replaced or re-machined without doing anything to the bearings or hub other than unbolting it from the rotor, which is not the case on a one-piece rotor. In both cases and after the caliper has been removed and out of the way, the rotor (one piece) or rotor/hub assembly (two piece) is simply removed and separated from the bearing hub and can be set aside.
You will need to determine if the rotor is within spec or if it needs to be turned. If not enough material remains on the rotor face, a replacement will need to be located and can be sourced from restoration parts suppliers. In the case of the one-piece rotor, it will need to be machined as a unit; with the two-piece rotor, if there is not enough material left to machine, it will need to be discarded and replaced as a unit.
Bearing Hub Disassembly
Removing the bearing hub on two-piece rotors is done the same way. The inner and outer bearing races, the inner bearing, and the seal will all stay within the hub unless you use the seal-removal trick stated earlier. The bearing hub can then be separated from the rotor by removing the five bolts attaching the rotor to the hub. If you did not remove the inner bearing and hub using the trick before, do so now by placing the rotor and/or hub face down on the floor and using a seal-removal tool or another device that works to gently pry up on the seal and remove it.
Using a seal puller in the manner shown, gently pry up on the bearing seal with the removal tool while walking around the circumference of the seal. If a seal removal tool is not available, a large flat-bladed screwdriver can also be used. Regardless of what tool you use, the seal must be replaced.
Bearing Race
If you are doing a more thorough restoration and replacing the bearings and/or rotor, you will also need to remove the bearing races in most cases. It should be mentioned again that during a restoration it is best to replace the bearing as opposed to cleaning and repacking, but that is up to you. If you insist on using the original bearings, thoroughly clean them of all grease and dry them off. Do not use an air hose and spin the bearings; this can not only damage them but they can also explode the cage and severely injure you. If you turn the bearing and do not feel any roughness or excessive looseness, then grease and reinstall it after the rotors have been restored or replaced.
As was already covered in the drum brake removal section, look inside the rotor mounting flange (on two-piece rotors) or the rotor itself (on one-piece units) to find the backs of the bearing races with only a very small cutout area for a driver tool to reach the bearing race. Using a brass drift and small hammer, very carefully drive the race out, tapping from side to side until the race falls out. Flip the rotor over and repeat for the other bearing race.
Spindle Removal
Before removing the spindle, loosen and remove the two bolts at the bottom that go through the backing plate, through the spindle, and out the steering arm. Also remove the top center bolt holding the backing plate onto the spindle. The disc brake caliper bracket is also attached with these same bolts and can be removed at the same time. Once all are removed, the steering arm, backing plates, and caliper bracket can be removed and placed out of the way. Each of these items have to be put back on their correct side during reassembly.
Coil Spring Removal
Now comes the interesting part: removing the coil spring. It is best to use a spring compressor designed for this very job, and there are several varieties on the market that can be used. It is best to wrap a chain or strap around the coil and attach it to the frame to stop the spring from flying out and striking you if something goes awry. A ratchet strap with a hooked end also will do the job.
Once you have the coil spring compressor installed, remove the cotter pins from the upper and lower ball joints. Loosen the nuts several threads but be very cautious and leave enough threads attached to hold the nut on the spindle as the coil spring is under a great deal of tension.
Get yourself a conventional coil spring removal tool. These are readily available at most automotive parts stores and can be rented from most of them, as well as rental shops. This will make coil spring removal and installation much easier.
Creating Your Own Spring Compressor Tool
You can also have a tool fabricated similar to what I use. It consists of a stainless steel threaded rod that is inserted through the upper shock mount hole. It should have a long stainless threaded rod, long tubular spacer, phenolic spacer to protect the control arm, washer, and roller bearing that works very well to compress the spring. At the bottom of the threaded rod, you can use the lower spring retainer hook from a conventional spring-compressor tool.
This has the same result as a normal spring compressor but is much easier to use and does not get in the way as much. It is suggested that you also hook one end of a ratchet strap to the coil spring and the other end to a part of the frame on the opposite side of the car, so in case of a mishap, the spring will not fly out and hit you. It is also best to protect the area surrounding the coil spring on the lower control arm, but this is more important during reinstallation. ■
If you are more of a fabricator, you can make your own tool, consisting of a stainless steel all-thread rod, steel spacer, phenolic spacer, washer, bearing, and bottom coil spring retainer from a conventional spring compressor. This makes the job far easier and is much safer to use.
This homemade tool not only makes the job easier but the through rod also helps hold the coil spring in place in case of an accident. The use of a hooked ratchet strap will greatly aid in the removal and installation as well as add to the safety factor.
Using the same tools and/or methods that you used to separate the tie rods, separate the spindle from the upper and lower control arms while leaving the spindle nuts slightly attached at this time. Applying some localized heat to the area of the ball-joint stud will greatly help in separating the two from each other.
During this procedure, you may hear a loud bang and should notice that the spindle is now tight up against the nuts. This means the ball-joint studs have separated themselves from the spindle bore.
Using the spring compressor of your choice, compress the spring enough to take tension back off the spindle where it attaches to the ball joints. Once that tension has been removed, remove the nuts holding the spindle to the control arms, and you are ready for the next step.
Notice how the spring tension has aided the separation of the spindle from the ball joint stud, eliminating the need to impact the spindle with a hammer. Always make sure