Broken Wheel Hub - Advice Offered & Requested

Posted by Keith Lawrence on May 07, 2003 at 14:25:43:

I recently broke the LF wheel hub (original cast iron) during a VSCCA practice session at VIR.
The break was at the point where the hub goes from a flange for bolting wheel studs to the transition of it being the bearing shaft (thick area and fairly uniform around the whole diameter). It appears to have been caused by a flaw in the casting on the interior side of the hub with the crack surface "being fresh" (not discolored which would illustrate slow propogation over long period of time).

Advice Offered:

If you have the hubs off for any reason - send them with your spindles and king pins for crack testing. May save someone else from ending before the session "in the grass" (luckily no damage other than breaking a brake drum rotor which was still firmed attached to the wheel and losing the shoes/springs).

Advice Needed:

I plan to upgrade to alloy stub axles and king pins (with larger dia 1275 disc type). Is there a good source for the A40 8 inch drum brakes? Or is there a better, larger finned replacement available in the US?
Also how big of a project would it be to get 1275 disc spindles to work with the A40 drums or larger?

Thanks for the help and keep up the fun!!




Follow Ups: