3rd gen Camaro Brake Hub Rebuild
After I purchased my 92 Camaro, a road course racer sold me some parts from an older racecar that he was parting out. He also gave me the front brake kit off his retired racecar at no charge. The rotors were used to the max and calipers were not in the greatest condition either. Those parts would need to be replaced but the brake brackets, hats, and hubs were in decent condition.
The brake hubs were usable but need to be rebuilt. The previous owner replaced the wheels studs with longer ones that were not a good fit. As you can see in the picture the knurl must have been too long. He turned the knurl down until it was the desired length. These will be replaced with studs that properly fit. The hard corning during a race will increase the stress on the wheel bearings greatly over normal street driving. I also will be replacing the used bearing races. If you are competing in racing events checking the wheel bearings for play should also be part of your maintenance plan.
First step was to press out all the old wheel studs. I choose to use a press to remove the studs, but you could also use a wheel stud removal tool. After I removed all the studs, I needed to do some measuring to select the correct replacement. On the previous studs the knurl diameter was correct, but the knurl length was the issue. Using a pair of calipers, I measured the knurl diameter O.D. which was .563. Next, we need to know how long the knurl could be before there is an issue with the brake hat fitting. Last, we need to know the length of the stud and what thread size. The length is measured from the base of the knurl to the end of the stud. The desired stud for my application is a ½-20 x 3” lg. with a .563” knurl diameter that is approximately .59” lg.
Speedway Motors offers a large selection of replacement wheel studs. I search wheel studs then refined my search by knurl size and stud length. It refined the search to a Moroso 46220 wheel stud set, which had all the correct dimensions needed. The studs are made from high-grade SAE 8740 steel which exceeds grade-8 specifications. They also feature a quick start dog end for easy starting of the lug nuts. The knurl length was slightly longer than the flange width, but it was not an issue because of the chamfer on the inside of the brake hat holes.
Now that all the studs are removed, I went ahead and removed the bearing races. There were a couple of different bearing options for the 92 Camaro. The identification numbers on the bearings races that were removed from the hubs were difficult to make out. After measuring the O.D. and I.D. of the bearings, I determined the bearings were part numbers 912TS6 and 912TS3.
Now its time to make these hubs like new again. To install the bearing races, I used bearing race and seal driver set (Part # 91089625). This tool is also used to align and install the bearing race without destroying it. It comes with six different sizes of discs to fit the common bearings. I choose to use the tool in the press but could also be used with a hammer.
Finally, I pressed in the wheel studs, ensured the knurl lined up with the indentations from the previous studs and supported the front side of the hub with a piece of scrap tubing, then pressed in the studs from the backside. I repeated this for the remaining studs and now we have hubs ready for the track.
