Time for an overhaul of my 1.9 '98 BMW Z3 Individual

[t-tony]

Before you remove the hub and bearings have a good look from the inside. Check the one where the screw did come out. Is it drilled right through to the inside (try if thin screw driver pushes through). I know the ABS sensor bolts on the front hubs can be drilled out from the inside, maybe these can too. Which would save removing the hub.

Tony.

 

[Matt Barnes]

Hi Tony .. I had another look this morning but it's a fully threaded blind hole, so no rear access. Alternative maybe to build up weld on the bolt shank, then weld a nut on and try that

 

[Duncodin]

All that heat may have loosened it a bit. Slow cooling may have softened it a bit too. Might be worth trying a drill again and extractor.

 

[Matt Barnes]

All that heat may have loosened it a bit. Slow cooling may have softened it a bit too. Might be worth trying a drill again and extractor.

cheers mate...could do, but access is a bugger with the hub there..but..I could try a smaller extractor that has a shorter shank...

 

[Duncodin]

Is this for the speed sensor?

 

[Matt Barnes]

Is this for the speed sensor?

no..brake shoe mount where the handbrake cable goes through...

 

[Matt Barnes]

no..brake shoe mount where the handbrake cable goes through...

No.5...you can see the two bolt holes

 

[Duncodin]

Anyway. If it was mine - now opening myself up to the 'originality' police - I'd chop a piece of thread off a bolt and weld that onto it. Then fit the the speed sensor and fix that one with a nut. Bit of loktite. Not too tight. Doesn't need to be tight. Ten grind off any extra thread so it looks, kinda, like a bolt. Job done.

Edit. I wrote this on the assumption it was the speed sensor bolt. No idea if it would work on the handbrake.

 

[Matt Barnes]

If it was mine - now opening myself up to the 'originality' police - I'd chop a piece of thread off a bolt and weld that onto it. Then fit the the speed sensor and fix that one with a nut. Bit of loktite. Not too tight. Doesn't need to be tight. Ten grind off any extra thread so it looks, kinda, like a bolt. Job done.

it's not the speed sensor mate it's the shoe bracket as in the previous pic....ironically I got the speed sensor bolts out !

 

[Duncodin]

it's not the speed sensor mate it's the shoe bracket as in the previous pic....ironically I got the speed sensor bolts out !

Sorry. I asked if it was the speed sensor and you thumbs'd up. Then our posts crossed in the mail.

Anyway. Speed sensor bracket has no movement or stress so my fix would most likely work fine for that. Not sure about handbrake cable though. I also don't know what the bracket is made of. If you did weld on a stud then there'd be a seam of weld round the base of the stud that I wouldn't clean up too much so the bracket might not fit anyway unless you countersunk it a bit. In any case it's a bodge. The only 'proper' way to fix it is to get the hub off and drill it and put in a new thread. It needs to be on a work bench where you can get a straight down hole. (Or bodge it with a stud)

 

[Matt Barnes]

Sorry. I asked if it was the speed sensor and you thumbs'd up. Then our posts crossed in the mail.

Anyway. Speed sensor bracket has no movement or stress so my fix would most likely work fine for that. Not sure about handbrake cable though. I also don't know what the bracket is made of. If you did weld on a stud then there's be a seam of weld round the base of the stud that I wouldn't clean up too much so the bracket might not fit anyway

sorry mate ..the thumb was appreciating your help..the bracket needs to be strong as the brake shoe pivots on it..so one way or another I need a new hole

 

[Duncodin]

sorry mate ..the thumb was appreciating your help..the bracket needs to be strong as the brake shoe pivots on it..so one way or another I need a new hole

The only correct way is to have it out. But if it was me I'd try the bodge and really give it some wellie trying to break it.

The moral of the story is - don't park behind me on a hill

 

[Matt Barnes]

Is the stress on the bracket a inward push pushing straight down on the thread rather than a pull.

The only correct way is to have it out. But if it was me I'd try the bodge and really give it some wellie trying to break it.

The moral of the story is - don't park behind me on a hill

I wouldn't want to trust it with one bolt..certainly not anything to do with braking...

 

[Duncodin]

The metal that you're drilling. If you were going to strip the hub down anyway it might just be cheaper (ie cost of labour, drill bits and all that) to get a good used one from spurs fan.

 

[Matt Barnes]

The metal that you're drilling. If you were going to strip the hub down anyway it might just be cheaper to get a good used on from spurs fan.

that's a very good point!. and embarrassingly I did exactly the same on the other arm...I guess it's a mixture of not giving up with using this to learn different restoration techniques...but I didn't think of Andy spurs...cheers !!

 

[Duncodin]

Another moral of the story.

Don't post questions early on a Sunday morning otherwise the only answers you get are from clowns and bodgers like me. All the ones who know what they're talking about are still tucked up in their beds

 

[Matt Barnes]

Another moral of the story.

Don't post questions early on a Sunday morning otherwise the only answers you get are from clowns and bodgers like me. All the ones who know what they're talking about are still tucked up in their beds

never mate. always appreciate anyone trying to help !

 

[IainP]

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That weld is too cold Matt, either not enough volts, or slightly too high a wire speed. Volts are more likely, taught tha best technique is:
to turn the volts up, probably close to max for yours.
Turn the wire speed down ‘slightly’, you don’t want the pool to feed too much.
Test with the top of a spare bolt
Aim dead centre and just let the nut fill.
You want the arc to remain struck with the stud, if it hits the nut first, the pool is generally too cool to properly fuse with the stud.
Remind me which side this is? I do have a spare I can swap you. I’ll get a child to drag it out, see which side, I also have a pair but those are reinforced and no bearings.
Right, what did I do wrong there? Should be the pic with the ball of weld on the stud.

 

[Matt Barnes]

That weld is too cold Matt, either not enough volts, or slightly too high a wire speed. Volts are more likely, taught tha best technique is:
to turn the volts up, probably close to max for yours.
Turn the wire speed down ‘slightly’, you don’t want the pool to feed too much.
Test with the top of a spare bolt
Aim dead centre and just let the nut fill.
You want the arc to remain struck with the stud, if it hits the nut first, the pool is generally too cool to properly fuse with the stud.
Remind me which side this is? I do have a spare I can swap you. I’ll get a child to drag it out, see which side, I also have a pair but those are reinforced and no bearings.

thank you Iain !.... it shames me to say I did it on both !!…. but the one I'm working on at the moment is the nearside...I'll try and persevere taking your advice, as I need to learn how to do this anyway... hope you're feeling a bit more comfortable mate and you're resting up...

 

[Matt Barnes]

ok so I tried again....3 times in fact

I'd ground the weld off so many times I had trouble seeing the bolt !... .. so resorted to drawing round the faint outline I could see with a sharpie

built up some weld that I could put a nut over it...

Then carefully built up the weld on the inside focussing on the centre... when I got to the top made sure I covered the nut

aaaaaaaand........

nope

tried three times and each time it felt like a really good bond...what I thought I was slowly loosening and tightening the bolt, must have been the nut separating from the weld......I wonder..... if a drill a hole deep enough to weld into rather than a flat surface, maybe that will give more purchase.... hmmm