Front wheel hub 69 roadrunner

Just bought a '69 roadrunner and it quickly developed a bad clunking sound that you could hear/feel in the front end. I found the front left bearing loose so I correctly adjusted it. Twenty miles later is started again so I re-adjusted it again but the noise, again, returned. I took the hub off and the bearings look great but the outer race was loose in the hub (I removed it by hand, it had about .010" slop). The wheel hub doesn't look damaged (e.g. spun race) but the bearing/race are correct for the car. So I started looking to purchase a new wheel hub (drum brakes) but I don't see that anyone sells them.

Anyone else run in to this problem?

Does anyone sell hubs?

Does the car have 10" or 11" brakes? The hubs are different.

Have you tried new bearings? You could get your existing hub sleeved at a machine shop if parts are hard to come by.

I've seen that happen numerous times. Not just hubs, but inside transmissions, and differentials. Best to replace hub if you can. I bought mine on a '69 Roadrunner at Advance. Or, take a sharp punch, "dimple" around the inside of the hub where the race is pressed. Go all the way around and put as many dimples as you can. That actually makes the inner diameter smaller so the race will then press in tight. Done it numerous times in a pinch. Jeff

i was going to suggest the "dimple" trick as well.
i have done this countless times on bearing races for applications ranging from automotive use, farm equipment, and machine tools, plus everything in between.
extremely few failures over the years doing this.
i also use a couple of drops of green loctite, depending on the application.

It has 11" drums.

I did drop the new race in and it was the same way.

I was considering dimpling the surface but I'm not sure that would be enough, maybe.

I haven't talked to a machine shop about putting a sleeve in it. For some reason when I try to get "fancy" like that it blows up in my face. Can't seem to get what I ask for from the shops around here.

I can't believe I can't find a new one anywhere. I've tried local parts stores, rockauto, Classic industries, Year One, etc. Do any of you know of a source?

I know a guy who is switching his '69 Road Runner over to disc brakes. Maybe he'll sell his old drums.

So, couple of dumb questions:

1: I'm not convinced that dimpling the hub will make the race tight. How tight does it have to be???

2: How do you remove the brake drum from the hub? I left it soaking in penetrating oil but still can't break it loose by tapping it with a brass hammer.

The studs are swedged in locking the drum to the hub. They need to be pressed out first. Unless you hub is super worn a sharp [censored] punch and dimple it all over the press area. Red locktite the race and drive it in. What do you have to lose?

Thanks for the information on how the hubs are put together.

I’m with you on the dimpling, I’ll try that next week after I get back from hunting.

Well, I went out tonight and placed some heavy dimples around the circumference of the surface where the race sits. I put heavy dimples about every 1/4" so there are 15-20 dimples. I put the race in but unfortunately the race still moves around. I put it back in the car and after about 20 miles the loud clunking was back, I checked and the hub was loose again. I tighten the hell out of the nut and drove it again and after about 10 miles it started again.

Replace the hub.

It would be nice if you had a picture of your dimpling attempt.If the race was still wobbling, the dimpling did not have the required effect. The race needed to fit solidly in the hub with no wobble. then clean it well, loctite it and let it sit 24 hours before installing. A buddy of mine had the same issue, and the properly performed dimpling method worked well for him.

There is not a lot of meat there to machine and sleeve it, but that sounds like your next step. Or throw a set of police/taxi rotors on there and enjoy disc brakes.

I must be missing something here. What nut are you talking about? The spindle nut? You can't "tighten the hell out of" that nut. It sets the bearing preload. Are you using a castle washer and cotter pin? Sorry, but something doesn't sound right.

Yeah, I'm talking about the spindle nut. I was saying that when I put the hub on I spun the hub and tightened the spindle nut really tight prior to backing it off. The manual says to tighten to 90 inch pounds while spinning, I tightened it by hand to over 30-40 lb pounds prior to backing it of. I wanted to make sure everything was seated.

I would if I could find someone who sells them!!

I didn't take a picture. I placed fairly deep dimples in the area that the race was sitting. When I was putting it back together I noticed that the hub was probably closer to .020" larger than the race ( I originally thought it was ~.010"). After dimpling the race was moving side to side but was able to spin in the hub.

A disc brake conversion may just be easier...

I ended up using 0.015" shim material around the outer race, that tightened it up.

Still not sure where 0.030" of slop came from. It must have spun a race sometime in it's life even though you couldn't seem any damage. Anyway, I've been driving it with no further issues from the front bearing!