Brake/ Seal/ Rotor Replacement Safari 96-2002

[rsbilledwards]

Having owned a body/repair shop I dislike having someone else repair my equipment so the following is information obtained from Allied Recreation Group with respect to maintenance on my Safari 2001 Zanzibar. I am beginning a major brake maintenance and found finding the parts awkward so here is what I found and what I am using to improve the componentry and performance.

Per spec sheet SUPPLIED BY ALLIED RECREATION INC. double checked and then checked again!

'99 THRU 2002 ALL SAFARI BEAVER AND HARNEY EXCEPT MARQUIS AND TREK

FRONT CALIPER S01803750 REAR CALIPER MVA3263Y1195
FRONT PADS MV7655D786 REAR PADS MVAECMD225
MOUNT KIT S01803877 REAR ROTOR 1999 MVD6176
FRONT SEAL 12K S01803741 REAR ROTOR 2000 NEED DEPTH
FRONT SEAL 9K MV143690-0009 REAR ROTOR 2001-2002 MV5471 (SAME AS FRONT)
FRONTNT ROTOR 1999 MVD6176 REAR HOSE 18621364
FRONT ROTOR 2000 NEED DEPTH REAR ASB SENSOR 16616424
FRONT ROTOR 2001-2002 MV54771
FRONT HOSE AIR RIDE 18621361
FRONT HOSE VELVET RIDE 18621365
FRONT ABS SENSOR 16617181
FRONT HUB COVER 12K S01806751
FRONT HUB COVER 9K S01806750

'96 THRU 1998 ALL SAFARI AND BEAVER EXCEPT MARQUIS AND TREK

FRONT PADS MVMS7149 N/A REAR CALIPER MV600520259
FRONT CALIPER MV60050259 N/A REAR PADS MVMS7149
FRONT ROTOR 9K MV23122703 REAR ROTOR MV23122729
FRONT ROTOR 12K MV23123458 REAR D/S HOSE M0200404
FRONT SEAL 9K MV143690-0009 REAR P/S HOSE M0200403
FRONT SEAL 12K S01803877 REAR HOSE FRAME TO AXEL M0200373
FRONT HOSE AIR RIDE 18621361
FRONT HOSE VELVET RIDE 18621365
ANTI RATTLE SPRING MV69160445

COACH NUMBERS FIRST ABS USED ON:

112717 PANTHER
112711 CONTINENTAL
112833 SERINGETTI
112821 SAHARA
101227 ZANZIBAR
152415 PATRIOT

While talking with the fellas at Allied Recreation, it was indicated that the brake rotors were not available though not indicated in the list. They were in fact available from the aftermarket. I did not have to look very hard having the rotor numbers in hand. It turns out than CENTRIX manufactures them in two forms a standard duty and one that is "cryoed" as a premium rotor. The cryoed rotor is frozen in liquid nitrogen for a period of time then heated for a period of time and then brought back to room temperature. It is molecularly different, now allowing for better heat transfer and longer wear. It's resistance to heat and fracturing is substantially better, allowing for 30 to 40% additional wear before being replaced. The front rotors on my Zanzibar have less than 30K on them and are badly heat fractured and needing a change. There is plenty of pad remaining. After my discussion with Allied Recreation they indicated I should call OTT"s Friction in Portland, Oregon for additional discussion on pads. Their opinion on the original pads was not very high believing that ABEX pads offered a better co-efficient of friction, smoother action and much better stopping, just what I am looking for. Tomorrow I will supply Centric and abex part numbers and a reasonable indication of cost. 4/4/14 Centric rotors part nr. 120.83013CRY under $180 ea ABEX by Federal Mogul brake pad nr. front SD786 part nr. rear SD225 about $130 front and 80 rear

4/11 all the componentry and time have fallen into place and it is time to get this completed. I began by lifting the coach a bit with the front jack and the used a 2.5 ton floor jack to lift each side of the front axel beam just high enough to get 3 4X4s stacked under each side. This allowed the front tires to be about 3/4 inch off the floor and easily removed from the hubs. Prior to beginning the maintenance issues on this coach I purchased a Chicago Pneumatic 3/4 inch impact wrench to facilitate long term repairs believing I can make them for less. I also set the coach up with on board air. It should be noted here that if you do tackle these projects some parts are heavy and a bit of planning helps. The right side lug nuts are right hand thread and the left side are left hand threads. The old adage "righty tighty lefty loosy" does not work on the left side of old SAFARI coaches. I can not speak to others yet. I removed the front tires and set them aside, standing. Laying them down, it will be a very heavy job getting them up again.

Now these front axel hubs are an oil bath type, meaning the wheel bearings are running in 90 weight gear oil, they are not greased. The hub cover needs to be removed and the, or most of the oil drained. There will be some left in the hub that will appear when the outer bearing is removed and the hub and rotor are pulled off the stub axel. Before this can be accomplished, the brake caliper pistons must be retracted by applying pressure against the old pads in reverse of what happens when one applies the brakes. Use a pair of large screw drivers, one at the top of the "hat" and one at the bottom and apply even pressure to force the pads back. This will force brake fluid back to the reservoir. This happens so slowly, be patient. This "hat" is the portion of the caliper that contains the pistons that apply pressure to the pads as the brakes are applied. It is held on to the caliper body with two bolts on the back side, which are in turn, two pins each with a with a dust boot. These pins need to be removed cleaned and re-greased prior to reassembly. These pins need to move freely with no resistance as they allow the "hat" to float back and forth as the brakes are applied and released. Now this "hat" is heavy, once unbolted do not allow it to hang from the brake hose by itself. Set it up on the axel where it looks like it belongs. Next, the "face" of the caliper must be removed. This is retained be 4 inverted nr. 12 Torques bolts. A special tool in any tool box only about 12 dollars! All of the bolts here are insured not to come undone by the liberal use of a heavy bodied thread locker. The use of this material makes removing them slow going if an impact wrench is not on site.

With the face removed the hub and rotor are ready to be removed. Carefully remove the large cotter key. Many times they can be used more than once. This is a good time to be very cautious noting the number of revolutions it takes to remove the castle nut, as this determines how tight the bearing is when reassembled. Too tight and a problem will brew, too loose another can arise. Remove the thrust washer and the bearing and wash all parts in solvent. Note the color of the bearing. If it is blueish, it has been hot and should be replaced. If the oil smells burnt there are problems not dealt with here. Be careful as you remove this assembly, it is going be be close to 80 or more pounds and it is full of oil I mentioned earlier. I used a large aluminum cookie sheet for catching the oil and holding all of the parts.

I placed the assembly on the cookie sheet directly below the stub axel to remove the brake rotor. It is going to require that impact wrench bought or rented to remove the ten or so big long bolts holding these two together and to put them back together. The replacement of the bolts will align these components so no special effort is required. It should be noted that this assembly may have been torqued, maybe not, but the bolts were very tight. It will be difficult to torque them to any given spec by ones self. Assembly is the reverse of this description with the exception of the hub cover which will need a liberal bead of RTV sealant placed around the face to seal in the approximate 8 or so oz of 90 wt oil. Fill as sight glass requires to bottom of circle on sight glass.

The Abex pads are actually a Federal Mogul component made in the U.S.A. Part nrs for 99-2004 pads and rotors Front SD786 (7654D786SD) Rears SD225 (7142D225SD) Rotors same front and rear Centric Parts nr 120.83013CRY for the premium rotor and 120.83013 for non cryo rotor.

The brake fluid in the entire system was then flushed till completely clean with clear DOT 4 fluid, and boy was it ugly brown.

[joefr]

We are also having difficulty with finding parts for our 1999 Safari Magnum. How did you reference the parts list you provided to get to the Part numbers for Centroc brake rotors and Abex brake pads?

[JohnQFWB]

Thx!!!

[RoySchoepf]

Sure appreciate this posting - our 96 4040 has 146,000 mi and still has lots of pad left on originals - however it is soooo nice to have this info for when it is needed!!

[beaverlarry]

Love your detail and posting. I will be using the information. Thanks,

Larry F