I dont remember the clearance being so close when I took it all apart.

Is this normal?


I can only fit about a .001 feeler between the rotor and the caliper on the outer side.

This is a 71 with what I thought we determined was a late front strut.
When I tried the early rotors, you could not even get close to putting the caliper on.
Now with the "late" rotor, the caliper just barely clears.

I thought maybe the wheel bearing wasnt seated all the way, but I re/over-torqued the nut to see if it needed to pull in any more, but that didnt help.

Here is another pic that shows how the rotor is not centered with the split line in the caliper:

Is it a 5-lug conversion?

No just replacing stock 4-lug rotors with off the shelf replacements.

It is acting like the bearing race didnt go all the way in, but I checked it.

I guess I'll try the other side before pulling it apart to look again.

Looks like you don't have much clearance on the inside as well. Either you have a 911 caliper with a missing spacer, or for some reason the rotors are too thick.

It's been a long time but I remember there being at least a mm or two clearace on each side of a new rotor (late calipers). Can you even get new pads in the caliper?

The back side has plenty of room (like 3/8").
I have not tried to put the pads in yet.

Stu,

It appears to be a bearing issue. What bearings did you use?

We've seen el cheapo aftermarket bearings (can't remember the name, starts with a K and in a greenish box) with improper inner race dimensions.

Verify again that your inner race is pressed in completely to the seat. Also, try fitment without the outer bearing in place. It will be wobbly at the end of the spindle but, it should let you know if there's an issue with the inner (most likely) or outer bearing.

Let us know the results. Also, let us know what bearings you used.

The bearings are from PP and the boxes say SKF.
Part #s (from the boxes):

Inner: SKF BR8/92 20414B30 EA29R424

Outer: SKF BR1 311-405-645/92 20414B30 HA25M1 Z5

I'll try the other side first, and if it is messed up too, then I'll put em apart and compare everything.
I still have the bearings and rotors that came off.

There are early and late rotors.
You may have the wrong rotors..

Measure hat to rotor face, that is the difference.

Ok, when I first posted, I had .002 clearance on the outer side of the pass rotor and ~.090 inner.
I installed the drivers side and had .030 outer & ~70 inner
So I thought it was the bearing not being seated on the pass rotor.
Took it off reseated bearing races, put back on - same measurement ( maybe a .004 now)

So I took off the drivers side, checked the race seating, and put it on the pass side.
Pretty much the same as before (both rotors act the same on pass side too tight on outer clearance)

So I swapped calipers and I get-
Drivers side caliper to rotor clearance:
Outer .020 Inner .075
Pass side:
Outer .017 Inner .086

So "Around 20 thousandths" seems like it could be the expected value for caliper to rotor clearance on the outer side.

The rotors are both brand new and measure .430 each. (~11mm)
And the late pads fit.
One caliper just seems to have a slightly larger opening than the other.

So I guess I'll just have to say that it could be part variation (stackup) that makes one combo of caliper+strut be too tight.
I didnt bother to swap it all back again just to prove it's repeatable....

Anyone else ever measure the caliper to rotor clearance?

Stu,

Please post pictures of your calipers.

Front, Rear and Pistons if possible.

I'm still wondering about your inner bearing being correct. SKF is a good brand. The BR8 is a good start but the part numbers usually cross reference to a stock 311 part number:

311 405 625 B should be your inner bearing cross number.

Your outer bearing shows the correct 311 405 645 part number.

The reason I didn't immediately go to the calipers is because I think you would have a much larger fitment problem than what you're seeing.