Brake dust shield

[Notmikeb]

Soooooo.... After I pressed in the new bearing and hub onto my steering knuckle I realized that I left off the brake shield. Any thoughts on whether this is a major issue? Is it just to keep the suspension free of brake dust and heat or is there a larger purpose for this thing?

It doesn't seem possible to press out the hub without destroying the bearing and I'd rather not do that if possible. I could always cut it in two so I can get it bolted up and then weld it back together if it is a problem to run without.

Or did I just make a beneficial brake cooling modification?

[xirdneh]

i almost did that once
if you do a lot of them, its bound to happen eventually
if it did happen i would have done the cut and paste (weld) thing

[Mark]

Some of the wheels on my cars don't have them. I can't remember if I forgot to put them on or if they were already missing when I got the cars. If I had fancy, chromed show wheels I might notice a difference with the extra brake dust on the wheels. If I was frequently driving offroad, I might want them to protect the brakes from dirt and debris being kicked up. Since I don't have show wheels and I drive on paved roads, I don't worry about the missing dust shields.

[Petros]

it will not have much effect on dust on the wheels, I suspect they are there to keep debris and water thrown up under the car off the brakes. I notice when I go through a big puddle the first time I apply the brakes they feel "squishy" until the moisture burns off, I think they may help prevent this on a routine basis. small rocks and dirt thrown into the brake pads can not be good for brake life and stopping power either.

We took them off on the race cars that only ran on a track, but I am not sure it is a good idea for driving on or off road, particularly if you drive on gravel and dirt roads daily like I do. all manufacturers have them on their brakes, if they were not needed they would save the cost since a typical customer would never know if they were on their brakes or not. Unless when driving in rainstorms the brakes never perform well because they are always wet.

I would get it on there, cutting them if you have to. Actually I think you can remove the bearings without harm, it is the new seals that would be difficult to get out without damage.

[teranfirbt]

If you've got the equipment and keep things clean, you can press the hub out of the knuckle without damaging anything. Be a little careful when the hub drops out as the bearing race is larger than the area the seal rides on, but not enough to cause a problem. I forgot one of the brake shields when I did my Corolla GTS front brakes, and had no issues with popping the hub out and back in.

[Notmikeb]

Since I was already reusing the seals I didn't want to chance pressing the hub through again. For now it's cut and reinstalled. I couldn't get my wire feed to work right on my welder and just decided to drill two holes and zip tie it back together for the short term until I have my welder working again. Or I may just leave it.