The Daytona: January 21, 2003
by Russ Knize on Jan.21, 2003, under Daytona
I re-replaced the left-front wheel bearing. It went rather easily, considering what a pain it can be. The assembly came out with a sledge and went in easily with a pair of C-clamps. The only major problem I ran into was that the new rotors had rusted to the new (failed) hub assembly. Ended up having to use a hydraulic puller and a sledge to get it off. I think it rusted around the center of the hub, so I dabbed a little anti-seize on there.
For an encore, I went to tighten a hose clamp on the heater bypass valve when it went “click”. Damn, and I was doing so well. It was a Mopar unit and it was as if the plastic has broken-down. Instead of being brittle, it had the consistency of hardened rubber hose. It just crumbled in my fingers. I had the spare from the Shadow, but since it had the new-style intake (bypass valve under the battery tray), the valve inlet points the wrong way. I managed to find a nylon elbow that I could use for now. I bought a new one at Auto-Stoned for $12. It was the all-plastic one, like the one from my Shadow. It lasted for over 7 years, so I won’t complain.