A few mechanical questions.

[ollieboy]

I have a few things going on with me car so I'll fire off some quick q's

1.Is there a simple way to remove the caps over wheel bearings? I used a hammer and dented them!

2.Is it ok to use dented caps as long as they still seal and work fine?

3.My front wheels make squealing sounds when they are moving and when braking, i assume they are the brake pads but have checked them and theres still alot of pad left. Could it be something else?

4. Another one of my cars makes sort of crunching metal sounds as the wheel rotates, what could this be? Brake pads? I haven't checked them yet-theres only so much time in a day.

5.Would I be checking the brakes correctly? Is there a special way to know if the pads are getting worn even if it looks like they have a whole lot left?

Thats all for now. Thanks for help!

[Dell'Orto]

1. Generally you can lever them off with a big flathead, they're a bit tight as you can imagine, but you get there eventually.

2. Yup.

3. Have you checked the rear pads? I had a car on which I could have sworn the fronts were noisy as hell...turned out to be the rear pads

4. Could be? Crunching sound is kinda vague though. Maybe wheel bearing?

5. How exactly are you checking them?

[l1ttle_d3vil]

1.Is there a simple way to remove the caps over wheel bearings? I used a hammer and dented them!

i normally get a clamp thing [can't remember the exact name, similar to vice grips though) and pull them off with that. otherwise as already said, a flathead should do the job too.

[ollieboy]

3. Have you checked the rear pads? I had a car on which I could have sworn the fronts were noisy as hell...turned out to be the rear pads

4. Could be? Crunching sound is kinda vague though. Maybe wheel bearing?

5. How exactly are you checking them?

Cheers for your help.

3. The rears are drums, I'm not sure how drums work so am completely in the dark. Will they still squeal if worn?

4. Yeah its a hard sound to describe, I'm free tomorrow so will have a proper look and get back to you.

5. By looking at the amount of pad left and taking the pad off to see if they are worn?

Thanks again

[Dell'Orto]

Drums are noisy as fook if they're full of dust, take the cover off, and blow it out with compressed air - make sure there is plenty of ventilation!!!!

Well provided the pad is flat the entire way across and not cambered at all, then if there is plenty of material left on them they should be fine.

[2LTR Rona]

3. drum brakes use a shoe with the pad attached to that, if worn then yes that can squeal as you will have metal on metal. to understand how they work look here http://auto.howstuffworks.com/drum-brake.htm

4. expanding on what mmm, Boost said about the wheel bearing, a simple and easy check is to jack the front side of the car up in the air so the wheel is off the ground then place your hands at the clock positions of 12 & 6 7 try to wriggle the wheel back n forth, there should be no movement or play, if there is then chances are you do have a naffed wheel bearing - used this technique on my Corona, end result new hub & bearing.

5. A visual check is usually a pretty good indication of the amount of meat or life left on a pad (front disc's) or shoe (rear drums) if you can see a decent amount of pad left then they "should" be fine, but another thing to look for is that the pad is wearing realitively evenly.