Lesson #4A: Proper Lathe Setup - Connecting the Machine to the vehicle

PFM900, 9.0, 9.2, X9, A10, and X9D users

Determine the side of the vehicle you will be starting on. always want to start on the side where the brake caliper is to your right. This way you can do all of the set up in the right side up position making the second side even easier. Hang calipers with S-hooks provided in accessory kit pn# 37-034 - never hang calipers by the brake hoses!

Select the correct adapter and spacers (if needed) for your vehicle application. To find the correct adapter go to our adapter search and look up the vehicle by make and model. The adapter search will tell you the bolt pattern, part number of Pro-Cut adapters that will work (past and present), and give you a picture of the adapter to help match it to the kit you have. There are two situations where additional spacers may be required:

1. The adapter will not lay flat on the hub face, but the bolt pattern is correct. If this occurs, you will likely need to use either the small (50-246) or large (30-791) ring spacer that comes in the accessory kit. Using a ring spacer will allow the adapter to clear a wheel guide step that is a larger diameter than the center hole of the adapter, allowing the adapter to fit flush against the hub.
2. If, once the adapter is installed properly, and you attempt to attach the lathe to the adapter and the lathe's cutting head gear box will not clear the brake rotor, then you can use either the small (50-046) or large (50-049) nose cone extension to resolve the fit issue. Either of these nose cone extensions threads into the adapter effectively extending the length of the adapter so the lathe will clear the rotor.

When setting up the Pro-Cut lathe, it's important to make sure that all mating surfaces of the hub, rotor, and Pro-Cut adapter are very clean. Remember, you're trying to achieve an LRO of less than half the thickness of a dollar bill! A small flake of rust or dirt could change the outcome of that work. We suggest the use of an abrasive hub cleaning tool such as our 37-996 Scotch-Brite Roloc Brake Hub Cleaning Disc Kit.

With the rotor, hub, and adapter surfaces clean and ready:

• Remove any factory installed retaining clips from the studs.

Next, mount the adapter and select the best nuts for the application. Some wheel nuts will not fit well with the Pro-Cut adapters, and you may need to use the nuts provided in either the 50-179 kit that comes with every lathe, or the optional Pro-Cut 50-175 Speed Nut kit.

For nuts from the vehicle or the 50-179 kit, evenly tighten all nuts in a star pattern by hand to no more than 25-30 ft. lb. Do not use an air operated impact gun! The torque is too high and could damage the adapter.

For nuts provided in the 50-175 Speed Nut kit, use a 12V or less, battery operated, 1/4 drive impact gun. Only 12V or less impact guns will provide the correct amount of torque to protect the adapters from damage. Even torque is important and you must tighten in a star pattern!

When attaching the machine to the adapter, both the face of the adapter and the face of the lathe flange should be flush against each other so there is no space between them. You'll know you have it right if the draw bar knob spins in freely by hand as an oil filter would.

Due to the self-compensating design of our lathes, the trolley must not be in a bind either on the floor or in either the vertical or camber shock travel range. Put another way, not all the way topped or bottomed out, and not all the way cambered forward or back.

In the event you are having trouble connecting the lathe to the adapter, adjust the height and camber of the lathe by holding the handles on the lathe. Do not try to hold the lathe by the solenoid or any sensitive electronics. The vertical and camber shocks are designed to work with the handles on the lathe to give you the range you need to attach the lathe correctly. If you are outside the range of the trolley, then adjust the lift. Tighten the drawbar by hand only, but firmly.