Jeff,
Two words: BRAKE ADJUSTERS!
Up at the top of the brake backing plate is an adjuster.
There are two little pistons that will push out from the
center portion when it is screwed in. To move it in or out
you need to turn the 1/4" squared off shaft on the back.
On thing I always do, first time I am redoing the rear brakes,
is to remove the adjuster. Two nuts come off, WHACK IT with a good
rubber or rawhide mallet to get it to break loose. Once off,
soak in good parts cleaner or what ever you have to clean it up.
Careful the pistons don't fall out (they might, but usually are
so junked up they won't move). Paper towels and even WD-40 help
in getting it cleaned up. Get a big adjustable wrench on that
square adjusting post and start trying to move it back and forth.
Steel threads in an aluminum body mean corrosion and a pain.
Working it back and forth little by little helps until you can
get it fully apart (takes a while!!!). Once the threaded bolt is
out, you'll see how the thing works. Clean everything up really
good, and if the 1/4" adjusting post is chewed up, clean it up
with a file just enough so the back end of a 1/4" socket slips
over it. Once that is done, smear a light coat of anti-sieze on
the parts and screw everything back together. Also notice the
piston really on fits in one way. Hold the pistons together with
a rubber band until you bolt the thing back in place.
Now to adjust the brakes I keep around a piece of 10 mm hex that
I cut off an allen wrench. Using it, and two 10 mm sockets on both
sides, and slipping the whole thing into a piece of tubing... one
end fits the adjuster and the other my 1/4" adjusting tool. Viola
neat tool for adjusting the brakes.
"loosen" the adjuster all the way down, and the shoes move back in.
Slide on the brake drum. Now "tighten" the adjusted (close wise
looking at the end of it) and you'll notice it will adjust in 1/4
turns. I spin the drum, tighten. Keep repeating until you get it
to the point where the drum is too tight to rotate freely. Now
back off the adjust 1/2 to 3/4 of a turn. Easier to feel this
free or dragging action with the wheel in place, but gives you
an idea of the adjustment needed. When I am done, I smear a little
more antisieze over the threads and place a small piece of 1/4"
tubing over the exposed threads to keep the corrosion off them.
One way to check to see if you need a brake adjustment: step on
the brake pedal. Notice how far down it travels. Pull up on the
hand brake, and repeat. If their is a noticeable difference: time
to adjust the brakes!
Cheers,
Tom Walter
Austin, TX
Jeff Etheridge wrote:
> Just installed new shoes on my 1600, now i am having a hard time getting
> the drums back on! This is my first venture doing drum brakes...any
> tricks to doing it? I didn't turn the drums but did clean them with a
> wire brush and a pneumatic grinder, then buffed them with a pad...
>
> Jeff
>
> /// datsun-roadsters@autox.team.net mailing list
> /// Send admin requests to majordomo@autox.team.net or go to
> /// http://www.team.net/cgi-bin/majorcool
> /// Send list postings to datsun-roadsters@autox.team.net
/// datsun-roadsters@autox.team.net mailing list
|