On Thu, 13 Jan 2000, Jeff McNeal wrote:
> A very special thanks to all who suggested that I beat the frozen brake drum
> with a hammer and keep prying at it until it begged for mercy. After
> another 15 minutes of wrestling, it finally came off.
Ouch! I've done the banging route myself, but unless I'm really desperate,
I try to do it gently and mostly on the face of the drum to try and break
it free from the flange. I also will tap gently around the circumference.
but I try NEVER to pry, since invariably that results in flexing and
possibly permanently damaging the backing plate.
> I went to go work on the other side and find that I cannot loosen the brake
> adjuster without rounding the corners of the nut. I don't have the special
> tool for it and got away with using a crescent wrench on the other side.
"Rule" #1: chances are that if you can't turn it, you won't need to in
order to remove the drum. "Rule #2": Don't do anything with it in that
situation. Instead, undo the two nuts holding the adjustor onto the
backing plate and remove the adjustor. Soak it, shoot it with penetrating
garp, heat it with a propane torch; do whatever it takes to get it loose.
Then disassemble, clean/wire brush and reassemble with white lithium or
whatever your favorite grease is. I don't know how many of these I've
managed to save with only about 5-10 minutes' work. Worth if if you or
another DPO hasn't already destroyed the adjustor post. Which brings me
to...
> Can anyone recommend a good tool to loosen the adjuster, now that I've
> nearly purchased myself a new adjuster assembly? That special $9 adjusting
> wrench is beginning to sound cheap!
I can't speak for the "special tools" currently available. My two
favorites are, in order:
Snap-On spoke wrench with very deep open ends. I can get the part number
(albeit a 30-year-old part number) if anyone wants. Other than the deep
ends, it's just a long, slender open-end wrench. And it works beautifully.
Craftsman 12" (?) adjustable wrench. Yeah, it's one BIG MO**ER wrench, but
the size gives you leverage and, by default, the deep jaws you need so
that this basically open-end wrench, like the Snap-On tool above, won't
slip and round off the sides of the square peg.
Even on the car, CAREFUL judicious use of the dreaded propane torch often
will help loosen the post, after which go with "Rule #2" above. I don't
really recommend this, although I did it several times on the ex-wife's
'85 Subaru rear drum brake adjustor (very similar at least in concept).
As always, YMMV and, if you burn down the car with that propane torch,
talk to the Bernz-O-Matic folks, NOT to me! :-)
--Andy
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* Andrew Mace, President and *
* 10/Herald/Vitesse (Sports 6) Consultant *
* Vintage Triumph Register <www.vtr.org> *
* amace@unix2.nysed.gov *
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