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EFV-8 Club Forum / General Ford Discussion / Mechanical brake question

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Posted By Discussion Topic: Mechanical brake question -- page: 1 2     Henryat1140 01-15-2013 @ 12:56 PM reply profile send p.m. New Member Posts: 110 Joined: Nov 2009 My 2c A worn brake cross shaft assembly is a barrier to ever getting a good brake adjustment. We tinkered and puttered and fussed with our '36 brakes, but rebuilding the cross shaft eliminated a big part of the problem. The original 'bushing' if you could call it that was a kind of oil-impregnated fabric with no provision for lubrication - hence the shaft wore and slop developed. We have schooled a shop in the Amish Country to rebuild these with oilite bushings and a new shaft. The cost runs about $80.00 if you are interested send me a PM or email. One item you have not mentioned is the straightness of the brake rods. We took ours off and spent a good while sighting down them and making sure they were dead nuts straight. The rears especially had developed bends and curvature over the years. Getting them totally straight helped. Also make sure the rod guides are adjusted for minimum drag on the brake rods. As Supereal has said you can improve the fit of the shoes to the drum by sanding. Getting the brakes to work well is mainly just tracking down each and every place there could be wear or looseness or misalignment. Good luck and hopefully you will overcome the problem. Henry FFracer 01-15-2013 @ 8:07 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 62 Joined: Oct 2011 <<I believe the adjustment clevis yoke is at each wheel and not at the brake "cross shaft" bracket and lever assembly. The unadjustable "eye" end of the brake rod should be at the "cross shaft".>> Just A FYI Won't work on my car the cross shaft has the male lever while the wheels have the female lever that the eye fits between... To bad that would have been really convenient! 40 Coupe 01-14-2013 @ 4:00 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1674 Joined: Oct 2009 Roy Nacewicz has some of the brake parts. FFracer 01-14-2013 @ 11:40 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 62 Joined: Oct 2011 I agree the reason for excess movement is the space between the shoe and drum. I have a edge sander so I could sand the shoes to fit. In fact I will check this before I put it all back togther. I am going to go ahead and replace the cams, adjusting wedges & the wegde dust caps. I found this and a few other things at Macs. Could not find the shorter fore and aft shoe springs anywere?? I also got some of those S/S cupped washers (Hub nut washer) for the lug nuts on my spoked wheels. The lug nuts were really sucked into the rim, really didn't look or feel right. As always thank you for the input, Chris supereal 01-14-2013 @ 11:00 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 6819 Joined: Oct 2009 Overcut drums usually don't prevent braking, unless the shoe contact with the drum is insufficient. The fix is to arc the shoes to fit the drum for the full length of the linings. There used to be machines for that purpose, but the linings can be carefull sanded by hand until they fit. Another consideration is the condition of the brake wedges. If you have the Green Book, you can find the dimensions of the wedges and other brake components on pages 30-31. Due to the geometry of the brake system, very small wear on the wedges is multiplied. As wedges are mostly impossible to find, we weld on material and grind it to reach the proper contour. If your drums are just .060 oversize, they should be usable. Replacement backing plates are available, but about $225 each. I don't believe they will help unless yours are damaged. I'd bet on poor contact between the linings and drums. FFracer 01-14-2013 @ 7:34 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 62 Joined: Oct 2011 I thought about drum dia. so I swaped drums from right to left... No difference. BUT I am taking the drums to NAPA they will mic em' for me. 40 Coupe, 33' cabriolet. Yea I am at that point, looking at the track Kit, springs, adjusting wedges ect. I was looking yesterday to see if anyone sells a complete rear brake backing plate rebuild kit. I did not know the rod clevis was at the wheel, I will make that change, kinda works out, now I don't have to yell for the wife to come out and spin the tire while I adjust... "Come on Spin it! But it's hard & i'm freezing" Ahhhh Good Times LOL! Checked Drum dia. there both at 12.060" Chris This message was edited by FFracer on 1-14-13 @ 9:19 AM 40 Coupe 01-14-2013 @ 5:14 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1674 Joined: Oct 2009 It may help for us to know what year is the vehicle. It appears to be 33-34 since their rear brake rods are 61 3/8" long. You may want to disassemble the LH rear brakes to see if something has worn. I believe the adjustment clevis yoke is at each wheel and not at the brake "cross shaft" bracket and lever assembly. The unadjustable "eye" end of the brake rod should be at the "cross shaft". flatheadfan 01-14-2013 @ 5:08 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 450 Joined: Oct 2009 Hummm.....It seems like you have done everything except measure the drum diameter. You need a brake micrometer to accurately do this. Most brake shops should have this device. A drum that is excessively oversize would explain the excessive rod pull. Maximum drum diameter is 12.060" Hope this helps. Tom FFracer 01-13-2013 @ 2:50 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 62 Joined: Oct 2011 worked sorta. I have a problem drivers side rear. It requires allot more forward movement of the brake rod before the shoes hit the drum so much so if I try to adjust that rod at the crossbar I use up all the thread at the clevis. Something is wrong, I suppose I could 1/2 A$$ it by simply cutting the rod by about 3/4". I don't think those rods are easy to come by so cutting it is not an option. I pulled the drums everything that I can see looks fine, I compared the cams R&L sides there the same length, Both Brake rods measure 61.375" Frustrating! FFracer 01-12-2013 @ 9:52 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 62 Joined: Oct 2011 had never heard that method... I will try tomorrow and let you know . Thank you! Chris

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