On Feb 13, 1:51pm, Metz wrote:
} Subject: Frozen rear brake adjusters....
}
} My '70 Midget has severly frozen rear brake adjusters. I've tried Liquid
} Wrench, a torch and vice grips on the adjuster to no avail. Before I turn the
} square adjuster into a round one I thought I'd ask for suggestions.
BMC brake adjusters work real when they are clean, but you can really mess
them up good if they are frozen. They consist of a screw with a 1/4" square
end on the outside, and a cone on the other, which pushes 1 (early) or
2 pistons out as you screw it in, thus pushing out on the shoes just
like the hydraulic cylinder at the other end. They can usually be removed
fairly easily, once you remove the shoes. There are 2 hex bolts which
hold them to the backing plate- remove them, and you can pull of the
adjuster, and clean up the 4 pieces. An important step of any
drum brake work is to disassemble these, clean them up, and coat with
anti-seize. I totally clean them with a bench-mounted wire wheel.
They should then continue to work properly for a long time. If you
can easily turn the adjuster, and you can feel the "flats" on the
cone as you turn it, you're probably in good shape. If it is stiff
to turn, or you cant feel the shoe seating into the flats, it's
time for a clean-up.
(And, because the brakes are NOT self-adjusting, they only turn when
you turn them.) I'd hate to think what a modern brake shop would do-
they just don't understand. The worst case, is when someone has let them
freeze up, and the brake shoes are real tight- cuz you need to be able
to loosen the adjuster to de-tension the shoes to remove the drum.
________
/___ _ \ Roger Garnett (garnett@BATCOMPUTER.TN.CORNELL.EDU)
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