Motors How I wanted to be like GOO, and then became more awesome

What's really fantastic is how much information and spares backup there is out there.

 

So here is what has been vexing me.



Five little bits. One spring, 2 seal boots, and 2 dust boots.

You put on one pair of nitrile gloves, and start lubing everything with a coat of brake fluid. I pushed the first seal in, followed by the cleaned up piston, and gently pushed on the dust boot. Then I hit it with a hammer, then I used a piece of 2x4 to push with all my weight. The dust boot is a tad stubborn. Then came the tricky part. The spring went in. With slippery hands you have to press the seal in, hold it, get the piston in, hold it, seat the boot, hold it, and start pressing the edges in. After it holds a bit, you have to quickly get it seated with some weight so the spring doesn't shoot everything across the garage. Ask me how I know.



One side



Both sides! WOOT!



I re installed the brake hose bracket



Seated the wheel cylinder and attached the brake hose. You need to make sure the copper washer is installed.



Shield and cylinder re installed. Added some anti sieze to the 6 rub points where the shoes will sit. Added some to the adjustment screw, on the screws and the nub where it will rub.



I started with the spring at the bottom and the screw, which holds it in place long enough to start swearing.



There are pins at 4 and 8 o'clock that go into a spring and then a slotted cap. They need to be compressed and the pin rotated 90 degrees.



Simple, right? yeah. The secret is to use a box wrench to compress the spring and cap, then use a needle nose pliers to grasp the pin and rotate it. Let's leave it at a simple sounding solution, rather then a screaming obscenities one.

All that is left is to re assemble in the reverse order, using the drum brake tool to get the springs over their respective perches.

Before



After



I'm not even going to lie about the victory dance and the repeated shouting of; "Suck it, drum brakes!"

 

That looks great JJ, I don't mind telling you I would've just ditched them and fitted a disk conversion off the bat!

 

Have to agree with Krikkit, I did a 4-wheel disk conversion on my Chevelle, the parts I needed for the original drums was almost as expensive as the conversion, and the disks are MUCH better.
Cool car thou!

 

gorgeous car, i really like the tail lights

 

Disk brakes are great on Cars - But trucks - drums are still better due to less brake fade.

Nice work BTW! I will be watching this progress.

 

Thanks, guys. I know, I know, the disks would provide better stopping power. But, part of the reason we bought the car was for educational purposes. And my wife specifically mentioned drum brakes as an example of things she has seen in diagrams, but never actually had hands on with. So that is the main reason for this. The other was honestly financial.

Minus the actual cost of the car and some tools (lol, because you neve miss an opportunity to buy tools) the cost break down looks sort of like this:

Brake Kleen, $7
Anti sieze, $4
Front cylinder rebuild kits, $15 <- and that was pricey
Brake hoses, $20
Bleeder screws, $2
Brake spring kit, $15
Adjustment screws, $12
Brake shoes, $22 - $3 core charge

So let's call it $100 to get the brakes balanced, working well and looking good.

A disk brake conversion, done proper and not hacked together from a breaker yard:

Scarebird Bracket, $165
New Rotors, $205
New Calipers, $189
And that doesn't even touch the SS braided hoses and a new master cylinder switch from drum/drum to disk/drum. and when I do the conversion, I'm sure I will add a booster; adding the cost of it and the hoses.

Not that it's a terrible cost at all, but I'm looking at $500+ for the front end rebuild in May (stay tuned), then at least $1000 for the short block rebuild, probably $1000 for the heads to be machined and the upgraded valve train. I then want to make sure the transmission is sound and ready for the powah, the back end is sorted and new wheels and tire......you all see where I'm going. I have brakes that work now, so disks will be an upgrade. There are more pressing safety issues next. I'll get under the car with a camera and show you some of what I'm talking about later today.

Lastly, I have sold my wife on the plan and she is on board. Changing it up now and going for the bling early poses some risks to enthusiasm. That is a bad thing when you have a dirty, stinky, petrol sucking, pimp mobile taking over the garage, lol. Trust me on this. Although it really seems to help that the dogs love this car more then my truck.

 

Scania, Volvo, DAF, and Renault would all disagree true.

Good for service in very dirty environments, but they really aren't as good at fade resistance or reliability.

JJ: I was joking really, I've never had the pleasure of fiddling with drums, so in truth I'd probably have refurbed them for the experience.

 

I know, but the driver in me really wanted to go to disks. My real concern was that the stopping power might rip up the last of what bushings remained, lol. It will come in time.

 

One of our customers is a Renault truck dealer/service/maintenance group.. thing..

Their sales guys hate the discs, on trailers at least, because they're forever getting warranty claims that tie up workshop guys subsequently leading the workshop manager to give them earache.

I don't have any data to back up, but certainly seems like whatever Renault PR say about trailer discs, the mechanics, sales guys, and end users would happily see them knob off >.>

 

Interesting! I can see the problem on trailers, especially if they're left sitting around unused for a while with drums being weather-sealed etc.

 

I'll have to ask what their main warranty reason is if I find the workshop manager (Notoriously difficult to find) and remember.

I think the used vehicle buying guys avoid the disc brakes like the plague too, but that might be the cost more than anything.

 

I wish these Manufactures would stop changing their mines on this!... One minute they say Drum brakes are better for the fact of brake fade, not stopping power, (Main reasons are disc's are cracking under load...) and the next they are all out on Disc's... The latest thing is - they're changing all vented disc's to solid disc's on the tractor unit. Yet we still have Drum brakes on the drive axle, and on all our brand new 2013 trailers... I think truth be told - They don't know...Lol

This is worrying...and why trucks are serviced every 6 weeks. (If the Mechanic does a proper inspection that is...)

 

Loving the restoration-log. Looks like you're going to do a great job of it judging by the start.

 

They make a pair of pliers specifically for drum brake springs. They are great.

Nice ride, btw. The wheel well rust is something to get after. The damage on that can sneak up on you.

 

There is a little tool that you can put on a 1/4 drive handle to put those irritating springs on the drums it cost about $5 at napa (put major parts store here). I hope that you had someone measure the inside diameter of the drums as there is a spec where you know if they are SAFE to use or not. If they are still safe to use you should have them turned to see if they are still true and they won't grab when you are stopping. 4 wheel drum breaks are a pain to get adjusted properly just make sure that you use the same adjustment on all 4. I can give you a few pointers to get them right if you need. They also make a tool to slip in the back plate or the front of the drum to adjust the breaks too (break spoon), also a few dollars at the local parts store. Always remember short shoe on the front when doing drum breaks.

Great job on the rebuild, clean up and paint! I have never seen that paint before it looks great. Keep up the good work I look forward to seeing more.

 

GOO approves of and blesses this thread.

 

Update, I have the front end rebuild kit on order from PST. The only difference is that I have opted for the rubber bushings rather then the polygraphite ones. It will never be a track car, so why not just enjoy the cushy ride while scaring small children, amiright? It should be here next week. We have a house warming party on Saturday, so I'm on snag list duty until then.

Thank you, that means a lot. I still intend to give the 7 clone a go though.

I have a drum brake tool, not sure if that is what you are refering to, it is a god send to get springs on and off though.

This is actually more complicated then it seems. See, modern drums are made to a spec that doesn't need balancing, so turning them is relatively simple. Mine, on the other hand, actually have weights on them. The 2 brake places I spoke to here simply aren't equipped to do that. I am going to have to take it on a tiny bit of faith that the 38k miles haven't warped the drums. They were good when they came off, so I'm pretty confident. Famous last words.

That being said, even the brake guys were saying I'd be fine and not to worry. Especially given the plans for disks later in 2014. I will obviously do a solid bedding around the neighborhood before venturing into traffic. But that will wait until the front end is done. I see no point in bleeding and adjusting the brakes twice.

We are already looking ahead to the engine tear down, since I need a hoist to get the anvil onto the new anvil stand. That should be happening in June since I have about 5 blades I need to finish.

 

Ok, to give you an idea of the bushing issue/general crud problem.


This is the driver's side upper ball joint. You can see how they tried to keep it going with grease, dirt, and what appears to be grass clippings.


The tie rod.


Sway bar bushings.

So that will all be torn out, and the bits cleaned and painted with chassis protectant. Then I will need to have the ball joints and control arm bushings pressed in at a shop since I don't have a press. yet. lol.

I did set up the drill press to use the wire brush with, and that works a far sight better then the cordless drill.

 

The ball joint looks as if it's a bolt in job, so no need to get it pressed in.

As for the bushes, you might be able to pop them in with some threaded rod, appropriately sized sockets from your socket set and some washers.