Four hour rear brake job

[freshtiva]

Well I pulled Redford out today. Hadn't drove it in a while. Its my winter car so I figure Id see if it still ran. It did but when I applied the brake it sounded like I needed rear brake shoes. I took the drum off and the shoes didn't look too bad but I figured since it cost me two stake nuts to look at them I might as well put new ones on since I had a new set anyway. That's when everything went down hill. ( right after I figured ). I got it all back to gather and went for a test drive. I get back and the brakes are dragging bad and when I felt the drum it burned the #&*@ out of my fingers. Good thing I have half a dozen new stake nuts. :roll: Take it all a part again and found the problem. Those no good self adjusters were froze up. A few squirts of lithium grease and some flexing and I'm rolling easy again. I guess the winter driving and the summer sitting froze them up. In hind sight I notice the drum went on hard but they went on :?: Now I smell like bearing grease and my burned fingers hurt. :x So take a lesson from a dummy make sure your self adjusters are fully released when doing a rear brake job.

[Axlander9289]

Between the self adjusters and rear wheel bearings, I lost count of how many times I had the drums off my '92.

[packrat427]

Those adjusters will get you all the time :lol:

I freed mine up and they froze up again , I did not have the rear brake cable hooked up yet , so they were not really being used (adjusters )

Once I had the cables repaired , and freed them up again , (all pivot points ).. They have worked great , I use the e-brake as much as I can , never worked till this summer , I can't wait for snow.. once it is here :lol: :lol:

Just not yet . :lol:

[freshtiva]

^ a little drifting maybe ???

Weird thing on the brake job..both spindle nuts were righty tighty. :? Guess its been that way since Ive owned it. I have a NOS spindle but its for the other side of course. Guess it wont hurt anything as long as the nut is staked.

[Fordverde]

I let them in diesel for a day, then take a steel brush the hole afternoon, little zinc primer, lots of antisizing, PRESTO!!! has been almost a year without the need of take them off

[Pu241]

Freshtiva,

You need to get a set of spindles with the castellated nut and cotter pin!
Or drill your spindles to accept them(cheaper)!

[freshtiva]

^ I sold a pair just like that a month or two ago.

[Dave G]

Or drill your spindles to accept them(cheaper)!

Are the spindles hardened, or are they easy to drill?

[Pu241]

Or drill your spindles to accept them(cheaper)!

Are the spindles hardened, or are they easy to drill?

I don't actually know, but as they are a "bearing" surface I would think they would be, but they might not be. In either, case a drill press with a good nitride bit will do the job!

[freshtiva]

The hard part is holding the car up to the drill press.

[Festiva_tunner]

Those adjusters will get you all the time :lol:

I freed mine up and they froze up again , I did not have the rear brake cable hooked up yet , so they were not really being used (adjusters )

Once I had the cables repaired , and freed them up again , (all pivot points ).. They have worked great , I use the e-brake as much as I can , never worked till this summer , I can't wait for snow.. once it is here :lol: :lol:

Just not yet . :lol:

Mine just froze again and I use it everyday . . . it is also not applying the rear drums the way it should . . . last time I had the drums apart for shoes (springtime) they were froze I spent four hrs working those back and forth with PB and eventually coating the entire thing in Never-sieze . . . guess it wore off

[packrat427]

There is 2 pivots per wheel , I had one heck of a time too .

Big channel lock pliers , BFH , and PB blaster , just kept tapping back and forth till I had some movement , then I was able to work them till they were nice and loose .