Rear drum brake removal

[MajorBummerDude]

I've picked up a '67 F100 to tinker around with, having previously only owned Chevrolets. It's still got all 4 drums, so I'm getting the brakes sorted first. It's running, but it doesn't stop very well.

I have two questions:

1. My truck seems to be missing the auto-adjusters that I think should be on these drums. I only have a '64 shop manual (I've ordered the '67 manual), and it shows the auto-adjusters, but my truck from 3 years later doesn't have them. Is it a simple matter to just find the parts and add them in? I've seen the "repair kits" on ebay for about $25 each. I'm assuming you have to buy a different kit for each wheel, as they seem to be wheel specific?

2. How do you get the parking brake bracket off the rear shoes? It's got a little tab holding the pin in place, but I'm mangling the thing trying to get it off, and it's still there. I don't want to destroy it just getting it off. Any tips for removal?

Thanks!!

[Russell J]

I know this isn't specifically answering your questions, but this is a pretty comprehensive HOW-TO video on drum brakes. I hope it helps!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5j3sKgNoEs


Good Luck!

[sargentrs]

#1: You can buy the entire kit, including adjusters at your local parts store.

#2: Not sure what you're talking about. Can you post a photo? Are you referring to the multi-tab doohickey on the cable where it goes through the backing plate? I used a hose clamp to squeeze the tabs all in and gently tapped it through. If you mean the horseshoe clamp, part # 2106 in this diagram, you use a screwdriver to spread it apart and a wider flat something to tap it off the pin until you can get between it and the pin and pry it the rest of the way off.
http://www.fordification.com/tech/image ... ont_01.jpg

[MajorBummerDude]

I know this isn't specifically answering your questions, but this is a pretty comprehensive HOW-TO video on drum brakes. I hope it helps!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5j3sKgNoEs


Good Luck!

It definitely did help, thanks! That's similar to what I was doing, I guess I just slipped a bit and knackered it. I'll try it again a little more carefully, I guess.

Thanks!

[MajorBummerDude]

If you mean the horseshoe clamp, part # 2106 in this diagram, you use a screwdriver to spread it apart and a wider flat something to tap it off the pin until you can get between it and the pin and pry it the rest of the way off.

Yeah, it's that one. I just mangled it a bit. Hopefully the parts shop will have spares of those as well. Thanks!

[JoshT]

IIRC a new one comes in the kits mentioned above.

Maybe this will help?

https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/for ... r+kit,1904

Just posting RockAuto for reference, probably not much more at your local auto parts store. This should be all the small hardware you need to rebuild the brakes. One hardware kit does both sides on either front or rear, plus one self adjuster kit per brake location. So cheap it's almost not worth reusing the old stuff.

[MajorBummerDude]

So, earlier this week I ordered Motorcraft #2598 and #2599, brake adjuster kits.



I had to get them online, since no one seemed to have any near me. But they must be for a different year (even though the online order form said it would fit my truck).

You can see they don't look right:



There is nowhere to put this pivot pin, the cable is too long, and the adjuster itself is huge compared to the original. Obviously not the right part.

You cann see the difference in the adjusters here:



So, I found a single kit at Advance Auto halfway across town. It's a Wearever Part #2541:



The rest of the parts look right, but the cable isn't long enough!!



What the heck am I doing wrong here? I added these to my '55 Chevy years ago and it was a piece of cake. What am I missing?

[Russell J]

It’s been a while since I’ve done my drum brakes, but you may want to watch that video again that I sent you. I do not think that the spring you have at the bottom attached to the auto adjuster arm should be there. I think there should be a long spring that goes from one shoe across to the other.

Or maybe I have my front and rears backward??

Was the old cable that your removed longer than the replacement you have there in the picture?

[MajorBummerDude]

I do not think that the spring you have at the bottom attached to the auto adjuster arm should be there. I think there should be a long spring that goes from one shoe across to the other.

According to the diagram that I have (and the one from the Chilton's manual, it should look like this:



The pictures I uploaded are from the passenger side, so it's backwards from the diagram, but you get the point.

Was the old cable that your removed longer than the replacement you have there in the picture?

That's just it - there were no old cables. Or any self-adjuster parts installed. This truck came from a man that was a bit of a miser, and had a reputation for cutting corners. I wouldn't be surprised if he had simply not put them back in the last time the brakes were done.

The cable in the pictures (from the wrong kit) that I first tried to install is actually too long.

[6Delta]

it has been a while since I did the drum brakes on either one of my Rancheros or my F-250 but the pictures from the Chilton book are pretty much what you should have. It looks as though you are missing several parts in the assembly. Including another spring. (The spacer and springs that go under the brake cylinder need to be used as well.) It may be you have the wrong spring on the bottom because the spring should clear the shoe and sit kind of horizontal - like in the Chilton picture. Actually looking at some of the kits online it seems a lot of the stuff represented as brake parts for a bump is not correct. Which begs the question as to which brake shoes you received. If the holes are not correct they won't work. Did they match the ones you removed?

I was not able to even find a hardware kit that has everything needed if you don't have anything to start with. How were the brakes even working at all without the adjusters? They kind of help keep the shoes in place.

My searching came up with the first stuff you were given fit a 1996 F-350. Although the number and picture came up on Rock Auto for a bump and I know they are not correct for any bump I have ever worked on. The Motorcraft part was the only one that looked like the adjuster you were given. I know the springs are color coded But I have never paid attention to where they are supposed to go. Maybe someone can help with that.

Good luck.

[sargentrs]

Here's mine. The OEM part number for the cable is C8TZ-2A178-A and cross references to Raybestos H2102.

[MajorBummerDude]

If the holes are not correct they won't work. Did they match the ones you removed?

Yes, the shoes are exact replacements for the ones I pulled off of it. The old shoes aren't even THAT worn, but there was some uneven wear on one of them.

I was not able to even find a hardware kit that has everything needed if you don't have anything to start with. How were the brakes even working at all without the adjusters? They kind of help keep the shoes in place.

Yeah, the whole reason for this brake job is because they weren't working very well. They had worn just enough to not be very engaged, and braking was dismal. But without auto-adjusters, I can see why it was so bad.

[MajorBummerDude]

I just had a thought. What size are the normal brakes for this truck? Mine measure just under 11" from outside edge, shoe to shoe.

Was there a "bigger brake" option for these trucks?

[JoshT]

My searching came up with the first stuff you were given fit a 1996 F-350. Although the number and picture came up on Rock Auto for a bump and I know they are not correct for any bump I have ever worked on. The Motorcraft part was the only one that looked like the adjuster you were given. I know the springs are color coded But I have never paid attention to where they are supposed to go. Maybe someone can help with that.

My bad. I thought the RockAuto link would be a good reference. Didn't see that oddball in there.

Those are front brakes on a 2wd shown and I've never seen those in person. Mine is a 4wd and I ditched the drums straight away. That said they do appear to be missing a few springs. The adjuster he has installed in the last pic appears to be mostly right. That P/N H2541 is for front right, cant tell where you've got it installed. Cable will look too short, just got to get it on there.

[JoshT]

Here's mine.

Damn that top pic looks brand new. How did you get everything so clean. I mean I get the new hardware, shoes and wheel cylinder, but even the backing plate, parking brake arm, and spreader bar look new.