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Crypt Car Brake Failure

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Tinster said:
Well, David, one of them is now lost in the weeds
somewhere. Would the thru-bolt concept function?
Click to expand...
It might function, but I don't think it's a good idea. Arguably better to not put anything there, although I really wouldn't do that except in an emergency. The bolt would make you an official "DPO" (dreaded previous or, in this case, present, owner).

Come to think of it, "...er, DPO" is an anagram of your buddy "Pedro"! /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif
 
Dale, Review Lionheart's step by step discription. In your last post it sounds like your not mounting the brake shoes with the spings attached. That is the only way you will get the springs on the shoes if it is mounted as one assembly.
The pins with the clips will be the last thing on the list.
You should beable to purchase those clips at Western Auto or any parts store.
Joe
 
Dale,

I agree with Joe. take a deep breath and read the instructions given earlier. You CAN do this. Take a break and head to your local parts store with one of the old clips to match it up.
 
I just read Andrew's post. You could use a nut and bolt, just snug it tight. That should get you too Western Auto and you could have them replace it with the pin and clip.
 
Tinster said:
Finally, I was trying to compress the clip and
push it over the pin with a wood chisel when suddenly
it let loose and sprang out of my garage and into the
garden where I cannot find it. It is lost it would seem.
Click to expand...

It wanted to join the $3 spring I had shipped over from the US and then promptly broke by trying to force it in place, and those little springs which go in the syncros which were last seen flying off into the neighbors garden... of course
it was the NEW spring which I lost and stupidly didn't order extras.

Tinster said:
Do you think I can simply thru bolt it with a 1/8" bolt
and lock nut? I have not a clue how to stretch those bloody
springs BEHIND everything. I almost got a hernia stretching
one yesterday on the OUTSIDE!
Click to expand...
you have gotten to the nasty bit. First of all make sure the adjuster (the bit on the bottom) is fully backed off so that you don't have to stretch the spring any further than needed. I usually clip one brake pad on and then hook up both springs and then rotate the second brake shoe into place. Once it is in place, I use a clamp to hold the shoe against the back plate while I attach the second clip. This usually takes a few tries but I have always succeeded eventually.

However, I will suggest an easier way, which I might try next time.
Get a "spreader type camp" like this.
https://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=47398

Now take out the wheel cylinder and assemble both brake shoes, springs etc. Now using the spreader, force the brake shoes apart enough to slide the wheel cylinder in place.

I would put the spreader on the top of the brake shoes, just above where the wheel cylinder goes. Since the clamps are fairly cheap, I would grind notches on the clamp faces to hold the brake shoes securely.
 
Tinster,

Like Easyrider said, the brake shoes with springs on the inside have to go on first. Put the spring with the straight middle area at the top. It takes some manhandling, but you have to hold the two shoes apart while you slip the top spring between the hub flange and brake cylinder body then pull down and force the lower spring down and behind the flange. Then I'd mount the right shoe (you have to fit the parking brake lever thru the square hole in the shoe), then the left one.

Make sure the right shoe ends get seated in the slots at the cylinder body and the adjuster at the bottom. Then really pull to get the left one on, one end at a time. It won't be pretty and the springs may fall off a time or two. You just have to keep at it but it does go together.

As for the pins, I compress the clip and turn the pin from the back with my fingertip. Compressing and trying to turn the clip with the same tool was too tedious. I'm sure someone can describe the process better. I'd send you a clip but they're in SC with all my stored parts - maybe someone else has a spare and can mail...

Jeff
CF13816U
 
Thanks for the advice Jeff,

I think it best to cover the foul Beast, go on our
cruise this Sunday and have a good week at sea.

When we return, I will thru-bolt the shoes and attempt
to to spread the springs. If I can't get the springs
and shoes installed, I'll probably pull the hub and take
it to Western Auto.

I'll order a new clip from Moss along with a few other
parts.

thanks all, I guess a mechanic I just ain't gonna be.

d
 
TRopic6 Jeff said:
As for the pins, I compress the clip and turn the pin from the back with my fingertip. Compressing and trying to turn the clip with the same tool was too tedious.
Click to expand...

This way is sooo much easier to do than trying to rotate the clip. But if you didn't have the shoe(s) located against the backplate, NO amount of grunt will line it all up. Back the adjuster all the way out, too. Adjust after the drum is on, before you bleed it.
 
Dale

If you are going to pull the hub anyway, then why not have a go at the brakes with that removed? With the hub out of the way I would imagine the springs and clips would be a lot easier? You could even work on a bench if you wanted, rather than crouching in the wheelwell. Just a thought.

Alistair
 
Not going to pull the hub again.
I simply do not have the mental energy
to tear the rear end of out this car for
the third time.

Cypty can sit on jack stands a few more
weeks/months. After 70 weeks of endless
struggling and $10s of K put into this
non-running car from heck, I am mentally
tired, worn out. Crypty has bested me....
for now anyway. I'll beat the SOB eventually.

Gonna take a Crypty break and get on with more
productive things in my life.

d
 
Dale,
You need a break. Take the cruise. If you're like a lot of us you'll have the brakes figured out in your head by the time you return.
My technique for installing the pin and clip is pretty simple. I use a pair of fence pliers I used to make my living with. The nearest thing I find in stores now are linemans pliers. They are heavey duty, square nosed with wire cutters on the sides of the jaws right near the pivot. The handles are about 8 inches long. You can cut a 10 penney nail with those cutters. No tool box should be without a pair.
Push the clip into place. Feed the pin in from the back side of the backing plate. Line up the flat on the pin with the slot in the clip. Hold the pin in position. Align the nose of the pliers with the slot in the clip and the flat on the pin. Have the pliers open a little so the pin will go in between the jaws. Use the linemans pliers to push the clip inward enough that you can grab the flat on the pin. Twist the pin 90 degrees and it's done.
One or two more comments. My first car was a 69 MGB. My first trip in the car was to the tool department at Sears. Everything I know about working on cars came from doing the work myself. When I was younger I had more of whatever it takes to learn this stuff and not get as frustrated. Maybe it was due to the fact that if I didn't fix the car, I didn't have transportation to work.
My neighbors think I'm an idiot for working on my cars. "Pay someone", "Don't mess with it if it ain't broken" "Wal-Mart will change your oil"... Although it's frustrating at times I still enjoy the results.
Your affair with the TR6 got off to a rough start, but you've learned a tremendous amount. Who was it that asked if someone stole your avitar? Something about removing the differential? The bottom line is eat the elephant one bite at a time. Enjoy your successes and ask for help when you need it. Oh yea, if you send the car to the crusher we're all going come there and burn PR to the ground, take away your birthday and give you a girls name (after we plunder the rum distilleries!)
 
Cruisin and Fishin sounds like the best remedy for the time being.
Say Hi! to Jimmy from all of us,should you see him
 
Dale, You need an intervention. Or a break, or both.

Its the brakes, not the engine or gearbox. It's about an hours work on each side. Tops. That's to disassemble and reassemble the entire thing. What you have left to do it a 20 minute job.

Get new clips. Follow the instructions posted above about putting the springs on before fastening the clips and you should be all done in no time. You need no more force than is provided by an average 12" screwdriver to stretch the springs - if you have to apply more then you aren't lined up somewhere.

Just this time put the drum on.

Remember to slacken the adjuster off as much as possible to put the drum on, and then retighten when it is on. (use the back of a 1/4" socket with an allen wrench in the hex portion to do it).

This is not hard. I only swore once when I did mine (when I realised my adjuster was rusted solid and I'd have to do the whole job over to take it out).
 
Hi Dale,
I know the feeling. Take a break (brake) from Crypty and I am sure you will feel more inclined to work on it again in a couple of weeks. At least there is no hurry to get it back on the road. Surely once you have resolved this problem you will have a good few months or years of trouble-free motoring.
Have a good cruise.
Nick
 
Well, yeah. A lot of good folks have a lot of
their time and sound advice invested in this project.

I guess I got ahead of myself after I finally had a
functional engine and a reliable drive trane and had
replaced so many major car components after almost
1 1/2 years of the car on jack stands and 2 weeks on
the road.

I really thought the two weeks the car was operational
was finally the turning point from major problems to
normal old car maintenance. Then the wheel came off.

My expectations exceeded the reality that I have been
rebuilding what was really a parts car that should have
been taken apart and the pieces sold on e-bay.

Another few weeks and I'll go back to identifying major
PDO Pedro issues lurking under the sheet metal skin.

Oh yeah, Pedro's $600 paint job is now flaking off.

Wendy, bless her soul, offered me $1,000. of her own money
to take Crypty to a specialty paint shop and have the car
painted properly. I didn't have the heart to tell her.

So the Crypt saga ends for now but will continue in the not
too distant future. Stay tuned.

Thanks one and all. As someone once said.

" I'll be Baaaaaaaaaaach!

I'm just a little tired right now.

dale and wendy goin' cruisin' to Aruba.
 
Aldwyn said:
Have fun while away, Dale! And leave your key under your mat when you leave... I'll come down and take care of those pesky brakes for you while you are away! /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/laugh.gif
Click to expand...
You want to deprive Dale of all the Fun!!!!!:smile:)
 
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