Rear Wheel Cylinder Mounting

[Healey Nut]

Does anyone have any tricks tips and quick ways to install rear wheel cylinders .
Im about to rip my non existent hair out trying to get those lock plates and dust shield all in the right order .

 

[Bob_Spidell]

Here's a note I sent to the email list a while back:

Here's the sequence of installation that caused me the least frustration:

1) LIGHTLY grease all moving/sliding parts, including the adjuster cam and spreaders and the shaft that the handbrake lever pivots on (I use wheel bearing grease)

2) Insert cylinder into its slot

3) Slide the spring plate, with hooks pointed toward the diff, into the slot on the cylinder from above as manual shows

4) Insert the handbrake lever through its slot on the backplate from the outside

5) Lift the cylinder a little with a screwdriver and slide the handbrake pivot shaft into its notches on the cylinder (the spring plate allows this)

6) Start working the flat retaining plate with the notches into the slot on the cylinder on top of the spring plate. I tapped it in; it would help if someone held the handbrake lever out in its actuated state to prevent the spring plate from retreating from the flat plate (it might be possible to squeeze them together with a large set of channellocks). Make sure the little hooks on the spring plate engage the notches on the flat plate.

7) Work the rubber boot/dust cover over the handbrake lever and around and under the retaining plates, with the beveled edge sliding under the plates (see vid).

8) Wipe off any excess grease (it doesn't go well with brake material)

Credit where due: I'm often (always) disappointed with the quality of aftermarket rubber products, but the dust covers I got from Moss are not only molded and cut perfectly, but seem to be made of a tough rubber that should actually hold up (it's almost a soft plastic).

Bob

ps. This is as much for my benefit, as I seem to have to do this job every decade or so, and have to start from scratch procedure-wise every time.

Edit: Confirm the cylinder slides easily in its slot; I have a short video showing this, but apparently the Forum doesn't allow .VID files.

 

[Bob_Spidell]

I thought long and hard about which plate should be 'on top' and which should be on the bottom. Intuitively, you'd think the flat backing plate would go next to the brake backing plate, but I believe that is incorrect; the rubber boot can only go one way because the flat plat is larger than the spring plate:

 

[Healey Nut]

Ok so that seems to be the problem . The retainer plate with the little hooks on goes against the brake shoe back plate and the flat plate with notches in goes on top thus leaving a little gap around the edge for the dust shield to sit around the edge of as the flat pate is slightly larger than the opening in the rubber dust shield .
Tks Bob . Will report back .

 

[Healey Nut]

Tks Bob .
Everything slid together easily , no more ripping at non existent hair follicles .
The only other add would be to coat the dust seal with dish soap or a silicone lube just to make it a bit slippery so it can be easily tucked in around the edge of the brake cylinder retainer plate (notched one)