34 Pickup Rear Brakes

J

jhswolf

Member
One of my winter projects is to do a rear brake job on my '34 Pickup with mechanical brakes. I need a couple of pointers.

The right rear adjuster wedge screw was frozen with rust which temporarily prevented my from loosening the brake shoes and removing the drum. I was able to heat the screw housing enough and get it to turn which relaxed the brake shoes and I pulled the drum.

Unfortunately, while the adjuster turned, it snapped off inside the housing (I don't know what the housing is called, but it seems to function like a wheel cylinder) (see blue pointer).

It looks like new adjuster screws are available, but how can I get the old adjuster out? I'd rather not drill the rivets that hold on the wheel cylinder. Is there a way to pop off the adjuster grease cap (see yellow arrow)? If I got the grease cap off, would I be able to access the end of the adjuster enough to get some vice grips on it and turn it out?

If I have to get another wheel cylinder, any recommendations on where I can get one? I'll have to get two sets of rear brake shoes, adjusters, and grease caps.

Thanks!
John
 

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I believe that your ‘34 adjuster is similar to my ‘38 adjuster, which does not screw out from the rear of the backing plate, but rather, to the front, which in doing so, pushes out the dust cap. As yours has broken, you’ll have to remove the dust cap with a pick of some sort, to access the adjuster and wedge within. As for replacement parts, and other help, you’ll find none better than Flathead Ted on this forum, and his floater wedges, which are superior to the original Ford wedges.
 
You can also replace the whole backing plate and adjuster with takeoff parts from someone who converted to hydraulics. Put a want ad in the swap meet section and pick California parts if you have a choice. They are beautiful compared to Midwest parts.
 
If your adjustment screw/wedge was stuck enough for it to shear inside the housing, it is highly unlikely that your will be able to get a sufficient grip on the tapered end short of welding something to it provide a good grip once you pry the cap off.

I would seriously consider Zeke3's suggestion to replace the whole backing plate or better yet, the pair.
 
,The part with the 4 rivets could be also interchanged with Model A not hard to do ,its not a cylinder as such , pull the spring then drive the ends of the shoes and rods out .A small Chisel hitting the cap side ways can work to .Welding somthing on as David said might be your go ,or cut a slot in the end . Ted
 
If you go the replacement route, the backing plates are not unique to '34s, but rather were same on all '32-'34 passenger cars and commercial vehicles. That amounts to a fair number produced and probable survivors.
 
Thank you for all the great suggestions! I now have a much better idea of which way to go on this one.

First I will try knocking the cap off and see how much access there is to the adjuster.

If I can't cut a slot in the adjuster, I have a really old Snap On welder that I could try to weld something onto the adjuster.

I'm glad to know about the interchangeability of the backing plate. I hadn't thought about a WTB ad for someone that converted.

I'm glad to know I have some options.

Thanks guys! I will report back.

John
 
Today's update: A little progress, but not too much.

I was able to take a chisel and pry off the grease cap pretty easily.

As folks have mentioned, there's not much room to put a vice grip on the adjuster to turn it out. I managed to cut a slot in the adjuster, but unfortunately, I can only get the adjuster to turn a quarter of a turn back and forth. I just can't get a good enough grip with a screwdriver (I'm not too good at cutting slots either).

My next step would be to weld a bolt onto the end of the adjuster as suggested. In parallel, a friend of a friend might just have a set of backplates, so we'll see if that pans out.

I've never welded a bolt onto something in order to get it out, so I'm learning a lot and having fun.

More to follow.
John
 

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Sometimes, like in this case, I will drill a hole in a piece of flat stock, like 1/8 thick, x 1" wide, long enough for that to be the handle instead of a nut and a wrench. I believe the cad plating on the nut goofs up the weld, and this way when you drill a hole thru thinner material its an easier target to weld. I agree, getting another backing plate may be best if you're not in a hurry. I may have one...not sure what I have left after my recent auction. I'll look tomorrow.
 
jhswolf said:
Today's update: A little progress, but not too much.

I was able to take a chisel and pry off the grease cap pretty easily.

As folks have mentioned, there's not much room to put a vice grip on the adjuster to turn it out. I managed to cut a slot in the adjuster, but unfortunately, I can only get the adjuster to turn a quarter of a turn back and forth. I just can't get a good enough grip with a screwdriver (I'm not too good at cutting slots either).

My next step would be to weld a bolt onto the end of the adjuster as suggested. In parallel, a friend of a friend might just have a set of backplates, so we'll see if that pans out.

I've never welded a bolt onto something in order to get it out, so I'm learning a lot and having fun.

More to follow.
John
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535915


535916
 
You can cut into the housing to get a deeper wider cut ,use a wrench on it , V it out couple tacks later with welder ,
 
Cas3,
I'm not sure what you mean by drilling a hole in the metal stock. Where would the hole be? What size hole?
John
 
Basically you are making a box end wrench except its welded on instead of slipped over a nut. Drill a hole about 3/8, 7/16 or however big you can go and cover the end of the splined cam and weld it on
 
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