35 Mechanical Brake Adjustment Help

jfcrash

jfcrash

Senior Member
Can we revisit in sequence / step-by-step procedure for adjusting the mechanical brakes for a 1935 Ford?

Last fall I put the 35 Phaeton on the road for my first time, brakes were adjusted using the Model A method and wooden step gauge (I believe at the time this method was discussed here in our V8 forum… so I followed it). The brakes did not stop the car with any urgency and the left front wheel would lock up and pull sharply to the left…. then winter came.

Back ground- I have new: brake rods, adjusting clevis's and pins, relined woven brake shoes, brakes shoe adj links, brake shoe rollers and Ted's equalizer kit using only one new brake shoe retaining spring per wheel, ... drums are orig. but not turned down... Don't know if it matters, but at all lubrication points during assembly I used the silver never seize lubricant.

Now using the Brake Adjustment Instructions found in the ‘32-36 Engine & Chassis Repair Manual’ (V-13) pg 47:

Step one - 4 wheels are off the ground, release hand brake – OK,

Step two –Disconnect pull rods from their operating levers- OK,

Now I need your input- it says to turn the brake shoe adjusting screw in tight and then back off just enough to allow the wheels to turn… a couple of my wheels can still turn easily even before I back off the adjusting screw?? Where do I go from here and what should I watch out for??

Have not gotten to step 3 & 4.. any heads up here?

All guidance or better method will be appreciated, Thank You, Jim
 
so did you drive your car? I try to get the wheals to turn with the same drag. also there is some thing in there about pulling the parking brake to the first click and after you adjust the brake shoes you need to adjust the brake rods I think it says after you take up the slack on the lever on the backing plate you needs something of a 32" of an inch difference. I have to reed it every time I adjust my brakes
 
What about the condition of the brake cross shaft/equalizer? If there is any slop in the bushings, you will not be able to adjust those brakes properly. Also, if you have the shoe adjustment, at top of backing plates, turned in as far as they will go, and the wheel still turns, you have a problem right there that you need to correct. I have never used Ted's floaters and don't know how they work, but I do have another brand of floaters on my Avatar 35 fordor. Those brakes work as good, if not better, than most '39-'48 Fords that I have driven. Keep working on what you have there. You should be able to skid the tires on hard braking when the system is right and properly adjusted.
 
John,
The brake cross shaft has new bushings and does not have any play in it as far as I can tell. I did read someplace here that a 'nail' can be placed between the brake shoe and the slot on the brake shoe adjusting link to 'shim' out the brake shoes, which I might try.

Brendan,
The proccedure I referenced does not mention moving the emergency brake except to the fully released position.

Jim
 
Using the original style adjusters (the ones the procedure is written for) when you turn the adjuster in the brakes should lock and there is no way you could turn the drum by hand! So follow Ted's procedure for adjusting and lock the wheels with the adjuster.
 
I agree with Jim, I would think with all links off all 4 wheels, you should be able to lock all 4 up with the adjusters, if you can't then fix that first. maybe drums are too thin, part on the shoes that contacts wedge worn etc. Ken
 
I know this thread is really old, but did JFCrash come up with a solution? I'm encountering the exact same condition.
 
If you lock up the each wheels brakes with the adjuster and then re-adjust for a slight drag each wheel should have APPROXIMATELY the same amount of re-adjustment which will tell you that things are working correctly to that point of the instructions. If the adjuster can not lock up the brakes it's best to stop and reinspect and go over Ted's instructions for installation.
 
And once all four wheels have roughly the same slight drag, the rods may require readjustment to ensure none of them have any free play.
 
I jack the front axle and adjust each wheel individually, tight then back off til slight drag and then do the rear axle the same. I drive my '35 regularly and it stops as good as I think it will ever do so. I read the instructions way back when but it's too technical for me, I like to keep it simple....:)
 
I am having a similar problem with the left front locking up..Wham...when the brakes are cold. I have had apart and flipped shoes, checked that everything moves freely etc. to no avail.
Any suggestions?
 
I know it was not your question... but... 33 years ago, my old dad... a tough WW2 vet told in this... 'you replace those mechanical with hydraulic or your gonna bust your @$$'. :)

Then about two years back... a Vietnam Vet Marine who helped me with my V8 rebuild actually said the same thing... 'you replace those mechanical with hydraulic or your gonna bust your @$$'. I guess he wondered why I laughed out loud.

I did just that... weren't cheap but excellent brakes now!

My two cents.

I understand Buick went to hydraulics in maybe 1936... and Ford in 1939... and me in 2023 :)

Take care!
 
Never size is only a lubricant for things that don’t move but someday you might want to.
There is special brake lubricant grease with a high heat drip point.
I have be using Crest ecto lube. —- there are other brands too.
Having had both a 39 and a 46 I got the 36 because it has reliable mechanical brake and was tired of the hydraulic brake problems and the single point total failure and the wicked pull when a little fluid got on the shoes.
If you look in the service bulletins around mid 36 Ford came out with a floating adjuster that enabled the leading shoe energize the trailing shoe.
 
You might want to cj}heck the perch to axle area for looseness, on my A it would just that,only when cold,
Later I had the scar of my life in it when braking in front of a Bdouble fuel tanker,the right side brakes locked on so hard that i nearly came to grief in front of the B double.
turned out to be a worn eye on both ends of the radius rod where the perch bolt went through , and the taper on the perchbolt was worn, even though the nut was tight it co uld still move.
so when applying the brakes, the axle tried to rotate and pulled the brakes on harder, bent all sorts of stuff under there ,Axle,radius rod,brake levers etc.
look closely at this area.
Lawrie
 
Turn the drums professionally by a local 5 star-brake shop. That shop will make sure that you have 100% shoe contact with the drums. That's what I did with my '33.

I had the shop here install an entire hydraulic system using the 17-inch hubs so it looks like the car has the mechanical-brake original set-up. Also the shop here kept the mechanical-brake set-up on the car, although, of course, it is not connected. They said it's best to keep the original mechanical system on the car since it has been with the car for 90-plus years!
 
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