Brake rod installstion 1928 Tudor

S

Sly

Member
Hello,

I found that my new brake rods are to long, it seems?!

I turned the fisheyes till the end but the thread of the brake rods are to long.

I have neary no brake power. I have new brake shoes implemented, the inside of the drums is fine everthing works.

Is it normal to cut the threads of the brake rods appr. 0,8 inch to screw the fish eyes further?

All 4 Brake rods are to long, I would have to do that for all 4.

If the brake and clutch pedal are in line, no brake power. If I adjsut the brake pedal it uncomfortable, not in line with clutch pedal and I have a little brake power.

Also my cross bar is overhauled, no play.

Another thing ist the oprerating pin; is that normal to put a shim or pill under it even if it has the right lenght? 7-1/8

I send some pictures.

Thanks for your help.

Stefan
A
 

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Stefan,

A couple of things:

Measure the length of the brake rods and post what the length is.

Make sure the brake cross shaft is vertical and the brake pedal is all the way up to start connecting the service brake rods.

The clevis on the ends should have a lock nut on them to keep them from turning.

The front brake actuator should angle forward 15* which in your photo looks to be about that, and if you have no brakes with that adjustment, then there might be something inside the drum that needs further work, so maybe take a drum off and post some pictures of that.

Good luck on getting it fixed up as brakes are very important.

Jerry
 
CarlG said:
I never quite understood why there is a lock nut there, since once installed, there is no way it could unscrew itself.
Click to expand...
me too until Fordbarners convinced me that slight jiggling back and forth could wear the threads- ( very small print stuff , I agree!)
 
CarlG said:
I never quite understood why there is a lock nut there, since once installed, there is no way it could unscrew itself.
Click to expand...

its not so much to unscrew as it is to remove the slop between the threads inside the fisheye and prevent it from rotating just a little bit, without them the vibrations of the car can wallow them out and eventually strip the threads. compare a new fisheye and new rod to a worn fisheye and rod and you will see what I mean. Is it going to happen overnight? no. BUT once it starts happening a little bit its just going to get exponentially worse due to the slop getting bigger. If ford could save $0.05 by leaving them off he would have if they werent needed.

Yes each wheel's brake actuating arm should be tilted 15* forward on the front and 15* towards the rear on the rear. Straight up and down it should lock the wheel to where you cant turn it by hand. If you dont have that set right first the rods and rest of it are going to be all over the place.

the goal is under the heaviest braking every arm (including cross shaft) should be straight up and down(brake rods at 90* angles) for maximum efficentcy. Think of how you use a breaker bar on a siezed nut - your best leverage is holding the bar at a 90* angle - same true for brakes.

That being said each wheels brake arm should tilt 15* same with the cross shaft under released conditions.
 
As for the even pedals, There is wear at the base of the pedals. The notches are worn where the brake pedal is limited by the bell housing. Build up the wear with weld and file to fit.
Also there is a limiter ring on the end of the pedal shaft. I have seen the end of the shaft wallowed out, then the shaft has to be replaced, otherwise replace the end limiter ring.
Bob
 
Hi Jerry,

here are some pictures...
 

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Does anyone have an idea?

Is that normal that you have to cut the new brake rod at the thread to make it fit?

new lengths is 50,98 inch
 
with the brake rod disconnected and the lever arm pulled back to where its straight up and down can you rotate the wheel with it off the ground? if yes your brakes are mis-adjusted and needs to be corrected first.
 
Stefan,

I measured a few brake rods I have and they range from overall length of 50 5/8" - 50 7/8". With that being said I think a couple of other things need to be done BEFORE you shorten any of your brake rods.

The shoes need to be arced to your brake drums so that they have full contact to stop. New shoes will only hit the drum in a small area if they are not arced properly and it will be impossible to adjust them properly.

The cross shaft needs to have the arms vertical. If the rod from the pedal to the cross shaft is not adjusted correctly it will keep the cross shaft from having the arms vertical and the rods to each backing plate will appear to be too long.

Once these two things are done you could start over on connecting the brake rods and they might be a workable length.

Good luck, Jerry
 
My 28 Leatherback still has the self equalizing brake system and the rods are not adjustable. I don't know if the rods on the self equalizing system were different in length than the later system with adjustable ones.
 
Stefan, what's the status of the rod between the brake pedal and the cross shaft, there's a lot of adjustment there. That will affect all of the brake rods equally. Take a look at the photo and see if you have this style rod.
-DAN
 

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Start by making sure everything inside each drum is good to go. Disconnect the brake rod at the drum, then does the brake drum lock up with just a very slight pull on the arm? If not then you need to adjust the brakes tighter. I adjust the brakes, with the rod off, until the wheel locks tight, then back off the adjuster a few clicks until the wheel turns with just a very slight drag. With new whose, this slight drag will soon wear away.

Do this and report back on what you found for each wheel adjustment.
 
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