Front brake actuator arm problem

Neil Mylar LakewoodCA

Neil Mylar LakewoodCA

Well-known member
I recently purchased a partially rebuilt Model A front end assembly.
One of the front brake actuator arms was missing.
I installed an extra one that I had.
The arm turned freely when it was uninstalled. When the actuator was tightened down, the arm stopped moving freely.

Have any of you experienced this problem?

Could the spring perch be crooked. It looks straight.
Could the king pin be crooked?

I would appreciate your thoughts.
 
im not being an *** here , but is the arm installed the correct way around?

ive done silly stuff like that before.
 
I definitely using the correct arm.
The arm on the passenger side fits into the king pin as it should and the arm turns freely.

The problem is on the passenger side. The actuator assembly fits into the king pin at an angle and tge arm does not move freely. It drags.
 
Pictures of the good passenger side.
 

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Pictures of the problem drivers side.
The actuator arm goes into the king pin at an angle.
The arm drags.
 

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Looks like you are using two right kinpins.The offset of the head should go to the FRONT of the car.It looks like your left side is to the rear.
 
If the king pin is pinched with the retainer wedge then you might try loosening the retainer and adjusting the pin for a good fit. The spring perch may also need an adjustment but you can usually see if it fits up straight or not. How easy it would be to turn the perch depends on how long it has been in the axle and condition of the spring & shackle. I left stuff loose when I fit my front end together. When I took it apart, the axle was bent and had the brake actuator housing out of kilter so I replaced it and the welded on radius bone. Basically, my whole front end was shot. 90+ years and hard living will do that.
 
Marshall,
I guess the axle could be bent, but I can't tell if it is.

I bought some good used actuators on ebay.
I will exchange the problem one when they arrive.
Neil
 
I experienced the same problem and found the Actuator shaft (not the arm) had been bent in an accident and went unnoticed till axle was straightened and brake was too stiff. Replaced with new and everything was good
 
wrong answer sorry. take both sides off and lay them side by side. see what is going on.
 
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On my old Sport Coupe's front axle, the brake rod actuator housing was forced to follow the bend on the bent side. The rivet was loose an on the actuator lever and the shaft was excessively worn where the bushings rub so I had to purchase a new shaft assembly with rivet for that side. The bushings in the shaft housing were still pretty good with minimal play on the new shaft. I will always wonder how long that axle was bent. Needless to say, the old car didn't steer well at all before the repairs were complete but it could be driven and the brakes all worked as well as worn out brakes do.
 
The front brake actuators that I purchased on ebay arrived. I took them to Randy Gross to possibly exchange them for rebuild ones. Randy said the ebay ones were in good shape. He sandblasted them and got them to turn freely. Randy is the best.

I primered, painted, and installed them. They fit as they should and the arms turn freely.
 
Neil Mylar LakewoodCA said:
The front brake actuators that I purchased on ebay arrived. I took them to Randy Gross to possibly exchange them for rebuild ones. Randy said the ebay ones were in good shape. He sandblasted them and got them to turn freely. Randy is the best.

I primered, painted, and installed them. They fit as they should and the arms turn freely.
Click to expand...

Good deal! And thanks for the follow up!
 
Neil Mylar LakewoodCA said:
The front brake actuators that I purchased on ebay arrived. I took them to Randy Gross to possibly exchange them for rebuild ones. Randy said the ebay ones were in good shape. He sandblasted them and got them to turn freely. Randy is the best.

I primered, painted, and installed them. They fit as they should and the arms turn freely.
Click to expand...
FWIW, I rebuilt a set of actuator arms recently. New bushings, and one actuator arm needed to be replaced. After I replaced the bushings, I had to do quite a bit of reaming and then lapping to get the actuator arms to work smoothly with no slop.

Associated funny story - when I took this front axle assembly apart I found that the whole lower portion of the brake actuating assembly (wedge, etc.) and the hub were packed with grease. So were the brake shoes, both sides. Disgusting.

I suspect that sometime in the past some doofus hooked up a pneumatic grease gun to the fitting on the actuator arm and just kept pumping, and the grease ran along the arm, down the rod and into the hub. I suspect he was looking for old grease coming out around the end of the arm housing but never found it. The photo below shows what it looked like AFTER I had scooped out the bulk of the goo with a screwdriver and my fingers and had started wiping down to find the brake parts.
 

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