Hi there!

It has been a while since I have been on here. Finally got my 51 F-1 home about 10 days ago and getting to work on it. It runs, but stopping is a real problem. The brakes are barely functional. So I decided to try getting the brakes to at least work a little better for now. I intend to put discs on it later, but I need to get the drums working for the time being.

My left rear brake was leaking brake fluid so I started there (actually I started by checking that there was fluid in the master cylinder--there was). I pulled the drum off and found a broken return spring and a shot wheel cylinder. There was fluid and filth all over the brakes and everywhere. I pulled it all apart, cleaned everything really well. Bought a new spring kit and new wheel cylinder. Reassembled per the shop manual, with much swearing, but got it done. When I push the pedal the cylinder works as advertized, the shoes move outward and upward kind of. But they do not return to the starting position. I HAVE NOT YET BLED THE BRAKES. Is that why they don't return? I expected the brakes to be mushy and full of air, but I did not expect them to refuse to return. If I whack them a couple times they go back to the "off" position. But left to themselves they stay in the "on" position. None of the other wheels show signs of leakage, but I am sure they are in need of some kind of work too.

Here are some pics...

This is BEFORE pressing the pedal:


This is AFTER pressing and releasing the pedal:



Any help?

Tyler

 

Can you post a bicture of the entire brake assembly area?

 

The cylinder over-extended when you pushed the brake pedal without the hub in place. That is usually what happens if you do that. Get yourself a rubber mallet and GENTLY tap the shoes back into position. Then you will still probably have to back the adjustment off some to get the hub back on. Keep in mind that those shoes don't travel a huge distance between "off and on" with the hub in place. It basically boils down to a tight verses loose fit inside the drum.

 

hard to tell but it looks like the pistons for the wheel cylinders look a little rough, you might want to clean them up a little. that might be part of why they are not returning.
You really need to do the complete brake system, all 4 wheels. At least replace the rubber lines if not the hard lines as well. One place not to go cheap on is the brakes.

 

I had thought about that but was not sure if that was a realistic possibility. Glad to know that. Below I am posting a pic of the adjustment screw (extended pretty far) and a pic of the whole assembly.



adjustment screw...



I will look at the whole system too. Not gonna go cheap. Just want them to work for now so I can pull it in and out of the garage.

Thanks guys!

t

 

That adjuster looks like its about maxed out! And from the pic, it looks like the shoes are way too far out to get the drum on?? Not challenging your knowledge as its hard to know from here, but you need to put the drums on before adjusting those out. Of course pictures can be misleading due to angles. I hope you don't take this the wrong way, just trying to help
edit: looked again, the flattish bar with the blue spring...I call it the emergency brake bar. Anyway it it not even in the groove in the rear, so yeah that pic. isn't gonna allow the drum to go on, and if it does? sumptin ain't right.

 

Hey Tyler,
Good to see you took the leap & bought it! You may not have much
in the way of "pad" left on those brake shoes. I found that Napa had the drums available but the shoes were more challenging. Call around & see what shop in town will rebuild your pads for you & put some material back on there. It was pretty cheap like $20 - $30.

Ben in Austin

 

First thing I would do is back off the adjuster(the bottom thing) then you may take care of the last thing I mentioned. Do you have the emergency brake set?
If you do, that cant be on. have to block the wheels if its a safety issue.
I am PURELY assuming some of this, at this point just because I don't know your experience. Again remember just trying to help!

 

You'll probably be okay with what you have IF indeed all you want to do is get the brakes working good enough to move it around your driveway. BUT it sounds like you know that a complete rebuild would be most advisable before you (or more importantly your son) drive it. The easiest way (IMO) to figure out what you have for your current purpose is to just simply jack the truck up and put it on jack stands. Spin the wheels and have your son hit the brake pedal. If they stop--viola. If they don't--you gotta figure it out. Jeff is right. That bar looks like it has fallen out of position.

By the way, a pair of these will save a ton of cuss words. Connect the bottom spring first. Then use the long skinny part of those pliers to get the 2 top springs to fall into place on that **** (apologies if you already know this, don't mean to offend).

 

Thanks Jeff and Ben. Ha ha. No problem jeff. My knowledge and experience are very limited. In fact, this the first job I have done done on a vehicle since I was about 17 about 27 years ago. I think the pads are ok. I will back off that adjuster and try putting the drums back on. I am pretty sure the e brake link is in the groove. But if the cylinder over extended the shoes because I had the drum off, I am betting that is my problem. Ill check on it when I get home.

Thanks!
Tyler

 

Ok cool! I couldn't remember exactly who you were and I looked at your profile and then remembered! Great truck! and I would never insult your intelligence.
We all have our experiences in something....I wish mine was getting rich! Oh well...
Its all about learning, and that's what's important! Oh and the fun factor too!

 

Those return springs don't look right - they seem to be too high off the recess on the pin.

My suggestion (you're going to hate this) is disassemble the springs and shoes. Get back to the wheel cylinders and the parking brake cable....didn't actually see this... and then reassemble. You may be just too wide on the hub with the shoes. Just like my first re-assembly. (opps!)

The good news is you are close.

DW

 

What did I start!
Hey Doc? where's the beef?

 

Yeah don't be hard on yourself either, I have done too many drum brakes in my past, to count, and it still to this day, sucks...

 

Ha ha! yeah I got a pair of those yesterday at sears. I have figured out how to use the long ends, but the hooked and curved end is still a mystery to me.

Regarding the e brake. I double checked and it is in the correct position. What you are seeing in the picture is the notch in the secondary shoe that is just below and outside of the e brake lever. The e brake lever is BEHIND the secondary shoe and has its own notch that looks similar to the one on the shoe. The e brake link is sitting there just right. I tried the drum on and it is indeed tight. I will reinstall the drum and see what happens from there. But gotta do the afternoon run-around and get dinner going first. If my son get's home from swim practice and gets his homework done in a timely manner, hopefully he and I can get out there and solve this together.

We worked on it together on Monday (his school was off that day) and it was really fun. We both learned a lot. And for some strange reason felt compelled to talk like rednecks the whole time we worked. No offense to any of you who consider yourselves rednecks. Just good fun.

t