I tried searching for a thread that answered this question, but couldnt find the one I needed.

So my '65 has stock drums on it, I just want to add a booster, so I wont have to stand on the pedal to stop! Someone on here had a link to a company that made the firewall mounted bolt on booster. Im a pretty limited mechanic looking for the easiest way to improve the braking.

 

If you have to stand on it then your brakes probably have a problem. Make sure they are functioning 100% correctly first.

 

A variety of boosters will work, you don't need one from some aftermarket company...I pulled one from a parts yard for my '66 F250 out of a 1979 F250.

Cost me 12$.

Be sure your system has no air in it...ie: is actually working well.

Good luck.

JBone

 

The brakes I've found are manually adjusted. So you need to pull the little rubber plug from the backing plate and turn the star wheel on the adjuster.

 

Yeah, what Marky said ^^^.

You may not need to add a booster....you may just need to adjust the brake shoes.

Assuming all four wheels have good brake shoes and attaching springs, jack up one wheel at a time and adjust the the star wheel so that as you spin the tire by hand, you can hear the brakes drag the slightest bit... do that on all four wheels. If it's been over two years since you last bled your brakes, you may want to bleed all four wheel cylinders again. Take your time and get all of the air bubbles out of the system.

BarnieTrk

 

Beginning 1964, all F100's came with self adjusting brakes. The self adjusters only work (if they work at all!) when you back up and step on the brake pedal.

The problem is that the self adjuster cable snaps, rendering the system inoperative on whichever drum the cable is installed in.

The parts are the same right/left/front/rear except for the self adjuster levers that are right/left specific.

The other problem with self adjusters is the adjuster screw (star wheel) tended to rust up.

One of the very first parts on these trucks to "go missing" are the rubber backing plate plugs (8A-2092). I'd be amazed if all/some are still present.

 

Bill (or anyone else),

Do you know if the '65 F100 self-adjuster cables & levers would work / fit on a '65 F250?

BarnieTrk

 

Mine work great. Course I'm pretty **** about pulling drums and blowing things out and making sure the white grease is still in place where I want it. The thing about the system working like it was intended, your rear shoes are always adjusted correctly but they do wear faster than if they didn't. BUT you always have good brakes. :O) As Bill said, every time you back up, they adjust.

 

Barney: First year for F250 self adjusters: 1966. The parts are not the same as F100's.

Rear shoes? The adjusters were installed on the front and rear. When was the last time you checked your front shoe adjustment, when Bush (pick one) was prez?
That's assuming the self adjuster parts are actually working! After a year or so, one or two parts are usually on the fritz. The cables were notorious for snapping, the adjuster screws rusted solid.

When the cable snapped, the separate cable guide could work loose, float around inside the drum. If you stepped on the pedal when it was between the drum and brake shoe, the guide chewed the hell oughtta the drum and brake lining.

Not pleasant!

 

Bill, I had my cable off and presure lubed just like motorcycle cables are lubed. He had a devise he made up that would force lube oil in from one end. I use similar type of tool for motorcycle cables but a lot smaller. The guy that made the tool for his Ford, also rides bikes and wanted to have something to lube these cables. My cables move very easy and I check my brakes every yr even if I don't put many miles on it. BUT, thats just me. ;o)
Unfortunately, because of road conditions in some states, such as salted roads, maintaining these cables, along with many other items on these old trucks, is over looked.

These trucks were built to be 'worked'. Who would think that some day, people would want to save them. There are many times over the yrs I've thought about finding them a new home. BUTTTTT... Like keeping the wife, at least you know how its put together... MAN, did I open up myseld for ????????

 

Yes,

Not pleasant. especially when the hook end grabs the timken bearing cage and spits all the tapered roller bearing out.

The parts should be available at any parts outlet.

F100 and F250 cables are not the same.

Garbz

 

So did 65's F250 come with automatic self adjusters, because mine sure didn't. Both front and rears.

 

Oops, read through ND post and found out that 66 was the first year for f250. I guess that's what I get from doing this from an iPhone.

 

By the way, I always make sure the rubber plugs ^^ are in place, if not replaced; Because -- one year I was doing a 'spring review' on my brake system and found that "someone" had began to bring beechnuts and debris inside the brake drum cavity (yes, I suspect a mouse) apparently during the long, idle months of late fall/winter. I'm sure that the nuts could have played some havoc with my braking ability if l had not cleaned them out.

I also do the same with mine ol' Slicks.... at least once every year, I jack up each corner, remove the wheel, remove the brake drum, inspect the brakes and retaining springs, lube up the points of contact with the backing plate, then re-assemble and re-adjust the brake shoe contact with the drums. Yeah, this a a bigger job with the DANA 60 under the F250 than the 9" under the F100, but I still do it; then I'm confident of my brakes for another year. Although I don't put many miles on either truck, I do occasionally have the need to pull a trailer (which is without trailer brakes), just another reason I need to be confident in my truck stopping as I expect it should.

BarnieTrk

 

Yeah, I always spray the rubber plugs with silicon and let it dry before re-installing.