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65 f100 shortbed, disk in front drums in back. Always had wierd sound in drivers rear. Went to look today and a few small springs fell out and part in the pic below looks mangled. I took the whole drum brake assembly out and put tire back on not realizing that was not a good idea because now pedal goes to floor and brake fluid all over inside tire. What part is this. do i need a complete drum brake kit? Ive never done drum brake insides. how difficult?
That looks like part of the parking brake mechanism. Connecting link it's called, something like that. Drum brakes def. have a learning curve, but they aren't too bad, if you have a shop manual and take the time to study it. Typically the deeper one digs into vintage truck brake systems the more problems are found. The good thing is brake parts aren't super expensive. If the steel brake lines are original they should be replaced. New steel line, wheel cylinders, drums, hoses, spring kit etc, for a single axle should just be a couple hundred dollars. Each component that gets replaced generally means bleeding the entire system, so it's probably better to just knock it all out at one time and then only have to perform a single brake bleed session.
DO 1 SIDE AT A TIME!
Being you have 1 side that is bad that the parts fell out of start on this side.
You then have the other good side to look at on how it should go back together.
Dave ----
I have a question. I do know that these are stock drum brakes. With this being a 9" truck rear would these be the large old style brakes? I see several options for drum rebuild kits. A link to the correct kit would be awesome if anyone has that?
Ditto FuzzFace suggestions; 1 side at a time and/or take pic for comparison. Had a similar experience with rear drums on my 65 and found local Napa auto parts offered rear drum 'hardware kits' that vary in choice of replacement components and also available thru a number of different sources. In re-assembling, the hardware kits are a must.
The problem with using the other side as a guide, it operates on the assumption that everything was assembled and adjusted correctly by a previous mechanic (and he used the right parts.)
Could end up just faithfully duplicating somebody else's errors. I mean sure, take a look at it of course but RTFM when it comes to brakes, especially if not familiarized with drum brake systems.
I usually take a few pictures before disassembly. Probably the easiest thing to mess up is the primary and secondary shoes. I don't do brakes enough to remember which goes where if I didn't take note of it. The adjusters go on only one way, particularly if automatic adjusters are installed. They're also left or right specific but that's easy to avoid messing up by doing one side at a time.
Youtube is a great resource for "how to" videos and pictures like ND posted are a big help, too.
Abide by Tedster's words: You canNOT assume the previous repair was done correctly.
Therefore, using the other side as a guide is possible invitation to early failure.
I recall the front shoes being reversed (primary for secondary) and the rate of wear was bad. Plus, the improved efficiency, once done correctly (following the Ford manual) was inversely good.
Brakes are something, that, when you need them, you NEED them.
Or you can purchase spare front end parts as needed....
Found taking pic's or dissembling 1 side at a time helpful; having the 3 vol. Shop Manual, in a majority of cases.I did not necessarily find the illustrations and parts breakdown helpful; for example, believe one will find the illustration in the Shop Manual is not as thorough as the illustration and parts described in the 1964-1972 Ford Truck Master Catalog. I purchased the CD years ago and still in the infancy stage of learning how to maneuver thru the various illustrations and parts section and groups; Bill; affectionately referred to as NumbersDummy, posted a 'master catalog breakdown' that I found very helpful. If set on purchasing the Shop Manual suggest comparing CD to Hard Back.
