The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Tons 'o Fun 1949 3800 parking brake

'48 3800 moves but when jacked up one wheel can be moved by had one too tight to move

Guessing it was parked with parking brake on

Any ideas on how to get drums off

Can I release something on the back so shoes and all come off

Have not tried yet but this is not going to be fun

Thanks

Jack,

If you haven't already, read Chapter 5 of the 1948-51 Shop Manual as it applies to your 1 Ton Huck brakes.

There are removable plugs (could be metal or rubber) near top back side of the rear backing plates that you must remove to get a flat bent brake adjuster tool into the inner drum area and back off both adjusting wheel caps on the wheel cylinder. See Figures 2, 5 & 25 in Chapter 5 for pictures that show the wheel cylinder and adjusters to know where to look on your truck.

You will need to back those off to release the brake shoes away from the drums. If the shoes haven't moved in a substantial time period, you may need to rap on the sides of the drum to cause the shoes to free up from the drum, then proceed with drum removal per the instructions in the Shop Manual.

Before all of this though, make sure you have done what you can to release the parking brake mechanism. You may even need to disconnect the cable clevis on the side that you think is seized up to free up the cable and in drum mechanism.

Let us know how it works out.

Dan

Thank you Dan

Really appreciate it!

And I assumed huck brakes was a 1/2 ton thing

That oldcarmanualproject is a great site

Very helpful

Glad it was helpful!

Let us know how the brake work turns out!

Dan

You might find this handy, as well. Its a diagram I made while working on my '49 3804's Huck brakes. The diagram assumes you are seated with the brake mechanism directly in front of you. Hope it helps.

Thanks John.

HERE IS the Tech Tip that John posted in the Driveline Tech Tips section that goes with that image.

Sooooo

Please see pic

I don’t see an adjustment slot

I looked in my 58 manual to see what type of brake this is if not Huck thinking maybe a more modern axle or something different RE the dump bed

What am I missing

Thanks

Jack,

Your 1 Ton rear brakes have external adjusting bolts, the 2 bolt heads protruding from the backing plate on either side of the brake line.

Below is a screenshot from Pg 5-13 of the Shop Manual that displays the bolts and how they interact with the geared adjusters on either side of the rear wheel cylinders inside the brake assembly. The diagram shows a "cut-away" of the backing plate and drum so you can see how turning the wrench on the bolt causes the adjusters to function.

To release or draw back the shoes, you will need to turn the bolt heads "counter-clockwise" to back off the settings (the description with the adjuster diagram says you turn them "clockwise" to increase drag of the shoes against the drum when setting the adjusters).

Hope this helps clear up any misunderstandings.

Dan

Those might be Bendix brakes. The wheel cylinder is on the top and the adjuster is on the bottom. Is there a single slot below the axle tube? Check the figure on this page.
[on edit] Nevermind. Dan has the right answer.

Thanks guys

I’ll take a look tomorrow

Really appreciate it

Jack

The bolt heads with the springs behind them to the left and right of the brake line are your adjustment bolts. If memory serves me they are righty tighty, lefty loosie regardless of which one you are adjusting.

Oops, didn’t realize I was only on page 1. Looks like gdads51 already answered your question.

Ok all adjuster bolts turn but only 1/4 of adjusters inside drum are free and don’t want to break bolts off

One wheel freed up but the wheel that I can’t spin by hand both are stuck

Spraying down but I doubt fluid is getting to where it needs to

Suggestions to get drum off without ruining

Only thing on the back I could release is wheel cylinder

BTW what an excellent idea for adjusting brakes instead of those horrible slots

Of course don’t want to bend up linkages either

I’ve tried push park brake cable back in assuming it had been parked with brake on

The wheel does rotate when I move truck

Jack,

If the wheel you can't spin by hand is at least free enough to allow the truck to roll, all hope is not lost.

I would suggest generous fluid application and gentle persuasion, giving some time for the fluid to migrate inside and hopefully work it's magic.

You may also need to try and give those bolt heads a few raps with a hammer as strikes could cause rust to break free and allow for movement again.

Hopefully some useful suggestions to help the process.

Dan

Good ideas

Thank you

Judicial use of a 2lb hammer around the drum and a like amount of prying with a large screwdriver and a large amount of patience will usually be successful. Good luck.

Roger that

Haven’t gotten the adjusters to release so I’ll try pull the drum

Don’t see where I can get anything in to pry between drum and backing plate

Plate wraps around drum pretty well

How bad of an idea is it to loosen nuts on axle shaft tube so they cover the end of the tube to protect it and put a plate to cover the tube to have something to push against and use a harmonic balancer puller to pull on the flange where the axle shaft bolts to?

What am I missing

If I mess up the drum are they available

Thanks

Got it

Found a purchase point

Lots of prying and beating

Didn’t swear once

Any suggestions to get brake return spring off/on

Pretty stiff spring

Was there a tool for this and don’t say vise grips

Thanks

Vice grips
Do you have a brake spring tool? A plier like affair with items on the ends of the handles that help remove and install springs.

Jack,

Check out the picture in Figure 36 on Page 5-17 of the Shop Manual.

Those nifty "brake spring removal pliers" can be found just about anywhere, even your local Harbor Freight, if you have one.

Dan

EDIT: Kevin beat me to the punch.

Thank you!

Update

Even with strong hands couldn’t get spring off with spring tool

I’m sure there’s a better set out there with more leverage

Put a vice grip on the hook of spring and used my huge channel lock to squeeze vice grip towards shoe face

Popped right off

Jack,

As has been said somewhere along the way, there is more than one way to get a job done.

Congrats on getting the spring off!

On to the next steps, yes?

Dan

Yes sir

More to follow