The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Driveline Brake adjustment

Hello Good People Have searched archives to no avail 1955 Chev one ton, brakes are like most others. Pivotal on top, floating on the bottom. On the backplate the pivot pin (cam shaped) has an adjustment nut. By turning nut, it will bias one shoe or the other. I don't understand the point!
On another topic does anyone know of something I can use to clean up a back window,i.e some sort of paste or 2500 sandpaper? Y you would think there would be something. Thanks in advance and yes I know $250.00 will fix it.

TN ONE TON,


Welcome to the Stovebolt. The adjustable anchor pin is there to provide adjustment when the brakes have been relined or the brake action is unequal or severe. The adjusting screw is tightened up until the drum drags when rotated. The area next to the loosened anchor pin is then tapped with a hammer which will allow the anchor pin to shift slightly and the drum drag will disappear.

This routine is repeated until tapping near the anchor pin results in no more centering action and drag stays constant...the anchor pin is then tightened down and the brakes adjusted in a conventional manner. I haven't done this before..just read about it.

I Don't know about the glass polishing deal, but you are right about replacement, it would get you a nice shiny clear pane without much $$ pain!

Stuart

Stuart is right. It is used to center the shoes in the drum. Some have a slide like he says & some use a cam action. There probably is a slot in the drum you can put a feeler gauge & check the clearance. The idea is to get the shoes centered then adjust the lower adjuster till they bget real tight & back it off a few notches. That way you will have a good pedal m& even brakes with very little brakein required.

Thanks to Atomarc & Wrenchbendwer your input is
appreciated I now have a better understanding of
the cam adjuster.

If your window is hazy because the plastic between the glass is showing it's age you'll have to replace the glass. If it's hazy because of fine scratching it can be polished out. Use a DA sander with a thick cotton (old bath towel) cover over the pad (no sandpaper on the pad). You can use any fine polishing compound with the DA. Keep the pad flat & change to a clean spot on the old towel as necessary. If the scratches aren't too deep you should get good results. If necessary you can start with a coarser polishing compound but you'll have to finish with a very find compound to get a sparkling clear glass.

That adjustment can be touchy. I had a problem with one front wheel going into a skid when I tapped the brakes..If the ajustment is off in the wrong direction the drum catches the leading edge of the lining and pulls the shoe in the "brake" poition..

Learned the hard way..

Keith

On the window issue, if you are talking about a coating of dirt etc. adhering to the glass exterior, I would recommend a product called Autosol. It is absolutely amazing for this job although it is marketed mainly as a metal cleaner.

Thanks to Tiny and Truckernix.I thought there was
at least a little something that could be done to
help the glass it'll give me something else to work on. Also to Slickriffs your comments along with Atomark and Wrenchbender leads me to believe the best option for me is to leave the cam in the neutral position and adjust brakes with the star.
Thanks to all. Bob