Rear brake disassembly question

Conner · Post by **Conner** » Sun Dec 04, 2005 3:09 pm

I'm in the process of disassembling the backer plates from the rear brake assemblies, so that I may clean them, get them sandblasted, and paint them (at the same time I'm replacing the rear wheel bearings, seals, etc.).
Anyway, I removed the brake cylinders from each side's plate with no problem. It is the little bracket opposite the cylinder I am having trouble with. Here is a picture:

As far as I can tell these things don't have any mechanical/hydraulic function; they are just the mounting point for the other ends of the shoes and the cylinders oppisite do all the squeezing. Anyway, they appear to be mounted to the backer plates by two lower nuts, which I removed.

There is also this center-stud that is 1/4" squared. Not sure if/how to remove that.

How do I finish getting this piece off the backer plate? Should I even bother removing this piece prior to cleaning/blasting/powdercoating?

Thanks for your help.

Post by **spl310** » Sun Dec 04, 2005 3:31 pm

Andy,

That is more than a mounting point, that is the adjustor! It should pop right out once the nuts are off. A little gentle persuading (read: ball peen hammer) should pop it out. The big stud with the square head is how you adjust them. The two steel slugs that the shoes rest on should move in their bores. There is a good chance it is shot...

Conner · Post by **Conner** » Sun Dec 04, 2005 3:37 pm

Thank you.
I'll get it out of there and see about getting replacement parts, because I have no doubt that they are frozen.

Sid's the man!

Post by **spl310** » Sun Dec 04, 2005 3:41 pm

Soak it in PB Blaster or Kroil and play with it. A screw driver stuck in the face side and twisted can often pop one or goth of the slugs out. Then you can work on the stud. Good luck! I have about a 50% success rate with them...

spyder · Post by **spyder** » Tue Dec 06, 2005 2:28 am

What about the blue tipped heat wrench? I find it very persuasive on stuck/rusty things!

datsunfreak · Post by **datsunfreak** » Tue Dec 06, 2005 8:19 am

spyder wrote:What about the blue tipped heat wrench? I find it very persuasive on stuck/rusty things!

IIRC the screw and the housing are aluminum. Years of corrosion cause the sticking. Some sort of penetrating lubricant would beat the flaming hacksaw in this case.

And if you find them new, please post up. Haven't seen new ones in forever...

Also, I learned this lesson the hard way... If it's really stuck and you try and use brute force, it's fairly easy to break off the square head.

mgslayer · Post by **mgslayer** » Tue Dec 06, 2005 8:00 pm

Messing up the square heads is real easy.

Found that out the hard way a few years ago when I was trying to get mine loose using a 1/4" box wrench, then when that didn't work the adjustable wrench, then yup... the vice grips. Luckily Dean had a set in stock, but it's been at least 3 years, and they were not cheap. Soak it in penetrating oil. This part might sound messed up but it works.. ..Take a 12 point 9/32" 1/4" drive socket. The 12 point side will fit onto the male side of your 1/4" rachet and the 1/4" SQUARE side of the socket is almost a perfect for for the square part of the adjuster.

You can bead blast the parts, I think the slugs and screw are steel, the housing is aluminum. I put mine back together with a thin coat of never sieze on the screw and a little on the slugs.

Happy Wrenching

Conner · Post by **Conner** » Tue Dec 06, 2005 8:16 pm

That's good advice. I noticed my 1/4" socket was just unable to fit over the square end of the stud. That's a good idea to use the inside of the socket.
I've got a request in to my dealer to see if the adjustors are available (fat chance, but worth a shot). If not, I'm stuck with getting these sorted out.

datsunfreak · Post by **datsunfreak** » Tue Dec 06, 2005 8:25 pm

I just bought two sockets from the junk bin at the hardware store. Take a 1/4 drive socket (pretty much any tiny size), jam it into the "mouth" of a corresponding 3/8" socket, then weld them together. Then you can adjust it with a 3/8 ratchet. Works like a charm.

Conner · Post by **Conner** » Thu Dec 08, 2005 1:44 pm

FYI I just heard back from the dealer, and the adjusters are NLA from Nissan, but as an aside the rear brake cylinders themselves are still available for a little over $30 each. The vendors have the adjustors for around $45-$50 apiece, so there's that if I can't get mine moving again.

datsunfreak · Post by **datsunfreak** » Thu Dec 08, 2005 6:20 pm

Conner wrote:The vendors have the adjustors for around $45-$50 apiece, so there's that if I can't get mine moving again.

I am fairly sure you can get used ones from either a 510 or a 240Z. Don't know if that helps or not...