Brake pins

nudging the pin back and forth until I could rotate the pin. Then I used screwdrivers,chisles and adjectives. this got the first one out. The second one told me to take a hike. I got the smallest bearing splitter that W.W.Grainger sells and clamped in the groove of the pin after I got it to start rotating. I would screw the forcing bolts against the casting until it wouldn't move anymore, then drive in the chisles, between the splitter and the casting . squirt in the penetant, diassemble the splitter, drive the pin back in,and do it all over again. This was on my 1956 W.D.45. One of my buddies with 40's W.D. had his come apart with no problem. If you cut the pin off inside the casting,you will have split the axle housing from the differential, I,m sure. It takes patience and a lot longer to do than it took to tell you this!My 12th grade english teacher would have fainted if I had ever turned something this long. I just remembered, it also helps to pry up inside the hole at the bottom of the casting to shove the brake shoes on the pins. One A.C. guy told me that if mice made a nest in there, and you get it apart without torching and a teardown, you have been favoured by powers that be.

Not wanting to start something here but you do not have to split the axle housing if you cut the pins. I have done this MANY times on many WD's. The pins simply fall out of the bottom of the hole once free. Cutting the pin is by far the most efficent way I have found if they are "hopelessly" stuck...and you will run into some that are... especially if the brakes hav'nt been changed in 50 years and the tractor left outside. You can order new pins thru any AGCO dealer and shoes can be easily found if you mess them up. If you use a torch be sure to clean out the mouse nest (which is inevitable) as best you can...save on the smoke a little.

If your brake job is'nt urgent get some PB Blaster and start soaking and tapping the the pins at least once a week. Be sure to squirt it in thru the bottom hole to help loosen from the inside.

Max- I was philosophically opposed to cutting the pins until I tried it after exhausting all other methods... including the one you described. It works like a charm...believe me. Try it if you ever run into a badly stuck pin again and save yourself A LOT of time. I now do a brake job on a WD in a few hours rather than a few days.

Regards,

Steve

Of all the jobs to do on a WD I feel the one your doing is the absolute worse. The first thing to try is to grind off a bit of the pins end (it's hardened) and drill and tap (3/8) and make a sleeve type puller. If I remember right an 1 1/4" pipe coupling has a larger id than the pins od. Screw a piece of threaded rod or a long threaded hardened bolt into the hole you just tapped and use a nut and washer to pull against the coupling. I hope this explanation is not confusing. This method has worked for me only once and only after spraying the pins periodically with PB Blaster throughout a whole summer.

Another thing to try is to weld a nut onto the pin and try and work it loose. It's worth a try but I hav'nt had success this way. Make sure you leave enough metal on the pin to be able to cut off the nut...The next paragragh should explain why.

If the sleeve puller or other method fails the next thing to do is cut a chunk out of the pin thru the hole in the bottom of the casing. I have used a sawz-all for this but my torch head is small enough to reach the pins and is much quicker. Either way you do it you have to cut a big enough chunk out of the pin to be able to drive it thru the casing. The inside part of the pin comes out easily but you'll have to pound a bit to get the front part thru.

These methods are from my expierence but may be someone out there has a trick I hav'nt heard of yet.

GOOD LUCK!!!!...and if you have any more questions feel free to e-mail.

Steve