Brake shaft binding

I'm ready to do a brake job on my 2N. Got the video, FO-4 manual, all ducks in a row, but....

My right brake shaft (where it goes into the backing plate) is/has been stuck fast for a while. What's the preferred method(s) to get it free? PB Blaster and time? Heat? Both? Anyone else run into this problem? How'd you solve it?

TIA

Ron

PB Blaster, heat, finally a press. I cut the retaining collar off and drilled out the four rivets holding everything to the backing plate. Once I had the shaft and bearing block in hand I could get it in the press. For me the bushing came out with the shaft. The bushing wasn't that bad, just a rusting shaft binding everything together.

Note that the shaft is 1" and then 1.0625" (me thinks) where the bushing rides.

Clean it up, grease it up and back together. If you have the $ or resources you could build the shaft back up and turn it down. I didn't. :(

I used socket head cap screws to mount the block back to the backing plate, heads out, but rivets could be found, and a 1" split shaft collar instead of the pinned original collar to retain the shaft. I placed a 0.25 inch piece of 1" ID X 1.25" OD (top link collar to shim CAT I to CAT II) to offset the split collar from the backing plate.

That's what I did. One could skip cutting the rivets if you can get everything blocked properly for your press. I remember it being difficult with the backing plate in the way.

Thanks a bunch!

That's the info I need. I've got access to a 10-ton press at work (hope that's enough!). I was afraid that this wouldn't be a one-hour bang-bang type of job. Your idea of cap screws replacing the rivets is a good one--one that I'll use, since originality is secondary to utility and accessibility, at least in my book.

Ron

FYI: The cap screws I used were 1/4 - 28 X 0.75.