Hey All!This is a follow-up to my last-week's post on doing my brakes over Thanksgiving. What a trip! I was planning to start Friday, but I found that I hadn't ordered a set of the paper gaskets that go between the axle trumpets and brake backing plate and the ones inside the backing plate. The nearest NH dealer is 60 miles away (Trivoli) and I didn't have their number, so off I went. When I got there, they said that they didn't stock them any more, so just use silicone. Oh well! When I got home, I bought gasket material and Copper-Plate gasket sealer. Since it was too late to start Friday, I began on Saturday at 11:30. The left tire and wheel came off easily, the right one took some persuading. Since both brake shafts were stuck, I decided to start with the right side, since it seemed a LITTLE freer. Five of the six nuts came off easily, but the sixth turned out the stud with it. No problem. Getting the axle and brake housing freed took a little longer. After some increasingly harder pounding and the correct mantra, it came free. They weren't kidding--that sucker is HEAVY! I found that you can EASE the shaft out, using the trumpet for support, then slide it to the ground. The directions next said to back off the brake adjuster to free the shoes from the drum. Great--the adjuster is frozen, too! With a four-foot cheater and a big Crescent wrench, I was finally able to back it off. (All parts had been BATHED for several days in PB Blaster). The backing plate and shoes slid free. JEEZ, what a mess! The entire drum and shoes was totally covered in a gooey paste of tranny fluid and dirt/filth. I put off the cleaning until I freed the shoes, since they were a major part of the filth. Now, here's a trick I didn't learn until the I did the other side, but I'll share it now. That bigger spring on the bottom is REALLY hard to get off, so go for the smaller one first. After you have it off, you can pivot the shoes and free the huge spring at the top and the bigger spring at the bottom. Like I said, I didn't figure this out until the second (left) side, so I fought with a Vice-Grip until I got the bigger spring out. The shoe retainers came out fairly easily with a pair of Channellocks. It took a lot of scraping and two cans of Brake-Cleen to get the backing plate and drum clean. FINALLY, reaassembly! Everything went back together without a hitch. I even remembered to grind a chamfer on the outer edges of the shoes. At this point, I realized that I hadn't gotten the materials to make the Sure Seal installation tool--basically a 28" length of 3" Sch 40 PVC pipe, a pipe cap and what J&D Productions called a "ring" in their brake repair video (a 3" to 4" bushing). Off to town I went. 45 minutes later, I got home, built the installation tool, and proceeded to pack the bearing, then try to install the Sure Seal. This turned out to be the hardest part yet. The seal just wouldn't start straight, no matter what I did. Time for a mantra change ("kick it up a notch!") and a new tack. I changed to a 1" X 1" X 12" oak block, and, after about a half hour of struggling, it finally went in! The tool helped seat the seal. The backing plate with the new shoes went back into the drum after more adjusting, and I was finally able to reinstall the axle/drum into the trumpet housing. I should note here that the gaskets I'd gone for the previous day weren't needed after all--the old ones were in good shape and didn't tear. Thank God for small favors! The rest of the right side slipped back into place and tightened up fine, but the brake drum wouldn't turn, so I had to loosen the adjuster more. The brake shaft still turned really hard, but I figured time and more PB would loosen it up. Now I should say that it was now 6:30. Except for the trip into town, I'd been at it for nearly seven hours. I figured that there was no way in he!! that I'd be able to finish that night--my old a$$ was, as they say, beginning to drag out my tracks. But, I still had a little left, so I thought, what the hey, I'd start the left side. Before I did, I checked the brake shaft. DANG! It was tighter than the other side! I heated it with the torch, but nothing happened. Oh well. I'll not go into such great detail with this side. suffice it to say that everything that had given me trouble on the other side was nonexistant here--it slipped apart and back together like a dream! The Sure Seal took only ten minutes, the adjuster was as free as a bird, and--wonder of wonders--the brake shaft that had felt welded to the backing plate FLOPPED, yes FLOPPED around after the old shoes were removed! Everything was done, I had cleaned up and put the tractor away, and was in the house by 8:15! I'm still a little stiff and sore today, but I was glad I was able to finish. I had my doubts at times! I hope that this narration will help someone else get through their brake install tion a little easier than I did. My hints and suggestions: 1.) Have a good, well-lit work area. 2.) Make the Sure Seal tool--it does help. 3.) Work the smallest brake shoe spring off FIRST, then jockey the shoes off. It'll save knuckles and a lot of work. 4.) Spread out a drop cloth under the ends of the axle trumpets to catch the inevitable drips. Or use Oil-Dri afterwards. 5.) Get help if you can. My dad was going to help, but he ended up being out of town for the holiday. 6.) Get the video from J&D Productions on brake repair. They leave out some things, but it still helps. 7.) Go slowly, and get that mantra right! Sorry for the long post, but maybe this'll help. Ron P.S.: I was goint to take pictures, but my Lovely Wife took our camera to Texas with her.
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