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<\/a>The center shaft with the square drive is the adjuster, turn it clockwise to adjust the brake shoes out, anti-clockwise to adjust them in. The damaged threads can be seen about 6 turns down on the nearer stud.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
To disassemble these you pull out the two plungers at either end then turn the adjuster all the way in. \u00a0I hold the base in a vise and turn out the two plungers with a big screwdriver. \u00a0They are not threaded or anything, but the ramp on the plunger acting against the adjuster will push it out as it turns. \u00a0They are usually just stuck from grime and grit and come out pretty easily. \u00a0Next I unscrew the center adjuster. \u00a0All these parts get cleaned in parts cleaning solvent and set aside. There is usually some stubborn staining on the aluminum body so I usually give them a quick brush with a brass bristle brush and maybe a polish if I am in the mood. \u00a0The bores that the plungers live in tend to build up a little grime that is hard to get at so I use a brake cylinder hone and some light oil to dress the bores.<\/p>\n
One of the cylinders has a damaged thread, seen in the first pictures. \u00a0The threads are fine thread M8’s which are an odd size and a die to chase these would be expensive. \u00a0I used a little knife-edged file to cut out the bent part of the thread and test the repair with an oiled nut. \u00a0When it goes past it smoothly I know it will be OK.<\/p>\n
Three of the four adjusters come apart without incident but the plungers in the fourth were really stuck. \u00a0I thought for a moment of just throwing it in a box and dealing with it later or never since I only need two but since I had everything in place to deal with it once it was apart I carried on with the dis-assembly. \u00a0I chucked it tight in a vise and soaked it with Kroil and went back to cleaning up the others to give it a few minutes to soak. \u00a0Next I drove the adjuster out with the plungers in place. \u00a0Finally I used a drift and drove both plungers through the holes in one side. \u00a0Examining the plungers I notice the edge where the cone of the adjuster presses on the plungers was deformed causing a little hill of metal to stick up into the bore and in forcing them out the hills left corresponding scrapes in the bore. \u00a0 I use a file to take off the proud edge of the plungers then give the bores a more aggressive cut with the brake cylinder hone. \u00a0Once the assembly all moved freely I cleaned it up.<\/p>\n
The final step is putting some oil on all the parts, putting the plungers in place and using a rubber band or some wire to keep it all together. \u00a0There is a split lock washer on each stud and then a nut. \u00a0When I assemble the brakes I will probably add a flat washer to keep the spring washer from chewing the back of the backing plate up.<\/p>\n I think you can buy these adjusters in reproduction through Moss motors or Alfastop but they are expensive. \u00a0If you are missing these on your project they can be had on eBay usually for about $25 each for used units needing a good cleaning, or you can drop me a line and I’ll sell you my extra pair if your need is great. \u00a0Up next I’ll look at the adjusters that make the shoe faces parallel to the surface of the drum and compare backing plates between Veloce and standard rear brakes. <\/strong> To keep myself from getting bored I tend to work on whatever looks interesting at any given time. I didn’t have a lot of time yesterday (5\/10\/08) because I had to install an old Blaupunkt ‘Frankfurt’ in my wife’s 1972 Fiat 124 Sedan Special and I’m not the best at this sort of thing to … <\/p>\n<\/a>The polished looking part on the ramp face is where the adjuster rubbed against the plunger. \u00a0The shiny edge of the cylindrical part is where I filed the proud edge away. <\/strong><\/p>\nHere is the brake cylinder hone cleaning the plunger bores up. \u00a0The fit is not critical, it just has to move easily yet not be loose.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/a>Here are all the parts displayed in an exploded view. \u00a0You can imagine the cone of the adjuster acting on the angled faces of the plungers, which move out the at rest position of the shoes so the hydraulic cylinder doesn’t have to move as far for the shoes to grab.<\/strong><\/p>\n
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