Date:         Wed, 7 May 2008 08:39:34 -0400
Reply-To:     Doug Fitz-Randolph <fitzr@SUSCOM-MAINE.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Doug Fitz-Randolph <fitzr@SUSCOM-MAINE.NET>
Subject:      Re: Parking brake adjustment, '82
In-Reply-To:  <C58F7BA2-8BDD-41FB-B0C5-A8B4408F319C@gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

-----Original Message-----
>Hey there. I missed the thread, but was thinking of going into my
>rear brakes as well. Were there any posts that walked you through
>some of the rear brake >stuff. What were your sources for help?
>
>I too also have a fear due to lack of experience working with drum
> brakes. I figure if a fellow Vanagon driver with  "drum brake
>fear" ca get over it, perhaps there is hope for me.


Hi. I posted this to the list, as I thought it might be helpful to others.
Brake, experts, please feel free to comment or correct!

0) If you ever miss a post on the Vanagon list, you can browse or search the
archives here: http://gerry.vanagon.com/ . I've included Dennis' very
helpful post below.

1) Look in the Bentley at the pictures! If you do not have a Bentley, get
one! Start with the driver's side - the pictures are of the driver's side -
easier to not have to transpose anything. Ignore the part about removing the
hub with a hub puller - you do not need to. There is a recess in the hub
that you can rotate into position to gain access to the things behind it.

2) The biggest stumbling block for me was always how to get the drum off.
But, since I finally learned all you have to do is stick a small flat
screwdriver in the hole in the backing plate to rotate the toothed adjusting
wheel until the drum gets loose, it's no big deal.

3) Once you have it all apart, look closely and think about that each spring
does - you will see that it is very simple.

4) Taking it apart is easy, putting it back together could be a little more
tricky. Things that might not be obvious even after reading Bentley and
Dennis' explanation:

        a) you need to hook on the upper springs and the rear end of the
lower spring before putting the shoes back in.

        b) the adjustment lever goes back in after you have the shoes in
place - you make it as short as possible, then, using the recess in the hub,
stick the handle of a hammer (or similar) into the recess to pry the front
shoe forward until you can slip the adjusting lever through the slot in the
front shoe. If you pull the pawl out of the way, you should be able to turn
the adjuster wheel until it is fully extended with just your fingertip. If
not, take it off, clean and lubricate it.

        d) even though the self-adjuster should theoretically get the shoes
into the right position, it didn't for me, but perhaps I was very far out of
adjustment and did not pump the brakes enough. I would suggest that before
you put the drum on, use the adjusting wheel to move the shoes out,
little-by-little until you can no longer fit the drum over them, then back
it off until it just fits over again. The Bentley gives a spec in MM for
this, but the test fit process seemed to work just fine.

        e) Dennis' parking brake cable adjusting instructions did not work
exactly for me, so after I got the brakes adjusted and drums on, I re-hooked
up the brake cables and tightened the central nut until they had some
effect, i.e. wheels turned freely when brake was off, and not when on. This
might not have been the correct thing to do, but if I only tightened the
cables until the lever just contacted the adjusting fork, the parking brake
would not work. There is something screwy with my cables, though - I
compared them to some other Vanagons and the others were all securely seated
in the backing plate, while mine are just sort of held there by the tension
of the cable - maybe they are not the correct part numbers or something.

        f) My new, upper springs were very strong and a-l-m-o-s-t impossible
to pull into place with pliers. I know there is a tool with a little hook on
the end specifically for installing springs like this - if it was only a few
bucks, I'd get one before I did this again - it would save a lot of cursing.
Maybe there is a trick I missed, though!

5) If you get the "brake hardware kit" from Bus Depot or elsewhere, you may
find the shoe retaining pins are too short. You can re-use your old ones or
get new ones from VW. The caps in the kit do not fit your old pins, so you
will either need to file or Dremel your old pins a bit so they fit, or
re-use your old caps if they are sound, or get new caps from VW too.

Cheers,
Doug Fitz-Randolph
Freeport, ME

Here's a re-post of what Dennis wrote:
Most likely the cables are binding or rusted into the jacket. Look at the
jacket carefully. If there is any distortion or rust through they are shot.
Next check is to disconect the cable at both ends and then check how the
cable slides. it must slide freely and smotthly. Any binding at all you need
a new cable. After the cables are checked out, you need to check the levers
on the brake shoes. They need to swing freely and everything needs to
installed correctly. Over the years I have come across shoes with the wrong
arms, (straight for busses with self adjusters), wrong pins on the arms,
rusted arms, and the arms on the wrong side of the shoe. Yes it matters. I
have also seen shoes with the friction material in the wrong place.

Next is proper assembly of the top springs and the adjuster bar. There is a
right and left. The top springs get mounted with the inner hooks facing up
other wise the adjusters can't turn.

Once everything is in order, the cables get adjusted with the drums off so
you can see what is going on. The top adjuster get mounted witht he front
angle edge facing the backing plate and the rear fork has the longer edge
toward the palte so it sits against the shoe. The lver goes against the
shorter fork. The lever should swing without the cable. Tak up the slack of
the adjuster but do not push the shoes out. Just take up the slack. This is
easier if you leave the adjuster spring off for now. Now connect the cables
on both sides. You want to adjust the cable so that the levers just touch
the inside of the adjuster fork. If you push the adjuster with the cable you
are too tight. After this, do not ever try to adjust the handbrake witht the
cable adjustment. This setting is critical to the self adjuster working.

After putting the adjuster spring on, you can install the drum. If you pump
the brakes you shaould actually hear the adjuster click until the shoes are
set. You can use a screwdriver thruogh the hole in the backing plate to sped
this up but you want to make sure the adjuster is working. The adjuster
takes up the slack for both the foot and handbrake.

For best brake performance, get good shoes. Overpriced OEM is still the best
lining available. Make sure the drums are not oversized from wear. Another
helpful trick is to shim out the lower shoe mounts. The shoe rests are
removable, (you may need a torch) and you can usually add 2-3mm of shims to
move out the bottom of the shoes. This will increase the surface area that
actually rubs the drum and reduce the effect of only the top half of the
shoes wearing.

Hope this helps,
Dennis




On May 6, 2008, at 2:28 PM, Doug Fitz-Randolph wrote:

> Problem solved. What was causing the right parking brake to stick on?
> I am 95% sure it was the upper springs. The new ones were an order of
> magnitude stronger than the old ones. The parking brake lever inside
> the drum was a bit tight, and I worked it a bit to free it up, then
> lubricated with graphite, but I things the spring replacement was
> primarily responsible for solving the problem.
>
> Thanks to all who responded! I have finally overcome my irrational
> fear of drum brakes.
>
> Doug Fitz-Randolph
> Freeport, ME