New Bell Cranks For The Rear Brakes . . .ugghhh

Local parts store just called and they came in.
Not looking forward to this project AT ALL.

Went to adjust the parking brake and the 10 mm bolt sheared right off.
Needless to say, they're rusted to $h!+.

Previous owner had the 'rear brakes done' not that long ago, so I'm waiting till I unbutton everything & seeing the carnage before ordering those parts. (Receipt shows they swapped in new shoes & drums) . . we'll see.

I'm already conceding to bringing the truck into the garage, putting it up on jack stands, and it'll probably be there at least a week before I finally figure the whole damn jigsaw puzzle and adjustments out. Plus waiting on parts that I'll discover I need . . . then order incorrectly, then return / re-order again.

I used to have an FJ40 and that thing had 2 wheel cylinders per corner, and I re-built those a couple times . . . but it's been MANY years.
I thought about taking it in . . . but I really want to make sure I get everything done, and see the whole system for myself. I figure If I take it into a shop and say, 'replace everything back there with OEM stuff and make sure the parking brake is adjusted correctly' . . . it'll probably be $800+ with the way things are nowadays. If I can stay somewhere around $400 in parts, & handle the install myself, I'll be cool.

In the meantime, looking up as much intel as I can while playing the Rocky theme song.

 

I can’t picture it being that much unless you’re buying new drums.

Only advice I have is don’t work on both sides at the same time. You always want the untouched side for reference when you put it back together.

 

Not sure if you have a good junkyard close by, but I replaced the axles so I didn't have to mess with the stupid parking brakes. And it was cheaper than getting new parts.

 

Damn, I was about $250 in parts three years ago when I did my rear brakes....shoes, drums and a parts kit (springs, pins, etc)

You've probably seen this link, but if you haven't, worth checking out:

https://www.tundras.com/threads/rear-brake-adjustment-theory-and-practice.99575/

 

I just recently did a full rebuild on mine - not a bad job except for the broken 10mm bolts that take time to drill out and re tap. I broke a couple rusted lines too and bent new ones from generic line. I managed to free up my totally rusted seized parking brake bell cranks. I got them wedged under my hydraulic press and put a good strain on them and then heated with a propane torch. They eventually let go and freed up completely.

 

Way easier than trying to repair your existing bell cranks.

https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=4198851&cc=1426935&pt=20057&jsn=493

 

Just got that set on friday .
Gonna dig in tomorrow.

 

I used those Dorman ones on my rebuild. Wasn't much impressed by them: huge burrs all around the edges of the steel arms which would have cut the edges of the rubber boots to crap in no time had I not filed them all off and given the arms a coat of silver Tremclad after to cover the bare edges. Pity to go through the plating(?) but no choice. They're too cheap to tumble them and get the burrs off during manufacture apparently.

The mounting bases are just die cast pot metal. I greased the H out of them with Lubriplate before I pulled the boots down. Pull them right down onto the lip/recess next to the backing plate surface (when mounted) before you bolt them on or you will never get the boots in place. More grease around the ends of the boots too, to help keep water out. Anti-seize on the bolts too and good smother of grease over the heads when done up.

Worth laying them out as they will mount on the wheels before you assemble them so you get the pins mounted clip down. That way if the clip ever comes off the pin doesn't fall out. It's debatable whether a good stainless bolt with a locking nut or two wouldn't be a better option than the pins provided.

The pivoting arm on the left rear of the axle housing which the cable from the pedal ends at (equalizes the pull) will probably be rusted solid, so be prepared to get that off and get it functioning again. I glass-beaded mine, then painted black with Nevr-Rust(sp?) then greased it well with Lubriplate. Dunked the two springs on each side in the grease too, just to help slow the rust.

The Load Sensing Proportioning Valve arm and pivot etc. will probably also be rusted solid, so they got the same treatment in my case. Have a look at a factory parts diagram to make sure you've got these things broken down all the way, they can fool you. So far I've left the valve as-is, but may yet replace or refurbish. When the pivot (or whatever you want to call the part that bolts to the right side of the axle housing) was off, I gently moved the LSPV arm up and down to see if it was functioning.

The drums were a b----- to get off as they hadn't been off in years, but going around and around with a 5lb lead hammer I soon got things knocked loose and the crud compressed enough to pry the drums off. I found if I pried at say 12 o'clock and then hammered at 6 o'clock that worked well, just keep going around "the clock" doing that. I'd use a wooden mallet if no lead hammer available. Even my 5lb brass hammer deformed the edges when I used that. Drums must be a very malleable form of cast iron. If you're going to junk them then hammer away, but hard to tell until they're off sometimes if they're junk or not.

The backing plate dust shield is the only thing you have to pry against unfortunately, but I was able to straighten mine out afterwards with a small hammer and a suitable improvised dolly. Before I even got that far my wheels were oxidized tight onto the hubs and without the big-ass puller I picked up somewhere years ago, I would have had to beat them off from the back side. Cleaned all that crap off with a wire cone brush in a corded drill, then applied plenty of grease which I wiped off later after I thought about the effect of grease on the between the faces of the brake drum and how that might put more rotational thrust on the studs etc. Enough is left after wiping off to slow down the oxidization of the aluminum wheels anyway.

The two 8mm x 1.5 bolt holes in the drums will get them off sometimes, but mine were corroded and stripped. Worth checking the shoes are not tight on the drums before you start - make sure the parking brake is off. LOL

A trigger torch with a can of MAP gas will be very useful for freeing off the bolts. I ended up busting off the two that mounted the LSPV arm pivot so had the pleasure of spending an hour so drilling out the stubs and tapping the fixed nuts for 10mm. Fortunately I had a tap and some bolts around the place. "Haste makes waste".