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Drum Brake - Parking Brake Link Spring Endcap

1K views 8 replies 5 participants last post by  newageroman 
#1 ·
Where can I get a parking brake Link spring endcap? Its in red in the pic below. Its a thin rectangular piece of metal with a slot cut in it that seats the parking brake spring on the end of the link.

I'm about to try the local shops, but I doubt they will have them. Rock auto doesn't have them, I don't see them in any brake rebuild kit pics.

I'm 99% done with my rear drum brake job only to find out when doing the left side that there is an endcap on the parking brake link spring on the right side, but didn't remember putting one on when doing the left side. So went back and took the drum off and sure enough, there is the spring, but no endcap. Zoomed in on pics when I first got the drum off and it wasn't there to begin with. How important is this endcap piece, If I cant find one I might run without it - it was that way from the OP so its got to be good for me right?
 

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#3 ·
No, as he said it’s aflat thing with a slot in it. If you can’t find a used one quick enough then you could make one. It doesn’t do much. Pretty sure its only function is to prevent the tensioning spring from eventually getting cut/worn through. Long long time...that spring and plate are to prevent a rattle and do not affect brake performance in any way.
 
#5 ·
I'm pretty sure they come in a brake rebuild hardware kit. I'm sure I have them in my stash of parts but currently on vacation until Tuesday and I can check when I get home and will let you know.
 
#6 ·
Thanks zig, no rush just PM me whenever you get a hand on one. I didn't see the endplates in any of the pic of rebuild kits I saw online. The local parts jockey went through all their kits and images too, and none shown.

A couple of follow up questions relating to the parking brake and self adjuster.
When does the self adjuster actuate and adjust? Is it when you put on the parking brake or when you go into reverse?
Would it be better to rebleed the brakes with the drum on tight with lugnuts or the wheel on tight? We bled the brakes with the drums on (no lugnuts) and wheels off, just for easier access. When he pumped the brakes you could feel the drum being caught and moved around a bit.
I turned the self adjuster to where the drum would just barely drag, but it seemed to spin free in 2/3 rotation and then drag on 1/3 rotation. Is that normal, will they just wear in?

Overall, after bleeding, the brakes feel about the same as they did before I redid them. I was expecting the fluid to be orange/brown, but it was just yellowish tint, not near as bad as I expected. I think I'll try bleeding them one more time to see if I can get a better brake feel. The parking brake is MUCH better now, but I think that is mostly due to adjusting it on the Y bracket under the truck. AND the new MC isn't spraying brake fluid all over the engine bay, so that's a couple wins at least. I learned how to do drum brakes and make hardlines, so that's a win in the skills dept.
 
#7 ·
When does the self adjuster actuate and adjust? Is it when you put on the parking brake or when you go into reverse?
I can't answer all of the questions, but I know this one. It's supposed to self-adjust when you go into reverse, however, that's not a replacement for actually adjusting them by hand to get them right after a rebuild. The owners manual for my 77 (yes, it came with the original one when I got it :thumbup) says that if you don't go into reverse often to occasionally make a few repeated, fairly hard stops into reverse just for the sake of the auto adjusters. So, stop the truck, go back a few feet in reverse, hit the brakes pretty stiffly. Rinse and repeat a couple of times. Done. That's provided everything is in working order of course.

When I bled my brakes a while back I did it with the wheels off for easy access. My only goal was to swap out the old fluid though as I still need to finish the front brakes. The old fluid was pretty bad, dark and cloudy. It was on par with the rest of the fluids I've changed on this poor Bronco. Some people.
 
#8 ·
If everything is in perfect working order then applying the e-brake WANTS to adjust them, but applying the e-brake in reverse while briefly punching the brakes helps.
 
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