vipernicus42

iTrader: (4)

Hey Guys,

So now that I *finally* have all the brake parts, and now that I *finally* gave in and bought outer bearings, I need a little help.

The front brakes aren't a problem, I figured out the bearings/races and am going to install the rotors tomorrow morning. The pads are seated with their shims and clips into the caliper bracket and I'm ready to go.

My problems come with the drum brakes on the rear.

The first thing I'm going to ask is if anyone has a *picture* of their rear brakes (with the drum off of course). This would help alot.

I bought the Victoria British rear Brake Hardware kit. For each side I have:
1 large blue spring with a spot in the middle for the adjuster **** which I know goes on top
1 smaller brown spring which I know goes on the bottom somewhere
2 pins and clips that I know are for holding the shoes in place

And 1 tiny green spring that I've never seen before! Prey tell, what does this do? I also got four C-clips that don't seem to have a use!

I'll take pictures of all the stuff I have tomorrow.

With the front brakes (in something that concerns me less) I got a set of Z-shaped wires. I don't remember seeing these when I took the front brakes apart, and so am not really worried about putting them on. I see that the shop manual has these on the "older" style front brakes, I was wondering if they're needed in the '84 as well?

And one last little thing. For the clips that hold the pads in the front caliper bracket... I got 6 that looked identical, and 2 that looked almost the same, but had a small difference (will show picture tomorrow) however all the places where you *put* the clips look exactly the same... not having a reference, I must ask... where do these two lone "different" clips go?

Damn I wish I had a friend with a reference car! (Eric's is a GSL, no help on the rear! Damn him!)

Again, a picture would be a great help if anyone has one, since my rear brakes have been dissasembled since last year, and I don't know anyone in the area with drum rear brakes on an Rx7 that I can compare to.

Jon

The_7

id take a picture for you but i dont have a digi cam that works enough but i just took apart my drum brakes to replace the wheel cylinders - it is a pain in the ***!!!!! yea the 2 pins and clips hold the shoes on. the pin goes through a hole in the back of the base and though a hole in the shoe and the clip goes over it. they go in approximately the vertical center of the shoe (a little lower). the small spring goes on the bottom like u said there are 2 holes one on each shoe just look for them theyre not that hard to see. that spring is pretty easy to get on. no the big huge spring is a BITCH to get on! the ends of the springs are different. one is hooked and one has a right angle bend. you have to put the end with the right angle in it in the hole in the shoe first BEFORE you put the shoe on. then after you get everything else on connecting this spring is the last thing. some brake spring pliers will make it ALOT easier to get on. i got a pair for $7 at autozone. let me know if you need any more info. its all fresh in my mind i just did it today

The_7

oh yea the little green spring...im not positive but it might be the spring for the parking brake strut adjuster lever thingy. look at the vertical center of the front shoe there should be a small spring visible. if its not there then thats probly what the lil green spring is for.

nickj

You're right about the green spring (although the originals aren't color-coded). It should have one hooked end and one bent end. The hooked end goes over the adjuster lever and the bent end through a hole in the shoe.

The circlips keep the adjuster lever attached to the forward shoe, and the parking brake lever attached to the rear shoe, both at the top.

The large spring should have a straight section in the middle. This section goes toward the rear, providing room for the adjuster rod.

In our showroom stock days we went through a set of rear shoes in about two races, so we did a lot of brake jobs. If you haven't done it before it's pretty difficult to assemble the whole mess without another wheel to look at. When I get home I'll try to take some pictures and post them. Even with pictures, though, it's tough. A brief description of the process:

Assemble the adjuster lever to the forward shoe with the green spring and circlip.
Attach the handbrake assembly to the rear shoe.
Attach both shoes to the backing plate with the center pins and clips (use white grease at rubbing points).
Spread the shoes apart on top and insert the two-piece adjuster rod behind the wheel hub. The male (threaded) end fits into the handbrake assembly attached to the rear shoe, and the female end fits directly into the forward shoe.
Unscrew the adjuster nut (spin it down) to keep the rod from falling out. Make sure the flimsy little ratchet lever on the forward shoe is BEHIND the adjuster nut, not wedged in front. This is important.
Attach the bottom spring (brown).
Attach the top spring. Hook the bent end into the hole at the top of the forward shoe, then stretch and bend it enough to slip it behind the wheel hub. Holding the top of the forward shoe so it won’t move, clamp the spring wire with vise-grips and pull the wire into the hole in the rear shoe. This isn’t as easy as it sounds.
Reach in with a finger and push the adjuster lever away from the adjuster nut, disabling the ratcheting mechanism. You can now spin the nut (up) to shorten the rod. Shorten the rod enough that the brake drum can be slipped over the new shoes.
And you'll probably need to adjust the shoes after all that.

vipernicus42

iTrader: (4)

Nick,

I can't thank you enough man. Just that alone is going to be a *GREAT* help.

And thank you to everyone on the forum who has put up with my endless question posts over the months The time is coming that soon I'll hopefully have Roxy road worthy! Or at least... minimally drivable this year

Jon

nickj

Hope these image links work.

Brakes aren't the easiest thing to photograph. The pictures don't show everything, but you can sort of make out the cad-plated adjusting rod just below the main spring, and the cad pin coming through the top of the forward shoe. Unfortunately that's all you can see of the ratcheting lever, since it's hidden behind the shoe and the wheel hub. The important thing to note about that lever, the ratcheting end points toward the rear shoe (it sits behind the adjusting rod nut, not really visible here but sitting in the gap of the main spring), and the green spring, when properly attached, stretches (resists) when the ratchet end of the lever is pressed down (it pivots on the upper pin).




Good luck. Any more specific questions, go ahead and fire away.


Nick

nickj

Let's try url links:

enigma32

::claps::

nickj

One more try:

nickj

Thank you, enigma. This is quite an accomplishment for me.

Nick

enigma32

hehe.

There's a test forum you can play around in to get it figured out.
Are you trying to attach the images or what?

nickj

I got it, thank you very much.

enigma32

[I don't see them]

(btw, thanks for uploading these... I likely will be inspecting them closely myself as I'll be doing this soon as well)

Maguire

iTrader: (1)

on your front brakes.
I remember having the different sized brake pad clips when i did my brakes last time. The two that were a littler wider than the other 6 i belive they go on the bottom-outer side. Im not sure on that though. If you examine the caliper bracket closely youll be able to tell.

The z-springs sit under the caliper. Place the perpendicular end of the spring in the middle slot on the inner pad and close the caliper. thats it! All they do is keep the inner pad off the rotor when the brakes are not enganged. as you guessed, they are not completly nessicarry.

I hoped that helped.