Brakes
We had some issues with the brakes recently and decided to overhaul both front and rear pads and shoes (on the 1976 model the front wheels have disc brakes and the rear use the more traditional brake shoes).
Front Brakes
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Having removed the old pads it was clear why the brakes were so poor, one pad was almost entirely worn down. This is a picture with both pads removed. You can see the whole thing is in pretty poor condition. |
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Another similar picture. You can clearly see the left and right brake pistons extended in toward the brake disc itself (the vertical piece of metal). |
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A better picture of the whole assembly, the brake bleed nipples looked in poor shape too. I tried to fit new pads but noticed that the piston rubber seals were torn and would need replacement. |
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I decided to remove both front brake calipers, concluding that it would be much easier to replace all the seals in the workshop rather than in-situ. |
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A picture of the wheel hub without the brake caliper attached. |
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In this picture I've stripped back the rubber piston covers showing the extent of corrosion. You can only extract one piston at a time, so clamp one of the pistons down then connect back up to the brake hose and pump the brake pedal, eventually the unclamped piston will pop out. Put some material between the pistons to prevent damage when it pops out. |
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Most people recommend that you don't take the caliper apart, however due to the extent of the corrosion I decided it would be easier to do so. Using very fine wet and dry sandpaper I cleaned the piston housing and the pistons themselves, before installing the caliper rebuild kit. Take care not to lose the two small rubber seals within each caliper, they are almost impossible to replace and you will almosty certainly end up having to buy a new caliper, if not two. |
| Fitting the caliper rebuild kit involves prising
out the piston cylinder seal/o-ring using a piece of plastic (do
not use a metal object as you may score the piston cylinder), make
sure you clean the cylinder and the groove where the seal sits with
clean brake fluid. Once the seal is fitted and you have lubricated the piston chamber with brake fluid, place the cleaned piston into the top of the chamber. To insert the piston I placed an old worn-down brake pad on top of the piston and used a g-clamp to gently clamp it down into the chamber almost all the way down but not quite. I then placed the rubber piston cover over the top of the piston, you will find it a tight squeeze and you almost certainly will not be able to push the rim down fully by hand. I used the brake-pad and g-clamp to clamp it all the way down and secure the rubber seal. Repeat this procedure for all pistons, it's time consuming and can have you tearing your hair out, be warned. |
Rear Brakes
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Rear brakes are generally a
lot more straightforward, although I ran into a couple of problems: |
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The star nuts on my van had seized and I decided to replace them. I was unable to free them using a screwdriver and hammer so whilst I was waiting for parts I looked into ways to free them. |
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I first removed the brake adjustor bolt from the star nut, then started to screw an M10 bolt into it. |
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You simply keep screwing the bolt in until ... |
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The seized star nut is pushed out. Clean out the hole and add some grease, making sure the star nut turns easily. |
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Nice new shiny working star nut and brake shoe adjustor bolt. |
Many thanks to those on the JustKampers
Forums who offered help and guidance.