Thanks for the replies.

There was no noise at all driving the car today so it could be as you mentioned the build up of rust where the car was sitting for a few days.

If I do take a look I will get some brake cleaner and a tube of copper slip.

Looking good there Liam, though for future i suggest you buy a tub of proper red brake grease, this grease will not affect rubber seals so can be used to lube pistons too as well as sliders etc and won't affect dust or fluid seals, a pint tub is barely any more expensive than a couple of sachets via the usual auction site, and will last you many years of brake work.

I'd forgotten how that neat little adjuster works on 106, thats not what i was thinking when i suggested not to grease the tensioned spring fitting on the shoe.

Must be a completely different car, does this (no doubt hopeless) description of rear shoe adjuster ring any bells with our posters? i can't rmember which car this design was on now.

The simplest ever adjuster but one thats really hard to transfer from old shoes to new, it consisted of a really strong spring and washer affair that would slide up a cut groove in the shoe as the shoe wears, this washer/spring affair had no method of locking or ratchet it fitted over a post in the back plate, and it was pure friction that kept it in adjustment, sounds crude and it was but it worked.

But you had to remember to ask for new shoes with the adjuster already fitted or you would have hells own job, split finger nails, blisters where the mole's slipped and gripped your finger pads instead, ouch, anyone with earshot shocked at the colourful vocabulary they learned that day.

They learned quite a few words the first time i replaced parking brake shoes on a W124 Merc without buying the correct tool (£12ish) to release the horeshoe clips, similar injuries result from not doing so, frustrating job without the tool.

Edited by gordonbennet on 23/02/2017 at 21:19

Are you thinking of the earlier version where a spring was attached to the bottom of the shoe and to a metal wedge at the top? From what I can remember there were 3 different types of adjuster arrangements on these Bendix drums fitted to the AX, 106 and Saxo.

Trying to rattle whats left of me brain Wacky and getting nowhere fast, if you imagine a short groove, well more like an elongated hole in the brake shoe, and a spring as stiff as a valve spring approx 2 coils tight against the shoe with a washer at teh top of the spring, another washer between spring and shoe (though thinking again teh spring would be its own washer as waer wasn't an issue) and another washer the other side of the shoe, an a hollow barrell clamping them together, when fitted to the drum this barrel slid over a post sticking out of the back plate, when you applied the brakes obviously the shoes pushed out but the spring/washer fitting would hold the shoe close against the drum.

Thats a clear as i can describe it, but for life of me i can't think what car it went on, 306?, probably French but could have been anything european, as i said it worked very simply but very well too, no mechanism to wear or seize, once you pressed the brake pedal or applied the handbrake bingo fully adjusted, just a nightmare if you ended up with new shoes without the sprung assembly already fitted.

ps sorry about the typos, for some reason while i'm typing the text has gone super small and i can barely read it with me glasses, i'll end up like traitiional Sherlocks yet with a blinking great magnifier.

Edited by gordonbennet on 23/02/2017 at 22:06

That sounds like the system fitted to older Fiats GB.

Haven't done a lot with Fiat's for many years, have worked on 124 127 and Regatta (had a Regatta Diesel which was a surprisingly good motor), can't think of anything more recent than those, but reckon you could be on the money there BT, well remembered.

I forgot to ask Liam, what was the brake test results after you had finished it?

and BTW you have the hub nut dust caps missing on your car I noticed in the welding thread.

"Is it worth a quick spray round with brake cleaner, when the hub is off?
(a can is about £3)

Yes, brake cleaner is good to get the brakes er, clean."

Never really seen the point of "brake cleaner".

I have some, but it doesn't seem to be particularly useful for cleaning brakes. I suppose if you want to remove old grease it might have some use, but I prefer to use rags/paper towel and solvent to physically remove that. Brake cleaner just tends to spread it around.. It flash-dries too quickly to be very effective at removal.

Brakes are usually dusty and they may be contaminated with brake fluid, if you've had a leak. Both these contaminants can be removed with a miracle product called water, which you can buy if you really want to, but the free stuff works too.

Its superior because it isn't very volatile, is good at wetting and washing away dust, and because its a good diluent for brake fluid, which mixes with it readily. It leaves the grease alone, so re-greasing becomes optional. Also its available in huge quantities.

I put a bowl under the brakes and pour or spray water over them. The dust-blackened water goes in the bowl, which I then tip directly down a street grating.

If I had very contaminated brake shoes I might try taking them off and boiling them. (Don't try boiling brake cleaner). For light contamination you can pour hot water (optionally with washing up liquid added) over the intact brakes.

Water could theoretically promote corrosion but it dries off very quickly so that doesn't seem to be an issue. If it were I would spray on some alcohol to remove the water.

Edited by edlithgow on 25/02/2017 at 01:19