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1. The spring is to insure that the drum will
expand and contract evenly, reducing the possibility of the drum going
out-of-round. It would bee likely if the brakes were applied and heated,
like a long slow stop. if the brakes were still applied when the car
stopped, then when the brakes released, the drum may easily retain the slightly
oval shape. The spring reduces this effect.
2. the cams are adjusted by the 3/8" hexagon from
the backside of the backing plate. Oh, yours don't have the hexagonal
shape anymore? Welcome to the world of Chrysler Center Plane, or "Total
Contact" brakes. Some common past practices (from the 60's & 70's)
were to
a. weld a larger nut (usually a 3/8" , 9/16" hex,
coarse thread) to the mangled adjuster,
b. Vise-Grips are a popular adjusting
tool.
Good Luck...
Mike Higgins
1955 Belvedere Sport Coupe
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Saturday, September 13, 2008 4:16
PM
Subject: [FWDLK] Fun with brakes...
There's this dumb, stupid spring that wraps
around the drum on my front brakes of my 57 Dodge. I made the idiotic
mistake of removing it on one side...I'm not sure why, probably just
curiosity. I'm guessing by the depression around the base of the drum
that it is indeed meant to be there, and I'm guessing it helps do
something....although its most effective purpose right now is to aggravate or
be thrown for distance. Assuming my car will be driven at most a couple
of miles between now and the time I either overhaul or replace the brakes
with discs, will leaving the spring off be a big deal? Is it even
necessary in the first place? What's the trick to getting the spring
back around the brake drum?
Also when adjusting the brakes currently on the
car, the cams that are supposed to be turned to adjust really have
nothing for a wrench or similar such tool to grab onto. Of the four cams
(two each side), there's only one that I can find a socket to fit it so I can
actually adjust it. The other three have no discernable "face" or
"sides" onto which a wrench or socket can grip anything. Is this just a
case of worn out brakes? Is there some trick or special tool I am
unaware of?
Any words of wisdom are appreciated.
Garrett
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