52 Ford 8N brake problems

[ssgofish]

Hi all. Got the tractor out a week ago to repair washed out gravel driveway. 1st time I hit the brakes the tractor dove hard right. The right brake came on & locked the right wheel, left brake did nothing. In fact, left brake pedal didn't return up all the way. Drove cautiously around trying out the brakes. Right brake pedal is hard & stops the wheel immediately; left brake goes down farther & doesn't seem to do much at all. Left brake pedal does NOT return up all of the way most of the time. I suspect bad seals. Adjusting left brake will change height of left pedal, but does not affect stopping power. I have the left wheel removed but now I can't get the 4 screws that are holding the drum on to break loose. Penetrating oil applied for a week now, but I doubt much is getting in due to orientation of drum. I have smacked the screw with a solid steel bar & hammer & tried tapping the screw edge with a chisel & hammer in the correct direction with no joy. Any help on how to get these screws out is much appreciated. Also, is it just the shoe return springs that lift the pedal back up?
Thanks all for your help.
ss

 

[Dean]

An impact driver with large slotted screwdriver bit will remove the screws.

I use the largest bit from my impact driver and chuck it up into a conventional impact wrench. Works every time.

Dean

 

[ssgofish]

Thanks. I will certainly give it a try.

 

[Bruce (VA)]

See tip # 54.

And what Dean said.

Be prepared for a fight. Chances are those screws have been there since 1952 because no one in their right mind would put all 4 back on. You need to replace at least two of them. The design of the braking system requires centering the drum & the screws do that. Otherwise, only part of the shoe will contact the drum. I found replacements at the local hardware store: 3/8-16 x flat head stove bolts. Put plenty of Never-Seize on them.
75 Tips

 

[ssgofish]

Thanks Bruce. I think I'm going to have to try & find something I can use to make a big slotted screwdriver bit for my air operated impact gun. I tried using my battery operated impact gun but it doesn't have enough ooomph to get the job done.I haven't seen any big sloted bits for air operated impact guns.

 

[TheOldHokie]

(quoted from post at 13:38:40 06/09/21) Thanks Bruce. I think I'm going to have to try & find something I can use to make a big slotted screwdriver bit for my air operated impact gun. I tried using my battery operated impact gun but it doesn't have enough ooomph to get the job done.I haven't seen any big sloted bits for air operated impact guns.

Stick a hex shank bit in a conventional square drive hex socket. You now have a square drive bit.

TOH

 

[Smokeonthewater]

An impact driver (used w a hammer) is technically better suited as it is less likely to strip the screw head...

 

[ssgofish]

Found a 5/8 wide 1/2 drive screwdriver bit at Harbor Freight. Gonna give it a try tomorrow,,, if it don't rain.

 

[ssgofish]

Went all over & the only manual driver I could find had #2 bit, & that's way too small. I did find a 5/8 wide bit at Harbor Freight. It is mounted in 1/2 socket. I will lower the torque on my air impact tool and adjust it as necessary. We'll give it a try tomorrow.

 

[ssgofish]

Thank to you all for your input.

 

[Lynn Patrick]

The last ones I removed I ended up welding on a 5/8" nut thru the center & then used a 12" crescent. I nearly destroyed 2 of them trying other methods. I had a total of 6 (2 on one wheel & 4 on the other) & all 6 came right out this way.

 

[ssgofish]

Great idea, but I don't have a welder. Always wanted one but never had much need for it.

 

[Lynn Patrick]

Click & Clack, the Tappet Bros (NPR "Car Talk") used to say "Any home repair is an excuse to buy more tools!"

 

[boler76]

I just finished doing a brake shoe replacement and ended up drilling the screws out with a drill bit just smaller than the thread size then replaced with new bolts, and wondered why even use bolts there as the wheel holds the drum on??

 

[Royse]

If all else fails, blow the heads off with a torch or plasma cutter.

After that, you have several options

1)Remove the drum and try vice grips. They may turn right out after that much heat.

2) leave the nubs as they are to "center" the hubs more than the studs and large round center hub does

3) weld a nut to what's left, because you only cut the head off and still have the thickness of drum to work with

If none of that works, you can change the hubs.
Or just live without the bolts. I've had many here without them.

 

[Colin King]

I had good luck welding nuts to the heads of the four screws on a brake job I did this winter. If I recall, I used a 5/8 nut and filled the center with weld. Using a magnet to hold the nut in place while starting helps.

Colin, MN

 

[Btzj02]

I used this.

 

[ssgofish]

Yep, great excuse.

 

[ssgofish]

Might end up having to do that myself. Got one more thing to try today. Gonna break out the big air gun and try to bust 'em free.