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Car Forum / MINI / September 2003Drum brake adjustment screws seized
I'm currently cleaning up some old drum brakes and am struggling to free the adjustment screws on one of them. Can anyone tell me whether these have to work in order to pass the MOT. I'm currently soaking the screws in WD40 in the hope of freeing them and have also removed the drum cover to try and move them from inside so far with no success. Thanks Martyn > I'm currently cleaning up some old drum brakes and am struggling to > free the adjustment screws on one of them. Can anyone tell me > whether these have to work in order to pass the MOT. I'm currently > soaking the screws in WD40 in the hope of freeing them and have also > removed the drum cover to try and move them from inside so far with > no success. The brakes have to work for the MOT, whether your adjusters are seized or not is not part of the test. Shaun. 1.You can try direct heat, but be carefull you don't melt things! 2. Even though it seems the long way of doing things, it's often quicker to remove the whole assembly, and clamp the adjuster in a vice and free it by moving the assembly. Afterwards, us copper grease. 3. (The Bodge) Weld a large nut over the adjuster, so a hefty spanner can shift them! This method is best used only if you've rounded the adjusters and their useless anyway. > > I'm currently cleaning up some old drum brakes and am struggling to > > free the adjustment screws on one of them. Can anyone tell me [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > Shaun. Ick - I hate welding a nut over it. There's a bloke out here in the Vancouver area who does that to every Mini he seems to come across, so I've heard. Did it to mine, I wasn't happy. Could try a cordless drill actually ON the adjuster and crank it to the highest torque setting. If you can get the drill in there. Otherwise, whack the adjuster with a hammer to break the seal that any rust will have formed, and apply gentle heat to the backing plate, not the adjuster - no need to have it red hot. Cool the adjuster with a wet cloth before putting yer brake spanner on it. The adjuster should contract but leave the backing plate nicely warmed up. Just keep the hot wrench away from the brake lines! Hope that helps Chris > 1.You can try direct heat, but be carefull you don't melt things! > [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] >> >> Shaun. Thanks to everyone for their help on this, as long as it will pass the MOT that's the main thing but will certainly give some of the other suggestions a go to try and move them. Cheers Martyn > Ick - I hate welding a nut over it. There's a bloke out here in the > Vancouver area who does that to every Mini he seems to come across, so I've [quoted text clipped - 37 lines] > >> > >> Shaun. > Ick - I hate welding a nut over it. There's a bloke out here in the > Vancouver area who does that to every Mini he seems to come across, so I've [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > > Hope that helps Hi, Be careful with the heat!. There is a spring washer under the adjusting spindle which is intended to keep the adjuster tight. Too much heat will destroy the spring effect and allow the adjuster to slacken off on it's own. Keith > Hi, > Be careful with the heat!. There is a spring washer under the [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > Keith Good point Keith. My personal preference is to fit a new adjuster screw when undoing a frozen one, so the washer thing wouldn't really matter. BUT, if you're stuck for time/budget/being arsed then this is a big thing to watch for. Chris Try some real penetrating oil rather than the WD-40, which isn't really a good lubricant. Part of the trouble with those adjusters is the little square 'eads are easy to round off when the screws are frozen. Stick an appropriately sized nut over the square head dingus, nice and snug, then touch it with the wire-feed welder or what-have-you so it is there for good. Gives you a nice, solid 6-sided head you can get a ring-wrench on. KH > I'm currently cleaning up some old drum brakes and am struggling to free the > adjustment screws on one of them. Can anyone tell me whether these have to [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > Thanks > Martyn |
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