Having brake adjustment problem on A3

[1 Patriot-of-many]

Of course both the locknut and the adjuster are locked together on all these with rust or whatever, but I managed on one side to break them lose and got one side done to my satisfaction, the other side I cannot break the adjuster lose from the locknut and the whole thing spins forever. Is there something broke in the hub or do I need to get them free of each other before the locknut will stop spinning even tightening it?

I cannot find a good diagram in the tm's which show how the adjuster works.

 

[bones1]

Soak them until they free up from each other. They will eventually free up, mine were like that and it took a while to get them both free.

 

[ctmustang]

depending how bad theyre siezed soaking may take 50 years but wont hurt.
I had some that just wouldn't break loose so after soaking awhile I used an air hammer and carefully hammered them until they gave in. It also helps if you have the correct tool for the inner part which is what you are actually turning to adjust the shoes. A little bit of heat wont hurt either but be careful

 

[gimpyrobb]

Top adjuster or bottom? I haven't had any issues with the top, but the bottoms that were stuck, I was able to use a small pipe wrench on the back of the stud while moving the inside. Once you get them freed up, put some anti-seize on the threads! HTH

 

[rlwm211]

If the adjuster is spinning with the lock nut, you can adjust the brake. As it spins the eccentric turns and repositions the shoe either closer or father away as you did adjust the other side.

If it were me, I would adjust the brake and soak the frozen nut regularly and if you can get some military CLP it may be just what you need to free that up. Keep spraying the nut for a few weeks while using the truck and I suspect things will loosen up after a while.

As it was mentioned you can try heat but I would pull the hub first.

RL

 

[1 Patriot-of-many]

If the adjuster is spinning with the lock nut, you can adjust the brake. As it spins the eccentric turns and repositions the shoe either closer or father away as you did adjust the other side.

If it were me, I would adjust the brake and soak the frozen nut regularly and if you can get some military CLP it may be just what you need to free that up. Keep spraying the nut for a few weeks while using the truck and I suspect things will loosen up after a while.

As it was mentioned you can try heat but I would pull the hub first.

RL

I meant the other side of the axle was no problem. This side of the axle one of the nuts and adjuster just spins together freely, won't tighten even, the other nut I took completely off and can't get the adjuster to move. Something has got to be wrong inside, the pads aren't against the hub so there's no reason the adjuster shouldn't move.. This truck is really trying my nerves. I get one thing fixed, move on to another part and it's never ending problems.
Guess I have to pull the hub cause I cannot find a diagram of how these adjusters move the shoes to even begin to figure out what the problem is.
Now to figure out what TM is going to show how to pull the **** hub. ERRRRRR

 

[rlwm211]

The adjuster actually is connected to the heel of the shoe. It moves the shoe towards the drum or away depending on which way you turn it. Think of an ellipitical cam.

These trucks suffer mostly from sitting and a lack of preventitive maintenance. I had to pull every hub on my deuce and pack the bearings, replace every wheel cylinder and also a couple of seals. That was 5000 miles ago and now it is easy to keep up to specs because it gets used and it gets greased and looked over every 500 miles or so depending on how long it has been since it was driven.

I would tell you that owning a military vehicle is an irrational act of love. If you really wanted a machine that was 100% reliable and easy to take care of you would pick something else. Once you start working on your truck and get to know it you end up with an appreciation and bond with it that you probably will never have with any other vehicle.

RL

 

[jaymcb]

I meant the other side of the axle was no problem. This side of the axle one of the nuts and adjuster just spins together freely, won't tighten even, the other nut I took completely off and can't get the adjuster to move. Something has got to be wrong inside, the pads aren't against the hub so there's no reason the adjuster shouldn't move.. This truck is really trying my nerves. I get one thing fixed, move on to another part and it's never ending problems.
Guess I have to pull the hub cause I cannot find a diagram of how these adjusters move the shoes to even begin to figure out what the problem is.
Now to figure out what TM is going to show how to pull the **** hub. ERRRRRR

Which TM are you using for the brake info?

 

[Heavysteven]

Some pictures of both side of adjusters on a A2.

 

[CobraCDR]

Hang in there! Like others have said, these vehicles have sat for years with limited use, and no use while at GL. Once you're up and running on a regular basis, it's much easier to stay that way. This goes for any of the vehicles. The truck you take out of the motor pool that has been sitting for months will have issues, the 'daily driver' will work just fine.

 

[1 Patriot-of-many]

Which TM are you using for the brake info?

Hi Jay, sorry for the delay, was out of town. 386-24

 

[1 Patriot-of-many]

Thanks Pete and RL, just needed to vent a little. I have my plates on the truck, just want to drive the beast! I don't get a lot of time off, didn't have the tools I need, so it's been a slow process, replacing the dogbones, now figured I might as well adjust the brakes on the axle I have the wheels off.

Hope you had a good Vets day Pete over in the sandbox.

 

[1 Patriot-of-many]

Where do I get the special tool for moving the inside? 1/2 inch wrench isn't cutting it. I've replaced all my seals, regreased bearing that was washed clean now trying to adjust brakes. locknut spins fine, can't budge the adjuster! Yeehaww this fun.

 

[doghead]

I use a crowsfoot with an extension.