Drum brakes always look like too much effort... Im glad Ive never had to change one! Every time my drum brakes need doing its a case of bugger that, get a garage to do it. Disc brakes are easy, drum brakes have way too many fiddly little bits!

The front ones weren't so bad. The rears area a bit of a challenge with all that linkage and return crap that goes with the E-Brake In reality these things are pretty simple just of a different sort. I had to look at these for a while before i understood how they worked mechanically. After about an hour of studying them and some online diagrams of different sorts and that animation it was like "Oh shit! Thats like 6 year old technology!" Disc brakes are easier to work on but unfortunately they really do require a modern vacuum assist in order to actually stop the car which this one doesn't have. The nice thing about drums is that often times they are simple combinations of mechanics and hydraulics as opposed to a modern disc brake system which involves both of those and pneumatics, electronics and OMG computers. If you have to replace a whole system like I am doing I would much rather deal with this over a disc system

Unless the rest of the job was a cakewalk, I fail to see how the removal could be anything close to hard. I spent the better part of a month doing services on my platoon's HMMWVs and trailers and the brakes were easy as hell, especially removing.... set a flat head (or stick socket) against the tip of one of the retention springs and smack it with a rubber mallet...... then dodge flying parts.

Those weren't sitting in a garage for 6 years that you know of and I am going to guess they were a little younger than 50 years old. Not to mention, the wet salty air of Seattle does much more unpleasant things to ferris metals than the dry heat of the arab desert. Also the jack ass that put these in put one the the rear brakes in cockeyed. It was a hell of a lot of serious prying that got that off.

Actually I'm not quite sure how old the trailers were but they were sitting around in Baumholder, Germany from their 'birth'. All of our vehicles were shipped from Germany when we went to the Middle East so they had plenty of time to soak up that beautiful humid mountain air for 30+ years.
I know what it's like when the last dickhead to use a vehicle puts something on cockeyed though. There was more than one occasion I had to break a track-pin (1.25" diameter steel hexagonal rods with threaded ends) off at the nut because someone had loctited a cross threaded nut.

I want to kill the guy that invented lock-tight: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/5603551/

PB blaster, WD40, navel jelly and axle grease man. Those things have been my world the last few weeks. Any tips for rotten old flange joints?

Give me a moment while I refresh my memory as to what a flange joint is....
Oh derrr....
Replacement or scrub it clean and if the metal itself is still servicable, liquid silicone seals as long as whatever you're connecting isn't high pressure (above your liquid sealant's psi rating)

Holy shit... I didn't even realize who I was talking to... what's up Drew?!

HAHA, I figured you were responding to something in your inbox rather than the front page :P Besides, how many "Drewfus'" are there? Things are ok. We need to sell this old bird here and get money for a new engine in the toyota truck and then start thinking about a second car. Right now our living situation is kinda fucked up because of the commute that syrras would have from home to work everyday. He spends his weekdays down in Tacoma, at least until we can get him some sort of vehicle. This thing was going to be his, but I don't feel comfortable letting him drive it after the hassle these brakes gave me. He is also a new driver and this car has no seat-belts. I figure we will get him something a bit more up to date with airbags, 3 point seat-belts and a good crash test rating.

How are you guys doing?

Divorcing.

0.0 yikes.

Looks good, looks good. I'm glad to see you're still at it. Best of luck!

Are you kidding? The fun never stops!

Never never never does! I can't say much, because after finally selling my old project, ... a 1976 VW Beetle came along. And I'm drooling. So keep having that fun! o:

Oh my. I have been wanting an old VW since forever. I really really really really REALLY want a carmengia. They area my favorite car!

I've never actually been much on VW's! What got me is this: it's got a cluuuttchhhh ... Me like clluuutttchhh .... ALSO: Never seen a Carmengia before, but that is awesome! o: