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Sunday, December 28, 2014

Project Journal: 1973 '02 Rear Brakes ... and Old School Brake Tool Demo ;)

You may recall that I recently discovered a problem with my rear brakes on my 1973 '02 project car: I snapped a brake lining off the right rear wheel.  The car had been sitting unused for a while, and the brake froze up.


I took advantage of the mild weather we are enjoying in southern New England this week to replace the rear brake shoes.  I also wanted to take the opportunity to demonstrate the use of an 'old school' brake tool:
















I have a very similar tool in my kit, but I haven't done any drum brakes jobs since.... wow, I don't even know when!  The last time I recall doing a drum brake job, I remember adjusting the brakes by turning the star wheel.  I discovered this weekend, that BMWs do not have that star wheel for brake adjustment!  So it is possible that the last drum brake job I did was on my 1964 Chevy Impala..... which I gave to a friend in 1974!  ;)  So it has been a while!  

Here is a pic showing one way to use this tool:



















The hooked end of the tool is being used to grab the spring, and pull it into its hole.   It is worth noting that you can also see leaf springs in the pic!  When was the last time you saw those!!!  ;)

In this pic, you can see that I am doing basically the same thing as the previous pic:  grabbing the spring and stretching it to its assigned hole.   Very easily done with this tool.  


This is the lower spring on the left rear brake of the 2002, btw.  The peculiar design of this tool makes it very easy to hook it around this spring and pull it to its designated hole on the trailing brake shoe.  The other end of this spring is attached to the front shoe, and then it is placed behind the 'anchor plate' in the middle.  The spring snaps very readily into place, thanks to this brake tool.  I love it!  ;)
In this pic I am using the brake tool to properly position the upper spring.
This pic shows the lower brake spring being inserted in the front shoe using the brake tool. 
Brake job completed, the 2002 goes on a little test run to relax and have a beer with his cousins at my son Brian's place, a few blocks away.  My 1991 325ix is in the foreground, and the 1989 325iC Convertible can be seen at the top of the pic.  

It is helpful to have a couple of 'safe houses' around town where you can stash a few vehicles.  As my accomplice and co-conspirator, Brian gets to enjoy the use of those two little specialty vehicles.  Depending on the weather, and the ambient temperature, he may choose the convertible in the summertime, and the AWD ix in the winter!

BTW, that two-toned 2002 will hopefully soon be looking a little different.... that is just primer

 on there now. It will still be two-toned, but it will be sporting a more ..... ummm ...


appropriate BMW livery! Trust me on that!   I can hardly wait! Stay tuned!  

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