Am I Right, In Assuming,..??

Hi all, My '63 CJ 5 seems to have it's original axles, 'n 9" brakes,....
The brake adjusting screws seem to be studs(w/ 1/4" flats) secured with 9/16" nuts,....
I tried to adjust up the brakes, the right side front works Great, left front, not so well,....
Anyways,....
When I did 'em, the big nut was all that would turn, 'n the brakes are no doubt tighter,....
But, I'm thinking I should heat, 'n quench the big nuts, so they'll turn on the stud, with the wrench flats,...

I'm assuming, the studs should be turned to adjust the shoes, then locked in-place, with the big nut,..??..??
Is my assumption correct,..??..??
And,.... if so,....
Which way should the studs with the 1/4" flats be turned to adjust the shoes, before they get snugged down with the 9/16" nuts,..??

Thanks,...

 

Yes the nuts are the locking method, and all have conventional RH thread.

But the adjusters work in opposition. Looking from the rear of the backing plate, the left adjuster tightens the shoe by turning CCW. The right adjuster turns CW to tighten. But it is conceivably possible the eccentric can be "beyond center" and needs to go round again, or it may seem backward.

Attention paid to keeping these items freely operational pays big dividends. Think NeverSeize.

The 1/4" flats are undersized and it's really easy to bugger them...Don't. A good pair of vise-grips may work better than a wrench.

 

There were special wrenches available to fit the adjustment studs, but I haven't seen one in years and don't know if they are still available. If yours are boogered up, or otherwise FUBAR, new ones are fairly cheap.

 

Ayuh,..... Thank you for the answers,.....

Shortly after I posted this, I did a youtube search, 'n found this video,
It's a well done vid, that explains exactly what you folks said,....
I broke out my blue-tip wrench, but before I fired it up, I gave cleaning, 'n a bath of pb blaster another shot, 'n it worked,....
I found a couple of adjustin' studs that had been turned righty tighty, which is fine for some of the studs, but backwards for others,.....
'n my drums don't have the feeler gauge slots,....
So, I adjusted all the brakes, by turnin' the studs, top of stud, towards the shoes, then tightened the jamb nuts,....
Things went much smoother than expected, though it takes abit of fiddlin' to hold the stud just so, as the jamb nut is tightened, I believe I got 'em snugged up with the shoes Just touchin' the drums,....

While I only tightened the top studs, 'n didn't do the anchor studs, I'm hopin' it's good enough til I can convert to disc's or atleast bigger brakes,....
It was late yesterday, so I'll test 'em this mornin' when I get down to the shop,.....
Hopefully, it'll stop much straighter today,.... it was pullin' to the right, horribly before,....

For the 1/4" wrench, I found several wrenches in the back of my toolbox, 2 of which were unused craftsmans,.....
I bolted the box ends together to create a longer wrench, which worked out just fine,.....

My jeep has already been swapped from the frame mounted master, to a firewall master, so power brakes are gettin' close to the top of my "to do" list,....
I know there's a few different vacuum booster kits out there, but has anybody else considered the electric option,..??
I am,..... I found this as a quick reference,.... https://www.evcreate.nl/ibooster-donor-vehicles/
I think the one from a Tesla model S is interesting,.....

Again,.... Thank you,.... Bill,....

 

Your CJ5 has the Bendix design 9" brakes which only have the two eccentric adjusters, the
"anchor" studs as you call them are just anchors for the bottom of the shoes and not adjustable.

The video you watched is for the older Lockheed design brakes, used on WW2 Jeeps up through CJ2A, which have four eccentrics.

The two you adjusted are the only adjustments you can make on your brakes.

 

Hence no feeler gauge slots, also.

 

Not sure when the feeler gauge slots went away. I had some surplus M38A1 axles (military equivalent of CJ5) which had the slots but none of the newly made drums, or civilian drums I have seen have them. They are not needed, and I suspect they were only included on the military axles due to contract specification. I just adjust them until I feel some drag.

 

Yes, my '52 M38A1 has the slots. My '56 CJ5 does not.

 

Another interesting difference I have found regarding the brakes is on the military axles I have the drums were secured or aligned to the hubs with three short flat head screws and the wheel studs were not swaged to the drums. On the two CJ5 Jeeps I have, with the same Bendix brakes, the screws are not there and the studs are swaged making brake work a PITA. Later Jeeps did not have swaged studs, and they are not necessary with drums that are outboard of the hubs, so I wonder whether this was done at the factory on my two CJ5s, or if it may have been done by a brake shop later.

 

Willys seems to have always been making running changes throughout their production. I have seen the countersunk screws (1 and 3) retaining the drum, swedged studs, and nothing but slipping the drum over the studs. I have no idea why they ever thought it was a good idea to swedge the drums on with a part that needs regular service. I used to have a small “holesaw” that was made to cut the swedging back for removal.
Some of these running changes hold true for the 10” brakes too. Early 10” (‘64/‘65) just use starwheel adjusters, then around ‘66-on went to cabled self-adjusters.
-Donny

 

Moi Aussi. Three screws on my '56 CJ5.

Older vehicles, including Jeeps, often had the drum inboard of the hub flange. Without the wheel to sandwich the drum to the hub, swaging the lugs to the hub/drum assembly was functional and made a certain sense. Maybe they just couldn't break the habit?

 

When I was an engineer at Honda they had nut clips to keep the drums/rotors on. It was to keep things together during shipping and manufacturing. You don't want the drums getting lost or falling on the line workers.

 

I suspect there was a station in the assembly line for swaging the studs and it carried on even after it was no longer a good idea. It was the way they had always done it. Sort of like a study I once read about how WW2 British artillery squads still had an extra man for holding the horses long after they no longer used horses.

 

Well,.... It appears I'm gonna be findin' out whether my studs are swaged, as I'm still not happy at all with the left front brake,.....

I'm guessin' that maybe the wheel cylinder is seized or something,....

Went out in the sandpit, 'n stomped on the brakes while backin' up, the right wheel drags, the left wheel keeps rollin',....

Maybe this weekend,....

Keys5a, thanks for the tip on usin' a small holesaw,.... Brilliant,....

 

Need to be careful with that hole saw. Cut too deep and you ruin the hub.

 

I was just readin' the other brake thread at the top of the forum, 'n the discussion is gettin' 'round to replacin' the studs, on his brake job,....
I just commented, that switchin' to right handed threads, might make it a viable option,....

So my question now is, can the studs be swapped, by removin' the brake drum, but not the hub, or does the hub have to come off for clearance to do the deed,..??
How 'bout the rear axle,..??

 

The hub needs to come off so that it can be supported when pressing out the old studs and pressing in new. Sure it can be done with the hub on the vehicle, and I am guilty of doing it myself before I knew any better, but you can bend the flange of the hub doing it that way. Don't ask how I know this.

 

Ok,.... I was thinkin' of drivin' 'em in with an air hammer,.... lotsa force, without much trauma to the surrounding area,.....
'n pullin' in the new, with their threads,...

 

Think about what that hammering force is doing to your wheel bearings.