Hi All, i found a guy to rebuild my box but i need to take it off and post it to him, the only problem being i don't know where to start so any advice would be appreciated. also as the cars been off road for a while, can i service the rear brake shoes or would i need to buy a kit.
Regards
Razi
P.S Box & rear brakes
Moderator: Moderators
OK
box out
first get car up on stands and put ya spare wheel and the drivers side on in a pile underneath just in case...saves a squashed head if you pull it off the stands
undo big nut that hold on the bent shaft links ya box to the steering cross bar so you can pull it,the pitman arm, off the splines on the box
undo this nut about 1/4 of an inch
use a puller to ease the arm down
use tippex or nail varnish to mark its position because it has 1 thick spline for alignment and i can more or less guarantee it will be getting dark or there will be an eclipse or you will forget you are wearing shades on the day when you want to put it back in.
there is a proper puller for this job
i used one i had to hand for pulling bearings and cogs off shafts. it was a right pain to do because mine was not the proper puller
next up
undo the rag joint that connects steering column to box
this is a 2 part joint with a rubber sandwich in the middle
undo the two nuts that are different sizes
undo either the bolt. or press out the pin that fixes the lower side onto the steering box shaft. this will allow that lower half of the rag joint to move down the splines on the steering box worm shaft past the necked in bit where the bolt goes....allows you to prize the rag joint apart without pushing the column up into the car (if the shaft does go up into the car you are missing the circlip at the top of the column and your self cancelling indicators will probably not wor)
watch the wire for the horn it bolts under one of the different sized nuts.
next loosen the 3 bolts through the chassis rail that mount the box. 2 long 1 short all big proper nuts and bolts. air gun helps but spannering works ok if yours are big enough.
don't take them out
next do the messy bit. undo the power steering pipes and collect as much of the juice as possible because it makes a right mess
once pipes are undone remove the big bolts and lower the thing out the bottom way...no way will it come out the top on a v8 engined car with a brake booster. job done
i'd take it to a bearing specialist and see what seals i could source...................................anyway
rear brakes
take off wheels 1 at a time is fine but you will need both off the ground if you have an LSD
go behind brake drum
lever out rubber covers for adjusters. adjuster is a 1mm fat metal star perpendicular to the hole....get a torch in there
wind them right back with you favorite short fat screw driver (i don't know anyone who has the proper tool for this). you will know if you go the wrong way because you will put the brakes on and the wheel drum won't turn.
if adjsuted back you will have no problem pulling the drums off. fall off in ya hand.
have a mootch
if the shoes have even ware and the friction material is still 3-4mm thick i'd leave well alone
if they are worn out or all oily. then they will have to come off
this is where it gets fun
take a photo paying attention to how the springs fit and how the handbrake and auto adjust levers fit.
the shoes are held on by the standard spring, cup and pin from the back of the drum.
a pig to undo, unless you have the tool...i don't so make do with a cut down box socket a £ shop jobby
if oily rub em all over with swafega
clean em up
then steep em in a bucket of boiling water and floor cleaner.
you are not supposed to but it works ok.
next get either a small dremmel style grinding stone or some dowel wrapped with emery cloth....suggest you section the dowel down its length to about half way to clamp the emery
blast round the inside of the drums to give them a nice even scrub. the idea is to bust the glaze. 30+ years will have polished the friction surface to babies bottom smoothness. if there is a big ridge near the edge use your common sense to decide if they are worn so thin as to be useless....it will be obvious
bung it all back
adjust handbrake at the metal saddle under the drivers side so the cables are loose. there is a nut on the threaded rod that the saddle sits on to do this
adjust up brake shoes so they hit the drum
go stand on the peddle
go back and the drums will spin again
adjust up till you can't spin
go stand on the peddle a few times
repeat until there is no difference in drum tightness befor and after a good stamp on the peddle
go back and back off the adjuster so you can just hear the shoes kissing the drum
adjust up ya hand brake so that it clicks 3 times before brakes are on
go round the front open master cylinder
check level top up to the brim (just get standard dot 4 from the garage) and pop the rubber seal back into its proper shape. it will have sucked down in a weird shape.
job done.
take car out for gentle assessment.
check how hot ya drums get
if they boil spit on your return back off the adjusters half a smidge again cos they have been binding on....i.e the dragging of the shoes has moved them round a bit into a position that allows one end or the other to really drag. the heat generated makes the whole shooting match expand and drag even more. car will feel like its running on 6 rather than 8 and you will eventaully smell burning not nice.....
brakes will work best about two months later
properly adjusted brakes on a valiant charger rear end work too damn well. they really do need a better or indeed just need a brake pressure bias fitted. same rear brakes as the much heavier models. too much for the charger...rears lock up way too easy.
Dave
box out
first get car up on stands and put ya spare wheel and the drivers side on in a pile underneath just in case...saves a squashed head if you pull it off the stands
undo big nut that hold on the bent shaft links ya box to the steering cross bar so you can pull it,the pitman arm, off the splines on the box
undo this nut about 1/4 of an inch
use a puller to ease the arm down
use tippex or nail varnish to mark its position because it has 1 thick spline for alignment and i can more or less guarantee it will be getting dark or there will be an eclipse or you will forget you are wearing shades on the day when you want to put it back in.
there is a proper puller for this job
i used one i had to hand for pulling bearings and cogs off shafts. it was a right pain to do because mine was not the proper puller
next up
undo the rag joint that connects steering column to box
this is a 2 part joint with a rubber sandwich in the middle
undo the two nuts that are different sizes
undo either the bolt. or press out the pin that fixes the lower side onto the steering box shaft. this will allow that lower half of the rag joint to move down the splines on the steering box worm shaft past the necked in bit where the bolt goes....allows you to prize the rag joint apart without pushing the column up into the car (if the shaft does go up into the car you are missing the circlip at the top of the column and your self cancelling indicators will probably not wor)
watch the wire for the horn it bolts under one of the different sized nuts.
next loosen the 3 bolts through the chassis rail that mount the box. 2 long 1 short all big proper nuts and bolts. air gun helps but spannering works ok if yours are big enough.
don't take them out
next do the messy bit. undo the power steering pipes and collect as much of the juice as possible because it makes a right mess
once pipes are undone remove the big bolts and lower the thing out the bottom way...no way will it come out the top on a v8 engined car with a brake booster. job done
i'd take it to a bearing specialist and see what seals i could source...................................anyway
rear brakes
take off wheels 1 at a time is fine but you will need both off the ground if you have an LSD
go behind brake drum
lever out rubber covers for adjusters. adjuster is a 1mm fat metal star perpendicular to the hole....get a torch in there
wind them right back with you favorite short fat screw driver (i don't know anyone who has the proper tool for this). you will know if you go the wrong way because you will put the brakes on and the wheel drum won't turn.
if adjsuted back you will have no problem pulling the drums off. fall off in ya hand.
have a mootch
if the shoes have even ware and the friction material is still 3-4mm thick i'd leave well alone
if they are worn out or all oily. then they will have to come off
this is where it gets fun
take a photo paying attention to how the springs fit and how the handbrake and auto adjust levers fit.
the shoes are held on by the standard spring, cup and pin from the back of the drum.
a pig to undo, unless you have the tool...i don't so make do with a cut down box socket a £ shop jobby
if oily rub em all over with swafega
clean em up
then steep em in a bucket of boiling water and floor cleaner.
you are not supposed to but it works ok.
next get either a small dremmel style grinding stone or some dowel wrapped with emery cloth....suggest you section the dowel down its length to about half way to clamp the emery
blast round the inside of the drums to give them a nice even scrub. the idea is to bust the glaze. 30+ years will have polished the friction surface to babies bottom smoothness. if there is a big ridge near the edge use your common sense to decide if they are worn so thin as to be useless....it will be obvious
bung it all back
adjust handbrake at the metal saddle under the drivers side so the cables are loose. there is a nut on the threaded rod that the saddle sits on to do this
adjust up brake shoes so they hit the drum
go stand on the peddle
go back and the drums will spin again
adjust up till you can't spin
go stand on the peddle a few times
repeat until there is no difference in drum tightness befor and after a good stamp on the peddle
go back and back off the adjuster so you can just hear the shoes kissing the drum
adjust up ya hand brake so that it clicks 3 times before brakes are on
go round the front open master cylinder
check level top up to the brim (just get standard dot 4 from the garage) and pop the rubber seal back into its proper shape. it will have sucked down in a weird shape.
job done.
take car out for gentle assessment.
check how hot ya drums get
if they boil spit on your return back off the adjusters half a smidge again cos they have been binding on....i.e the dragging of the shoes has moved them round a bit into a position that allows one end or the other to really drag. the heat generated makes the whole shooting match expand and drag even more. car will feel like its running on 6 rather than 8 and you will eventaully smell burning not nice.....
brakes will work best about two months later
properly adjusted brakes on a valiant charger rear end work too damn well. they really do need a better or indeed just need a brake pressure bias fitted. same rear brakes as the much heavier models. too much for the charger...rears lock up way too easy.
Dave
The Greater Knapweed near the Mugwort by the Buckthorn tree is dying
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Anonymous