Date:         Mon, 23 Mar 2009 23:58:02 -0400
Reply-To:     David Beierl <dbeierl@ATTGLOBAL.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         David Beierl <dbeierl@ATTGLOBAL.NET>
Subject:      Re: another brake saga
Comments: To: Edward Maglott <emaglott@BUNCOMBE.MAIN.NC.US>
In-Reply-To:  <20090324030836.C75B61E836F@tc2.main.nc.us>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed

At 10:57 PM 3/23/2009, Edward Maglott wrote:
>I think hydraulic brake systems have a property
>where the pistons stay up against the hardware (shoe or pad) and move
>out incrementally to make up for wear, and only get pushed back in
>when you replace the pads or shoes.

Ours -- with a fixed pivot and the adjuster near the hydraulic
cylinder -- do.  The kind where the adjuster forms the lower pivot
must pull the pistons home every time.  It sounds as though you need
to milk the boot back down the piston shaft until it's no longer
pulling on the piston.

>It is kind of cool to see the adjuster work, I've always wondered
>about that.

They need to be fairly free-operating to work.  I also observed once
that they work especially well when mounted on the correct side of
the vehicle (they have opposite-hand threads).  Blush.

Non-sequitur -- I spent 30 years sporadically trying to take apart
the mainsheet blocks on the sailboat Scamp.  Rubber-covered block,
flat stainless hub either side with two holes each for a pin
wrench.  Only one pin wrench supplied.  Turn it, the whole assembly
rotates inside the cover.  I finally made another pin wrench with
music wire and a block of aluminum, still couldn't get the buggers
apart using both wrenches and a vise and plenty of PB-Blaster.  Just
before I started to go Postal, I tried turning the other way -- they
practically fell apart.  Boy did I feel stooo-pid.


  --
David Beierl - Providence RI USA -- http://pws.prserv.net/synergy/Vanagon/
'89 Po' White Star "Scamp"