Steering axle/foundation brake inspection

 Drive axle/foundation brake inspection

   Removed the drive axle, foundation brakes, and adjuster arm for inspection. If I could have, I would have made sure the circuit had 90 psi in the system before checking adjustment with the parking brakes released.  I would then use a brake tool to pry the pushrod making sure that it is within 3/4 to 1 1/2" of my 2 1/2" spec for type-30 can.  After installing the S-cams I checked vertical play and end-play to verify that the bushings were not worn or I didn't need spacers on the s-cam itself.  Both were at ~.03" of play.  

  I then replaced the wheel seal and after washing both bearings in the parts washer I inspected them under a light for cracks/breaks, nicks in the rollers, etc.  I tightened the inner nut to 200 ft/lbs --> backed off 1 full turn --> torqued to 50 ft/lbs --> backed off 1/4 turn.  From there installed the lock washers and guide, then torqued the outer nut to around 475 ft/lbs.  All the while rotating the wheel as I torqued them down.  After failing a couple times, I ended up having my wheel end adjustment as close to .001" as I could.  

  From there it was a fairly simple task of cleaning the spider assy, as well as the drum itself.  Putting it all back together went smoothly.  For these particular brakes it was easier to put the rollers in the shoes before putting then on the spider.  From the pics I've posted, I kept all my parts and tools in a clean and organized manner so as not to get more confused than normal.  

  Put the tires back on with little to no effort using a tire bar and torqued them down to spec (I believe they were called out at 450-500 ft/lbs).  

  This is a video of the planetary gear set in the ZF Loader and Gary, Jeremy, and I tore apart and put back together. 

Girodisc

Went and helped Ben down at Girodisc.  They make top end high performance brake assy's.  Pretty awesome to get to see him turn his own brakes from his Audi.  We had a nice surprise later in the day when the WWU formula team showed up to test out the suspension on the formula car.  It really wasn't running too hot but it was still really neat to at least see the diagnostics and data they were picking up, even though I don't really know what any of it means.

It is amazing how much I have learned from just a few weeks of practicing the most basic electrical systems.  Things that I have learned from it that I can carry over into other specialties:
1) K.I.S.S.  Keep it simple stupid.   It is very easy for me to get over complicated.  I need to remember that things can be difficult unless viewed in its simplest form.
2) Take my time.  Don't rush through anything.  Don't assume anything either.
3) Trust my data.  Sometimes the numbers don't add up, but as long as my testing is done correctly it can be simple again.

104 hrs

Stopping is fun

Took apart both rear drums on my 07 ranger v6 3l to address a squeak that would occur after I release the brake pedal.  It sounded to me like the shoes were scraping on the hub.  Got into the drivers side to find the brake wheel cylinder was leaking quite a bit.  Took it all apart and cleaned it up best I could.  Put just a tiny dab of high heat anti-seize on and squeak is gone.  Figured out, because I didn't have a manual, that the best way to take apart drum brakes is take a picture of all the springs and where they go.  Changed the oil and spark plugs.  Got about 6.5 hrs into that.

   The amount of current flowing through some of these cables scares the crap outta me.  If I touch two wrong conductors together I could possibly lose thousands of dollars in computer equipment.   I don't what it is I like about electrical.  I just like it... so far

Electrical Voyage

Today we started to dive into the electrical of the course.  I was really hoping to see Jeff explode something.  However, I didn't want it to be my brain.  This will be a challenging quarter.  Many theories learned today as well as many of my own destroyed.  I will have to get used to that.

Working at the DOT was an invaluable experience.  The guys taught me more than I thought I could, challenged me beyond my limits, and most importantly showed me how to keep that shovel from falling over.  Total hours for March are a whopping 48.  Been spending the last few weeks working back some of this intern debt I've accrued this quarter.  My PC is kind of on the fritz right now so I can't post pictures, but we had quite the incident with one of the drivers not doing a very thorough walk-around on one of the sanding trucks.  He failed to notice one inch rust streaks going outwards from the lug nuts on the driver side rear wheel.  However, he didn't fail to notice the wheel go past him on the freeway when the bolts broke off.  Pretty interesting there.  I don't imagine I will ever forget to look at and check the torque on my wheels if I start driving truck.

I went back into the shop yesterday to make sure everything hadn't fallen into chaos in my absence and received an update on the Broce sweeper.  After I had the rear brakes all put back together they were still quite tight.  We went ahead and replaced the emergency brake pedal on my last day because it was binding up.    I left with the sweeper still hanging from the lift.  Apparently what had happened was that Broce sent us the wrong shoes.  They were not quite the right curve angle for our drums.  Took them awhile to figure that out.  I guess what led them to that was that the top and bottoms of the pads themselves were shining after installing and spinning the wheel.  Indicating the obvious:  wrong curve.  That will always be something I check.  Just simply putting the shoe into the drum is all that's needed that would have saved hours of headache.

Broce Sweeper

Today I ended up working on the Broce sweeper again.  All the parts for the drum brakes came in as well as both tie-rod ends.  Had a ton of fun with it as the guys let me tackle them (the brakes, not the guys!) without bothering me all day.  I learned a lot of new things; so much sometimes it's hard to remember it all.  I think the biggest thing (as well as most likely the most simple thing) I figured out when putting these drum assemblies back together was it is WAY easier to put all the springs and cylinder back together the opposite order they came off.  Right now, it seems stupid that I even have to put that down as a big thing; but it was.  The first drum took me upwards of an hour and a half, almost finishing right before lunch.  I couldn't get it and couldn't get it.  Took lunch and thought about it.  Came back with my new found approach.  Finished it up in about 15 minutes, then went to the next one and that one only took about 45 minutes.  Next one went even quicker.

1 down

1 of 4 Drum Brakes for
 Broce Sweeper

It was very satisfying being able to get all 4 back on there with little to no help. However, I should probably clarify that since we are replacing the king pins, bushings, and throw-out bearings on the front that I really only have the 2 rear drums actually on the vehicle.  The next step is getting those front steering knuckle assemblies (not sure if steering knuckle is the proper term, gonna have to ask the bossman on that one) and get the tie-rod straightened and installed.  I'm looking forward to tomorrow for sure!

  Here's a little generalized bonus for you guys out there.  Feel free to criticize this as I haven't fully verified the validity of the information.  However, I have found it very useful taped to my tool box for quick reference to the vehicles in our fleet.

Dirty little sweepers

  Pulled in the Broce sweeper this week to get an annual done on it.  What happened from there turned out to be so much more.  As I was greasing it up, the zercs in the front right and left lower kingpin bushings wouldn't take any grease.  I took the zercs out and cleaned up inside as much as I could until I noticed the grease hole in both bushings weren't lined up at all.  Took the caps off the bottom of the kingpin and the bottom was just brick hard and dry.  The boss man let me loose the next day to get new kingpins, bushings, L and R tie rod ends.  That was pretty cool to let him have me take time and try and figure out best pricing and availability.  Was a great exercise for me.
  Since everything is still pretty new to me in this field, I have to ask a ton of questions.  Even the simple ones.  Last week was extra challenging for me in that regard.  I've never taken brakes off, let alone apart before.  I've never come close to taking any part of any suspension apart.  On the other hand, I feel like my brain is stretching so far my skull's gonna burst with how much I get to learn from this time as an intern.
  Waiting on parts for the Broce, they should be in Tuesday for me to start throwing it back together.  This will be the first job they've put me on solo.  Pretty exciting times for me.