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.