8ntruck 8,085 #1 Posted 13 hours ago (edited) We are in our Ky. location for a few days. Major goal is repairing the brakes on EJ the 8n. So, Welcome to Deep Woods Tractor Repair: I was expecting to find maybe worn splines on the hubs and bad axle seals. The splines don't seem to be too bad, and the axle seals appear to be in fine shape and to be relatively new. The source of the puddles of gear lube in the brake drums appears to be that the last guy who assembled this thing failed to put the cork gaskets behind the axle seal retaining plates! This let the 90 weight drip out between the axle flange and the seal retaining plate. The brake shoes look to be relatively new as well - ought to, they have been well coated with oil. The brake drums didn't want to come off until I backed off the adjusters A LOT. Both drums have a shoe track worn in them about .040 to .060" deep. Might as well replace the drums while I'm at it. Got to source some, though. One big oopsie, though - the box of brake parts didn't get packed into the truck for this trip. Worst case, I'll replace the missing axle seal retaining plate gaskets with some Form A Gasket, and clean the gear lube off of everything as good as I can get it, then put it all back together. That ought to get me some brakes - for a little while, anyhow. Edited 12 hours ago by 8ntruck 7 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ri702bill 9,821 #2 Posted 12 hours ago Ah, the smell of fresh brewed coffee, with a hint of bug spray...... 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
8ntruck 8,085 #3 Posted 12 hours ago 6 minutes ago, ri702bill said: Ah, the smell of fresh brewed coffee, with a hint of bug spray...... Yup. We've got a camping version of an espresso maker. 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Handy Don 14,436 #4 Posted 12 hours ago 47 minutes ago, 8ntruck said: The brake drums didn't want to come off until I backed off the adjusters A LOT. Both drums have a shoe track worn in them about .040 to .060" deep. Might as well replace the drums while I'm at it. Got to source some, though. Depending on how much metal is still there on the drum, it might be worth having them re-cut. Back in the “drum days”, this was a fairly common repair many shops were equipped to handle. A truck service center on the other side of the county were I live still does this. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ri702bill 9,821 #5 Posted 11 hours ago But you can't just slap on a set of new brake shoes under those freshly cut-oversize drums. Why??... the radii do not match. Only a small percentage of the friction material will contact the drum. The result is brakes that actually perform worse than you started..... Hard to find a relining shop that arc-corrects shoes anymore.... Old School. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pullstart 67,612 #6 Posted 8 hours ago Meh. Just slap some duct tape on it! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
1mor Project 93 #7 Posted 6 hours ago Gear lube on Ford N brakes is a pretty common problem over the years in my "collection". Since my hobby tractors are users, not show pieces, stuff happens. I am seldom on the road or even in high gear, so "perfect" brakes are not needed. Having said that my answer to thick pads that have become oil soaked is to get out my cutting torch and warm the face of the shoes, boiling the oil soak out to the surface. I repeat a couple times, wiping excess each time, then sanding the last time with 36 grit sandpaper. This is not as good as new shoes, but I can still lock up the wheels. I'm not recommending this, just telling you what I have done. It works for me at the speeds I use mowing or plowing snow. 2 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ebinmaine 74,034 #8 Posted 2 hours ago At one point there was a place up here around New Gloucester Maine that was selling parts for the older Fords Share this post Link to post Share on other sites