Two years ago (on page 3 of this blog) we found part of the brake mechanism wouldn't move so one of the brakes no longer operated. Over the intervening years, I disassembled as much of the linkage as I could but still failed to fix the problem.
 |
| Brake rod mechanism on central crossmember. |
 |
| Brake cleaner is great for removing grease. |
We had a deadline rapidly approaching, so I called in my mate Oz from Shed Engineering, who kindly came to "give it a serious looking at". Having worked through the linkage mechanism, he found a couple of issues including a worn rod and a dodgy looking bodge job, presumably to overcome years of wear, or perhaps poor adjustment.
 |
| No thread left for adjustment or removal. |
Half a century of corrosion leaves very little thread with which to undo nuts, so he cut off the main connecting rod from the coupling mechanism back to the axle crossmember. Two days later, he had it all separated into individual components, sand blasted the items to be re-used, and made replacements for those that were not.
 |
| Rusty old parts, new parts and sand blasted parts. |
The following weekend, Oz returned to refit the linkage and adjust. An hour of tinkering later, it was all installed and adjusted, giving us a fully functioning over-run braking system and handbrake.
 |
| Rusty parts in foreground, replaced by re-made parts in the centre and sand blasted originals to the rear. |
 |
| All fitted prior to adjustment. |
 |
| Fully adjusted and painted. |
We treated the caravan to a new breakaway cable as the original was worn and had long since been consigned to the bin. Whilst working at this end, I finally got round to fitting the new rubber bellows over the drawbar shaft. I had previously been unable to remove the coupling head, so, after cutting the old rubber bellows off, my only option was to pull the new bellows over the head. The rubber was immersed in hot water to soften it, and the coupling head was smothered in petroleum jelly as lubricant (it washes off with water, so easier to clean up than grease). Oz recommended I fashion a wooden wedge to use as a "ramp" to slide the bellows over the notch in the head, but it wouldn't stay in place, so I used my fingers. Half an hour of wrestling later, the bellows were in place, held by cable ties, and all cleaned up.
 |
| Damaged old bellows |
 |
| Bellows cut off |
 |
| Lubricated head and wooden 'wedge' |
 |
| New bellows in position |
 |
| New bellows fitted |
Click here to go to the next page to continue reading our story.
