Mechanical brakes. To lube or not to lube?

[Will D]

'38 mechanical brakes. I know you should put a dab of lube where pads can rub on the backing plate but should this(picture) see some lube and what kind?

[Bill OH]

I use white lubriplate on the items shown and the cable conduits. Be sure that the wedges are smooth on the surface that contact the rollers. I straightened my with a bench grinder.
I have made other posts on here regarding the mechanical brakes for 37 and 38. They work very well!!!

[Will D]

Originally Posted by Bill OH

I use white lubriplate on the items shown and the cable conduits. Be sure that the wedges are smooth on the surface that contact the rollers. I straightened my with a bench grinder.
I have made other posts on here regarding the mechanical brakes for 37 and 38. They work very well!!!

Thanks Bill, I will search for your posts for more info. They do work well. Never had any issue function wise.

Should the adjusting wedge indents be symmetrical? Mine have a deeper indent on the right/bottom side in the picture. Not sure if they should be like that or if that is a result of wear. It is the same on them all but hate to assume...

[Kurt in NJ]

that is the what new ones look like, not wear, its part of the "Floater", behind it is the adjuster
I have been using Crest "ecto-lube" brake grease for rollers, backing plate rub points
the cables I would lube with oil--tie plastic around one end to make a funnel, start with automatic trans fluid to clean, lube, grease will make them sluggish, stiff

[Bill OH]

I think the wedge should be straight on its edges, otherwise the dips in the wedge will get caught on the roller and make the brakes hard. The dips are caused from wear.

For lube on the cables I have used never seize and that performed very well and the last time I lubed the cables and conduits I used lubriplate - a white grease.

[Will D]

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For clarification what I'm calling the wedge, see red arrows in pictures. The wedge is straight on the edge but the indents are not congruent. The left/top side in pic is smaller than the right/bottom side. The pic in service manual the indent looks congruent. Any pic online I can find is of new wedges which are all taken at an angle, not straight on so it is hard to tell...

[Bill OH]

The wedges that I have reference to are the wedges that drive the shoes apart on application of the brakes. See your post #1. I leave the adjustment wedges shown in post #6 I leave as they are - no grinding. Hope this helps.

[51woodie]

Will D. There is grease specifically designed for brake work. I have a tube in the shop, and will post the info on it later. White grease is good stuff, but I prefer lube that is meant to be used on brakes.

[FlatheadTed]

37 /38 brakes can work well providing the maintenance is done ,they the springs and cables need to be in good shape and springs in there correct places ,They can cause the car to duck to the left or right .Use the lube sparingly Lube on wedges ect can turn to glue mixed with brake dust after a while ,

[51woodie]

Will D. Here is the lube I use when working on my brakes. Most of the auto parts stores sell it in a 28 ml tube, which will be enough for several brake jobs.

[Will D]

Originally Posted by 51woodie

Will D. Here is the lube I use when working on my brakes. Most of the auto parts stores sell it in a 28 ml tube, which will be enough for several brake jobs.

Perfect, they have that at local lordco.

Has anyone ever tried graphite dry lube? To prevent "glue mixed with brake dust"? says it can handle 450 degree C or 842 F. Or would it be ineffective due to adhesion issues? I've got no problem getting brake specific lube, just a curiosity question.