28 Brake Cross Shaft Bushings

[Vic in E-TN]

I was working on a friend's mid '28 with the emergency brake handle next to the shifter. The brake cross shaft is a two piece system. He complained of bad brakes. I looked underneath and noticed that the brackets holding the shaft were not like the other later ones. The bottom part was not round, it was pretty flat and there were no bushings left. The cross shaft mostly moved back and forth before rotating when the brake pedal was stepped on.

Is the 28 equipped with a different system for the brackets? If I replace the brackets with later ones and use split brass bushings, will everything fit? I expect that the brakes will work much better if the bushings fit the shaft.

The RG&JS (Area 7) do not cover this specifically.

Thanks,
Vic

[Rowdy]

Go to your local electrical shop. That is where I got bushings for mine. I had to ream them alittle once the were installed. The bushings were considerably shorter, so I had to put 4 bushings in each pin hole and cut one down slightly to get the length right. Rod

[Ron in Quincy]

On the floating brake system there is a socket spring on each cross shaft to keep the shafts from moving in and out. The socket springs also stops the shafts from rattling.

Ron

[Vic in E-TN]

Thanks for the replies. I probably did not make myself clear enough. The brackets in question are not the inboard ones, they are the ones that attach the cross shaft halves to the bottom of the frame. There was so much play there that I could not see if there was play in the other parts.

Thanks,
Vic

[Rowdy]

Ther are no bushings there as the equalizer system will let the cross shafts move fore and aft to keep the tension on the rods equal. If it is movement in and out you are concerend with then the springs in the clamshell sockets are broken or missing.

Btw I had to weld up my cross shafts where they attached at the frame and had them turned down back to the original diameter. Rod

[Vic in E-TN]

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Rowdy:
Thanks for the education. That is exactly what it appears is happening. I am still a little confused however. If the tension on the rods (front and rear) is equal, is the amount of pull on the front vs. rear controlled by the relative length of the arms on the backing plates? Are the lengths of the front and rear arms on the cross shaft equal?

I think that this system would make adjusting the 28 brakes either a nightmare or a breeze.

Vic

[Tom Wesenberg]

Since the front brakes are applied by a wedge being pushed straight down, and the rear brakes are applied by rotating ramps on a floating pin, that would also come into play to know what % of braking goes to the front.

Maybe I need to read through the original question again, but is there any chance someone installed the later one piece shaft? It sounds like you are asking about the bushings used with the one piece shaft, which was introduced in late 1928.

[Rowdy]

They can be a nitmare to adjust as the rods are non-adjustable. Getting rid of all of the slop and curing all of the wear is a must. All four wheels must be off of the ground and pretty much level to properly adjust. All adjustment is at the wheels. There are some basic adjustment procedures for them in the "Service Bulletins". It is basicly a 40/60 system with the front brakes doing about 60% of the braking due to the length of the levers etc. Rod

[Dennis Pereira]

Vic Bratton's shows service brake cross shaft brackets and split bushing 28 - 31 but doesn't say it will fit the two piece cross shaft . On my 28 frame the bushing are missing ? and things are loose it seems there would be a bushing in that area but I'm unable to locate any drawings that show it clearly.

[Ron in Quincy]

The frame brackets are made to allow the cross shafts to move back and forward so they equalize. To adjust the brake rods, insert a small wooden blocks on the frame brackets to hold the shafts in the middle; start with the brake pedal shaft and adjust so the cross shaft ends are vertical then adjust the brake rods so the clevis pins can be inserted. On the rear brake rods pull the rods forward to remove built in play. Then remove the wooden blocks. If your brake shoes have been arced to each drum you should have good brakes. The mechanical brake system, like the later system, is 60/40, that is 60 percent rear and 40 percent front. The rears should take hold first, ahead of the fronts, and the rears should lock when a emergency stop ismade.

Ron

[Vic in E-TN]

I need to read the service bulletins. I have done a lot of brake work but never saw the split shaft before this. I need to see if the brake rods are non-adjustable on the car. My friend said that the brakes were working well until something happened and now they go halfway down before he gets any braking. It was a step change in performance. This is exactly what I saw underneath the car. It appeared that there was approximately 1/2 inch of back/forth movement allowed before there was any tension on the brake rods.

Safety (stopping the car) is my main concern.

I will measure the diameter of the shaft and see if the split bronze bushings will fit. If so, it may be advisable to go to a new style bracket on the frame. I wonder if anyone looses points in judging in this area.

Vic

[Charles Reese]

Originally Posted by Rowdy

Ther are no bushings there as the equalizer system will let the cross shafts move fore and aft to keep the tension on the rods equal. If it is movement in and out you are concerend with then the springs in the clamshell sockets are broken or missing.

Btw I had to weld up my cross shafts where they attached at the frame and had them turned down back to the original diameter. Rod

I ‘think’ he is describing the early ‘equalizer’ style brake system (a photo would be helpful for us to review). I strongly concur that the cross shafts must be welded and turned to original dimensions before any adjustments will be of any use ... there were no bushings at the frame connection. The descriptions of the tension springs (these are small but 'meaty' springs) is critical as well.

[Vic in E-TN]

Charles:
Thanks for the pictures. The car is not at my house/shop so I cannot take pictures but your pictures explain a lot. It looks like the spring dimension is about 0.6 inches. From my friend's explanation it could be that one or more of these springs popped out or broke.

Vic

[Jim Mason]

there is no bushing on the outboard ends of the brake crossshafts. The shaft needs to be brought back to spec. The brake rods were adjustable except for a brief period in late 28...

[Marshall V. Daut]

A friend has a mid-1928 Tudor with this brake system. The outboard areas of the half-shafts were rattling inside the brackets that bolt to the frame, as you are probably experiencing. This system wasn't designed with long-term wear considerations apparently = no bushings to easily replace, as seen in the later brake system. My friend wanted me to try and fix the problem so that he wouldn't be embarrassed by all that rattling the next time he drove the car in a family wedding caravan. I was on vacation at the time and visiting friends, so I didn't have a lot of time or tools needed to do the job properly. What I did was to take some spare frame anti-squeak welting that he had left over from the 1960's restoration, trim a couple strips, coat one side with chassis grease, and reassemble the brackets around them. I tightened the nuts on the frame bolts until I felt a little resistance, enough to remove slop and allow free swinging, yet not enough to bind the shafts. We test drove the car and the rattle was gone. I told my friend that this was just a temporary fix until he could take things apart and have the shafts welded up and turned back to standard diameter. That was 18 years ago. He's still driving the car as I left it with him and there's no rattling. He says he checks the slop every couple years and has only had to tighten the bracket nuts a half turn or so.
Inspite of this "success story", I am NOT advocating this method of restoring the proper operation of your 1928 split-brake shaft system. This was supposed to be a stopgap repair so that his car wouldn't rattle when he drove it at the next wedding. But, as the old saying goes: There's nothing as permanent as a temporary fix and nothing as temporary as a permanent fix. I think this must be a corollary of Murphy's Law.
Marshall