rear subframe q's

[ash00]

Hey Gang,

I got a new rear subframe that I refurbished, along with some boxed control arms that I cleaned up as well. My plan was to remove the existing backing plate to the rear drums (which includes the parking brake and regular drum brake), and bolt them onto my new control arm. I have a few problems:

1)Which grease do I use for the bearings inside the control arm?

2)Is there anyway of detaching the clip that connects the parking brake cable/spring to that arm? I assume once I relieve the tension there, I can slide the arm away and access those four bolts that are holding the backing plate. Is there any other way to disassemble the rear brake?

TIA!!

Happy holidays folks,

[winstontj]

Hey Gang,

I got a new rear subframe that I refurbished, along with some boxed control arms that I cleaned up as well. My plan was to remove the existing backing plate to the rear drums (which includes the parking brake and regular drum brake), and bolt them onto my new control arm. I have a few problems:

1)Which grease do I use for the bearings inside the control arm?

2)Is there anyway of detaching the clip that connects the parking brake cable/spring to that arm? I assume once I relieve the tension there, I can slide the arm away and access those four bolts that are holding the backing plate. Is there any other way to disassemble the rear brake?

TIA!!

Happy holidays folks,

#1 grease on control arm bearings is standard wheel bearing grease. You can buy almost anywhere cheap. Same stuff you'd use on front bearings.

#2 In order to remove the backing plates you MUST remove the rear hub. This involves removing the 36mm castle nut that's torqued on to about 250lbs. Remove that and use a puller for the hub and then take off the backing plate. There is no clip for the parking brakes they just slide over the shoes.

[jerry]

1. use any wheel bearing grease, sold as such at your favorite auto parts store. they typically contain molybdenum disulfide, a good lubricant. you can get fancy and by the reddish synthetic grease but not necessary. clean your bearings very well for inspection at 3X magnification.

bearings are a funny item. they'll either degrade early in life or they'll last a LONG time under normal use. i'm reusing all my rear bearings from my car with 30 odd years on them. i inspected them using a stereoscope and found nothing wrong.

2. if you're gonna be removing the backing plate, i found it easy to remove wheel cylinders first by pulling the shoes outward, then remove the springy clip and you can easily disengage the parking brake cable.

[ash00]

Yeah-- I can totally try pushing in the cylinder and removing the clip. I think that'll work. I'd never thought of that!

I've thoroughly cleaned the bearings so Its time for final assembly!

Thanks for the tips!