I have a 1982 fj60 land cruiser. The parking brake was sticking on badly due to stuck bell cranks on both sides. This was a problem at the boat ramp... The low compression of the engine, and loose tolerances due to over 300k miles, seemed to combine to let the engine slowly turn and the rig slowly creep back towards the drink. For a while, I used the parking brake and suffered the consequences after getting off the ramp - if you take your long tire iron you can pry against the leaf spring to push the bell crank back in. Hardly convenient, but it worked. It's a nice trick to know if your bellcranks stick and you have to use, or someone else accidentally sets, your emergency brake.
I didn't see a cheap option for parts online, so about 6 months ago I fixed the problem by pulling out the bell cranks and "rebuilding" them and packing them with copious amounts of anti-seize. I figured I'd post up the photos and what's left of my recollection of the procedure for others to see:
Parts/tools needed:
The usual tools and cleaners to lift the truck, remove drum, disassemble brakes.
5/16" x 1-1/4" (I think) stainless clevis pin with single hole, along with stainless cotter pin. I got this from an ACE hardware down the road from my house.
Anti-seize
A dremel and a perfectly-sized file
Disassemble the drum and pull the bell crank. The problem with the bell cranks is corrosion between all the dissimilar metals, which then freezes the arm in the holder. I couldn't even move my crank by hand, or with a hammer. I couldn't even get the pin out. It was obvious I wasn't going to be able to simply clean them up and reinstall.
I ended up grinding the pin flat on one side, then drilling it partially out and then pounding the pin the rest of the way out.
That will leave you with some pieces:
And this is where you will focus your attention:
As you can see, there is a steel "sleeve" in the aluminum bracket. It "pinches" in right at the area where the pin goes and the arm pivots. With the corrosion, this was way too tight for the arm to pivot freely. There were also some other tight spots but that was the bulk of the problem.
Some people advocate removing the metal sleeve completely, but I didn't see a great way to do that.
What I did was, take a dremel tool, and then a file, and do my best to widen the gap and make some clearance for the arm to slide around easily inside. I suppose as an easier alternative you could take an angle grinder to the arm and thin it out some. After about half an hour of grinding and filing, the arm would slide in and out freely and had a bit of play.
Then, it's time to re-assemble:
(Shown without anti-seize for clarity)
Slather on a ton of anti-seize and hope you don't have to do that again too soon.
Hope this helps someone.
I didn't see a cheap option for parts online, so about 6 months ago I fixed the problem by pulling out the bell cranks and "rebuilding" them and packing them with copious amounts of anti-seize. I figured I'd post up the photos and what's left of my recollection of the procedure for others to see:
Parts/tools needed:
The usual tools and cleaners to lift the truck, remove drum, disassemble brakes.
5/16" x 1-1/4" (I think) stainless clevis pin with single hole, along with stainless cotter pin. I got this from an ACE hardware down the road from my house.
Anti-seize
A dremel and a perfectly-sized file
Disassemble the drum and pull the bell crank. The problem with the bell cranks is corrosion between all the dissimilar metals, which then freezes the arm in the holder. I couldn't even move my crank by hand, or with a hammer. I couldn't even get the pin out. It was obvious I wasn't going to be able to simply clean them up and reinstall.
I ended up grinding the pin flat on one side, then drilling it partially out and then pounding the pin the rest of the way out.
That will leave you with some pieces:
And this is where you will focus your attention:
As you can see, there is a steel "sleeve" in the aluminum bracket. It "pinches" in right at the area where the pin goes and the arm pivots. With the corrosion, this was way too tight for the arm to pivot freely. There were also some other tight spots but that was the bulk of the problem.
Some people advocate removing the metal sleeve completely, but I didn't see a great way to do that.
What I did was, take a dremel tool, and then a file, and do my best to widen the gap and make some clearance for the arm to slide around easily inside. I suppose as an easier alternative you could take an angle grinder to the arm and thin it out some. After about half an hour of grinding and filing, the arm would slide in and out freely and had a bit of play.
Then, it's time to re-assemble:
(Shown without anti-seize for clarity)
Slather on a ton of anti-seize and hope you don't have to do that again too soon.
Hope this helps someone.
