Semi-Girling brakes and hubs

[Old Dave]

I have finally got around to doing this job which I posted a thread about last Summer - Ruairidh has given me much advise offline and this has moved me forward some what.

In the thread last Summer Ruairidh and others mentioned that the brake levers on the Girling front brakes were too far back - and the thought was that the front brake cams were the wrong side. Unfortunately they are not, which would have been easy to put right. The near-side cam has a very faint marking which I think is FN, but the off-side cam is very clearly marked FO which I assume is Front Offside. Back to the drawing board. The shoes will be relined and everything refurbed, but how to assemble with levers further forward???? I haven't taken the cams fully apart yet.

It was suggested that the shorter Austin arms could be used but would these require Austin cams - I assume they would as I note the cotters are different.

I am reinstalling the old "open" bearings as there is nothing wrong with them, together with a modern lip-seal. Just packing the bearing with grease and little more to avoid contamination again. If I had replaced the bearings I would probably have gone for sealed to get around the problem. How much grease is too much  !!!!!!!!

Has anyone got advice on the best grease to use given the need for it to stay there for a while. Well the rest of my life anyway!!!!

I have seen descriptions of two ways to remount the hubs.

1. Build the inner hub and bearings with spacer on the stub-axle tightening the hub nut and apply the split-pin. Then pressing (well hide-faced mallet) the outer hub (and maybe the puller to add weight) over the top and screwing the two hub halves together.

OR

2. Build the hub entirely and screwing together before installing over the stub-axle. Apply the nut and tighten adding the split-pin through the holes in the threaded section of the outer hub.

A paper gasket and seal cement being used in either method.

Any help gratefully received as always.




Supplementary advice required please - 

I use a lithium grease cartridge  (Witham Oils) in the usual style of gun for regular greasing. This often drips from the gun as "oil" - of course grease has an oil base but is this a common happening. My old Mini grease gun never dripped in this way??!!

[Ruairidh Dunford]

Be aware that they could be marked incorrectly.

Post a photo of them, to get confirmation.

[Steve Jones]

Supplementary advice required please - 

I use a lithium grease cartridge  (Witham Oils) in the usual style of gun for regular greasing. This often drips from the gun as "oil" - of course grease has an oil base but is this a common happening. My old Mini grease gun never dripped in this way??!!



My Wanner gun does exactly the same. It hangs on a nail on the wall over my bench and very slowly drips oil onto whatever is below. I could, of course, move the gun to a better location but that would be way too easy wouldn't it

Steve

[Old Dave]

Oh! Thanks Ruairidh - I didn't realise that Austin (or Girling) had a sense of humour. That's tomorrow's job when dismantled. Long days in the garage are a thing of the past.

Thanks Steve - that is reassuring.

[Cliff Ringrose]

When you finish with a grease gun, always release the pressure on the grease by pulling out the spring loaded plunger, or handle and chain on a Wanner. Reduces the grease/oil leakage quite a lot.

Cliff.

[Reckless Rat]

I was pottering about in the garage this afty and came across a pair of Semi-Girling front levers and cams. For your information here are a couple of pics showing their orientation as regards the cam flats and the levers. No cotter pins I'm afraid but the nuts go to the front.



In the second photo the cam flats are parallel:



Hope that is of some use.

[Old Dave]

Be aware that they could be marked incorrectly.

Post a photo of them, to get confirmation.

Here is the off-side (front of course) cam and lever. The cam is clearly marked FO as I said before. The cam is badly worn, and cam and bush will need replacing -  but are they the correct item?

The cotter came out OK but the lever was jammed on to the end of the cam and needed more effort to split it from the cam than I would like.

I am gathering the strength to strip the near-side now.


       

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Thanks for those pics RR - very very helpful.

Here is my equivalent to your O/S pic.

   


You can see how badly worn the cam is!!!!

I still can't workout how I can put the lever in a positon to have it vertical when the brakes are applied and further forward in normal driving.

I was hoping that there was an easy solution - stop laughing at the back!!!  

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Thanks for the pics RR very useful.

I don't know how my reply to your pics ended up on the end of my previous post that overlapped with yours.

I have posted my equivalent to your O/S pic above.

[Reckless Rat]

The cams are "handed" so it may be that yours are reversed, as far as the levers are concerned. If I wasn't so far away I'd send you mine for comparison purposes - perhaps someone in the UK can help because posting stuff to the UK from here post-Brexit is a bloody nightmare. Changing the orientation of the cotter pins makes a big difference too.

With new brake shoes, the cams should be fully closed at rest. If the orientation of the lever and cotter is correct the bottom of the lever should be forward of the king pin line at rest and ideally shouldn't create an angle of more than 90° between the cable/lever at fully on.

Note also that the levers are 'handed' - they are inclined relative to the cotter pin drilling and also have a twist to the ball end.

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Dave, check your PMs...

[AustinWood]

Thos cams and levers are very worn. I'd forget about them and get a set of new levers and cams.

[Old Dave]

Thanks Jim - I mentioned ealier that new cams would be need. Maybe Levers as well.

The discussion was about whether the cams and levers were the right way around. I guess new stuff would solve the problem - as long as I fit them correctly!!!!

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Thanks very much all for your guidance on this subject - it is much appreciated as always.