Oldsguy

Did the brakes on the '99 LeSaber daily driver yesterday, out of necessity. Those suck! They use a single horseshoe shaped spring to hold the shoes against the backing plate and to compress them in against the top spring, which is where the adjuster is. They sure come apart easily but putting them together is a pain in the butt! Although I must confess this was the first time I changed this type and after spending an hour on the first side the second side only took 15 minutes but still. The design is terrible. If anyone has seen these or done them then you know what I am talking about. Good news is I saved myself about $300 which is what the local NTB store wanted to do them for. I had the car inspected and on a whim asked them for an estimate on the repair figuring if it was below $100 (dreaming, I know) then I would let them do it. My time would be worth that much to me anyway. Thankfully it was warm yesterday evening and stayed in the forties until after sundown. Those beers sure tasted good after I got finished!

BTW everything was metric and the bolts holding the cylinders on the backing plate were 7mm star shaped (opposite of internal torx). A socket would not fit because of limited clearance where the mount for the torsion rod was. I was figuring, what kind of special tool did GM figure a guy should use to get that thing off? I used a pair of small vise grips to remove them and replaced the bolts with hex head type.

Jamesbo

Glad ya "got er done"

I hate newer cars.

71rocket

Those beers sure tasted good after I got finished!



.....I never wait that long......

Bluevista

Never drink beer until the job is done, never have and never will.

Good things come to those who wait.

You have to have an incentive to finish and it does taste extra good when you can reflect on a job well done as you're chugging it.

Then you look down and see a part sitting there that you missed putting back in and it shoots out of your nose.

71rocket

Then you look down and see a part sitting there that you missed putting back in and it shoots out of your nose.

See what happens when you don't drink when wrenching on you Olds??


Srsly, that's my relaxation time. After many hard days of farming, tending cattle, and wrenching on equipment these old joints and muscles have a painful time getting up off of the floor.

Olds64

Good job!

71rocket

Some of the new fasteners drive me nuts. I'm an SAE guy living in a metric world.

70 cutlass s

The good thing about them is that you don't have to do them very often. Same here the first time I did them first side took an hour than second side took 15 minutes.

Lady72nRob71

Amen...

Yep - I wait until I get outside, then pop the top...
Beer tastes good and adds a little more challenge to the project. Also it helps you think of cluver ways of fixing screw ups that occured due to too much beer!

Glad you got er done. The car does stop now, right?

joe_padavano

Sadly, I now own more metric wrenches and sockets than SAE.

The good news it that metric sockets are very handy for pounding onto a rounded, rusted SAE nut.

Oldsguy

To address a few comments. I didn't want to make any mistakes so waited on the beer. I had to call a friend to help me, needed to go to the hardware store for the new bolts, he stayed to help and hold the light. It still sucked because the light was harsh and directional, not like daylight at all. Anyway back to the beer. I had bought a six pack earlier in the week of "Nut Cracker Ale" by a local brewery called Boulevard which is available nationwide. It is very, very, very, hoppy. Nowhere does it announce that it is an APA or an IPA but it is. Second, the friend held the light and drank the Nut Cracker Ale, he saved two for me, I could have done without them. Luckily I had some Budweiser American Ale in the cooler which is surprisingly good for a mass marketed big name beer.

71rocket

I'm going to town for a generator and plan on picking up some Nut Cracker, if they have it, and the very least some Pale Ale. Try the Tallgrass IPA, hoppy clean taste. I need to tour the Boulevard Brewery the next time I'm in KC. Had plans last week but it quit raining and decided it better I finish harvest, and by the looks of the weather I'm glad I did.

Oldsguy

You bet! I remember you farm, good decision. The next time you are up here check out Boulevard and 95th street both. I like 95th street because it is in the middle of a pub and you can see the brewing equipment and the people at work (if they are brewing). There was a fire in the building near it I think....last year and for a while they thought it would go down too but the firefighters got the fire out before that happened. They did have some minor ancillary damage and were closed for while re-decorating. Still a real nice place to visit.

citcapp

Ok Dan, now you need to send me a beer. Don't have that brand here

Blk71SX

I hear that!!!!

mugzilla

I have special hammer for when a vice-grips just won't do ...

Yellowstatue

I picked up a ratchet box wrench (Snap-on) a while ago with that external torx drive...one end is 5/16 or so and the other end is smaller, so maybe it is a brake tool!! It is almost eight inches long! I have accumulated some metric tools too and find they are very helpful on rusted SAE stuff...I lost my 5/16 socket 8mm to the rescue rounded exhaust manifold bolts SAE...15mm or 14mm six point and a small hammer to adjust the size...

Oldsguy

That would be perfect for what I needed, if the box portion was not too wide because the bleeder nipple was so close to the inlet. Of course I know I could have removed the bleeder nipple to gain more access.
Ok so where in the great Northwest exactly do you live? Send me your address and I will!

71rocket

Thanks for the heads up Dan. I still plan on making it up sometime, just seems life throws wrenches in most of my plans. My oldest brother lives in OP and is a big fan of ales.

I did pick up a six of Nut Cracker and PA for the holiday weekend.