Brake Shoe Adjuster?

[trolleybus]

The question is which bracket goes on what side.
I recently found that my adjusting brackets were installed back the front. The larger one in the photo. Now I think they may also be on the wrong side.
The retailers of these don't seem to know what goes where.
They are marked with the numbers:- 3134-851 which is on the near side on my car and 3134-850 which is on the off side.
So! is this correct or were they back the front and arse about?
Any help appreciated.

[johnnydog]

From memory, these adjusters go on the rearmost brake shoe of the car - the pivot end of the lever.
Here's a picture of the adjuster setup on the shoes from Chris Witors website.
I have only seen the type shown on the left - I didn't actually know there were two types.
He also shows pictures of the adjusters relative to the teeth and their 'ratchet' operating direction.
I may have a set of brand new rear shoes complete with the adjusters that I can take a photo of if you need any more pictures.

[trolleybus]

Thanks for the reply and the photos from Chris’s website.
However the question has not been answered.
They are marked with the numbers:- 3134-851 which is on the near side on my car and 3134-850 which is on the off side.
So! is this correct or were they back the front and arse about?

[johnnydog]

Surely it should be obvious which goes on which side, from the angle of the teeth relative to the direction they operate in when pushing the brake shoes outwards towards the drum? The teeth are not uniformly shaped; they are angled, as are the teeth on the small piece that you can put a screwdriver in to lift it slightly in order to release the adjuster when fitting new shoes for example. This theoretically should indicate which goes on which side.
You may have to study them a couple times to equate yourself with the direction the pieces operate in to 'ratchet' up, but it should become clearer when looking at them relative to the car.
If this is still a little confusing, then I will dig out some used brake assemblies, and photo them, or at least tell you which goes where (hopefully!)

[Charles H]

According to CW website, the -851 goes on the left shoe, and the right shoe has an -834. The difference is the direction that they grip. This shows them https://www.chriswitor.com/proddetail.p ... 3134-851SH

[trolleybus]

Thanks Jonnydog and Charles,
Good points by both. I am trying to get confirmation without taking them apart again. It’s hard to see the direction of the teeth on mine and one of mine has a different number than one of the sh units for sale on Chrises web site. I have found a mention on a TR7 forum that confirms 850 goes on the off side. So! question, probably, answered. Many thanks.

[johnnydog]

Got an opportunity today to examine an old set of assembled rear brake assemblies. Now I understand your confusion in determining which goes where! For a start I gave you 'duff gen' - the auto adjusters fit on the front shoe rather than the rear shoe. The pivot end of the lever with the 'hook' fits in the large slot on the rear most shoe, and the notch at the end of the lever that runs behind the shoe fits into the cut out in the larger adjuster in the front most shoe (where the large wavy hook of the spring sits).
Secondly, the two pieces of the L/H adjusters are identical to the two pieces of the R/H adjuster, on both assemblies with the same numbers stamped (834).
On both the LH and RH assembly, the direction of the teeth on the large adjuster face towards the front of the car, and on the small piece (with the screwdriver slot to lift it to manually adjust them) faces towards the rear of the car.
I ran the car they came off for 3 /4 years in the 90's and the handbrake worked fine.
Hope all this is clear - hopefully clearer than mud... seeing them off the car takes some head scratching, I agree...
I have taken pictures and marked them n/s (L/H) and o/s (R/H) which hopefully may help...
R/H first....

[johnnydog]

L/H now...a bit rustier but you get the jist...

[johnnydog]

Here's a picture of the offside (R/H) brake assembly if it helps.....

[johnnydog]

In addition to the above, I presume you have the original BL parts book for reference?
It doesn't actually show the self adjuster ratchet pieces as individual items - presumably they were originally only available as part of the brake shoe set.
As I said previously, the ratchet adjusters were the same on both sides on the car I removed the above brake assemblies from. Thinking about it logically, the ratchet would be same on both sides surely? Irrespective of which side of the car they are fitted, they both operate to expand the shoes as wear occurs in the same direction - expanding outwards / towards the front of the car. The shoe that they are fitted to is the same profile and they are effectively just fitted on different sides of it so the adjuster is on the inside of the shoe when fitted, and moving in the same operational direction. Therefore there is no need to have the teeth of the ratchet facing in different directions.....
Something so simple is certainly a head scratcher....or am I missing something?
In case you haven't a parts book, here is a picture of the n/s (L/H) assembly.....