Brake adjustment question

[deepNdirt]

The other day I used the tractor to pull the 16 ft. trailer out from a wet area after had rained, after hooking up and pulling the trailer with no problems it came time to back it slightly down a hill, I press the brakes and were as if had none at all, Thank goodness I had the Box scrape attached and thought quickly enough to drop the box and come skidding to a stop,
I realize this trailer is a bit too heavy for my 1700, But has brought attention and concerned about the brakes, I should have at least been able to lock down the tires on the tractor if pressing hard enough... right! I have however notice over the duration of using it since last adjusting them the brakes seem to be needing press further down,
In the past I have adjust the brakes by simply adjusting the linkage and got a fair amount more brake pedal, although this time I decided to take apart and inspect the brakes shoes themselves,
The liner seems to be good with about 5/16 of liner material, if someone can confirm this amount is adequate I think there will be no need to replace the shoes, Now while having the housing off I notice a screw head with a Nut that tighten to lock it in place, on the inside this screw is actually a square cam bolt that if turned 1/4 turn will increase the spread of the brake shoe, In other words the Bolt is not exactly square, it is thicker on 2 sides and thin on the other 2 ( rectangle shape), I thought perhaps this would be to provide a adjustment for the brakes after being worn to a certain amount, However when turned 1/4 turn the shoe will not fit back into the hub apparently spreads too much, Now comes the question
Is it made this way with intent to slightly turn the bolt to where the corner of the bolt spread the shoes and lock it into place with the nut? what are the chances if say one were to do this and after a while the nut happens to back off and the bolt returns to square position and you loose brakes all together? or after a while the corner of the bolt becomes rounded....?
I've got both side off at this time and thought I would find bring the question here before putting it back together,
Thanks Folks

 

[winston1]

I suppose you are talking about the anchor pin. Never heard of turning it around but seems most folks just swap the brake shoes front to back and get another 30 years.

 

[Barry 1]

My JD1050 (yanmar) anchor pin is made that way,and the service manual say you can rotate(Flip) the shoes, or when they(or the drum) get worn enough, you can rotate the anchor pin 90 degrees to the wider position. Sounds like your shoes aren't worn enough yet.

 

[deepNdirt]

Well basically after re-assembling I just did as I have done before... adjust the linkage and got the brake pedal back up as well as having good brakes once again, But I'm still interested in knowing if there is an intended purpose for that Cam bolt or I should say brake shoe retaining pin,Why it has the slit for a screw driver and the nut that it tightens down?
in the parts breakdown you can see Part # 9 is the actual shaft that the linkage rod connects to and actuates the brake, this shaft is square and called a cam, the top pin # 10 the one I am referring to is made the same way but has the flat screw slit in it as well as # 14 nut to tighten it down,

 

[Barry 1]

Don't know what they say in a yanmar manual,but my JD1050 is a 100% made in Japan Yanmar,and my anchor has the screw driver slot,just like yours,but the JD service manual says to pull the cover,remove the shoes,and loosen the lock nut,then turn it 90 degrees with a wrench, then tighten the lock nut back.

 

[California]

That's in the US Yanmar Service Manual for my YM240 too. Turn the anchor 1/4 turn to move the shoes outward. But I like the idea of reversing the shoes first, to attain equal wear.

One of the 'Joe Mcgee' US farmer repairs I found on my YM186D was someone had welded up and replaced the lost material that had worn off the anchors and the actuator cams too. On that model the anchor isn't adjustable or removable.

I bought new brake shoes for it when I found a great price on ebay but I haven't installed them yet. I think I'll replace the entire brake cover/anchor/brake actuator lever assembly on both sides to do the job right. So far I seem to be holding at a little under 1/8" of lining so I haven't needed to repair this yet.

 

[nazbom2]

Question-I am feeling the need to adjust my brakes as I haven't done it since I've owned the tractor, although they have always done their job, but how much squeel should you hear from the brakes and for the pedal return, if the pedal is not returning fully after depressing it is this a function of the spring weakening or something sticking? I have always made it a point to lube the pivot pin on all pedals via the zerk fitting as part of my lube schedule.

 

[California]

The squeal is harmless and unavoidable.

If the pedal doesn't return and you have greased the linkage, then the problem may be binding where the shaft goes through the brake housing cover. There is an o-ring at the outer end of the shaft (to keep water out) so oiling it there won't do anything.

I had one brake that wouldn't return when I bought my YM240 (YM2000). I found brake dust and rust was binding its shaft. It was simple to take off the cover and clean the shaft. I also swapped the front/rear shoes on both sides to equalize wear. Everything has worked fine since 2003.

On this model you can also turn the brake anchor pin a quarter turn to move the shoes outward after you have run out of brake rod adjustment.

 

[nazbom2]

I read a couple threads on brake work on these and just as you said I plan on swapping the shoes and if need be do a 1/4 turn. This is the first issue (besides the squeeling) that I've had with the brakes and want to make sure it's not a symptom of a larger problem and head it off before it becomes a larger problem.