Tight brake camshaft

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CVA-42
Posts: 389
Joined: Sat Aug 07, 2010 8:28 am

Tight brake camshaft

Post by CVA-42 »

Guys - - I just replaced a leaking crown gear gasket on my '81 R100. When I re-installed the plate on the final drive, I tightened the eight bolts that hold it in a criss-cross pattern and torqued them to spec in three lifts. Everything was looking good to that point. I lubed the brake camshaft but when I went to re-install it, I found that it was very tight going back in. So tight that it won't permit the brake shoes to return. What's going on? Could the plate be mis-aligned in some way? It went back on easily and all eight bolts went back in perfectly with no binding whatsoever so I had no real reason to think the plate itself is misaligned. Any ideas before I take it apart again and ruin the new gasket??
Rob Frankham
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Re: Tight brake camshaft

Post by Rob Frankham »

CVA-42 wrote: Sat Oct 19, 2019 8:45 pm Guys - - I just replaced a leaking crown gear gasket on my '81 R100. When I re-installed the plate on the final drive, I tightened the eight bolts that hold it in a criss-cross pattern and torqued them to spec in three lifts. Everything was looking good to that point. I lubed the brake camshaft but when I went to re-install it, I found that it was very tight going back in. So tight that it won't permit the brake shoes to return. What's going on? Could the plate be mis-aligned in some way? It went back on easily and all eight bolts went back in perfectly with no binding whatsoever so I had no real reason to think the plate itself is misaligned. Any ideas before I take it apart again and ruin the new gasket??
First visually check the inside of the tunnel for intrusion of the gasket and any other unwanted 'stuff' in there. If that's no good, slacken the bolts off so that you can move the plate slightly to make the shaft free then tighten the bolts carefully checking that it remains free. Unless you've used some sort of gasket glue or hardening sealer, the gasket will almost certainly survive in tact. If you can't get it to move freely, then there's something in there stopping it... after all, presumably it was free before you dismantled the drive.

Rob
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CVA-42
Posts: 389
Joined: Sat Aug 07, 2010 8:28 am

Re: Tight brake camshaft

Post by CVA-42 »

No, nothing intruding in the tunnel. I checked that first. Just after I posted, I thought of slackening the cover bolts to see if there is any play in the cover itself and then re-tightening them with the camshaft in place to see what happens. The gasket itself is cheap but it takes a few days to get it. Shoulda ordered two...
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