53 Chevy 3100 Brake Question

[dfmoeller]

You guys are right on top of the questions here. A very useful help.

Working on a friends truck. He complained of his parking brake isn't engaging. I suspect it is simply way out of adjustment, but in looking at it, I notice that there are no springs on the parking brake extension rod where it engages the toggle lever - both sides the same. Is this normal? The diagram in the service manual (which actually labels the pic as a 1 ton) shows springs. Not sure if this is critical. And if it is, not at all sure where to locate a set. Help!

Doug

[dsraven]

NApa sells parts for these brakes. Should be springs on the bar between the shoes. Also return spring on the linkage behind cab I think. Adjust brakes with a loose park brake, then adjust park brake.

[mr48chev]

I'm pretty sure that basic Bendix rear brake setup fit most Chevrolet small pickups and full size cars up to the time they started installing self adjusting brakes. The drum size may be different, the shoe width may be different and the size of some of the springs and components may be different but the design is usually close to the same.