Jeep Brakes- CJ5 Rebuild Part 4

I'm rebuilding a rusted-out 1956 Jeep CJ5 and converting it to an Electric Vehicle. In this episode, I rebuild the original drum brakes on the rear axle, and machine mounting plates for converting the front axle to disc brakes, using discs and calipers from a 1998 4-door Chevy Tracker.
I based the design off the ones available from Brennan's Garage for a reasonable price. Since I shamelessly ripped off his ideas, I figured I'd at least leave a link here in case you need some. (I seriously don't think it was really worth doing myself, but hey, "Jeremy Makes Things).
brennans-garage.com/products/...
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/ jeremymakesthings

[@alanmiller4012]

Yes, I've had my own moments of fighting to get those drum brake springs back where they belong. This brought back memories.

[@phrozenwun]

Thank you for reminding me of the joy in not having worked on drum brakes for decades.

[@normansandds757]

Its a lot moor fun if your laying on a wet/cold floor putting them shoue retining clips and springs on Mr J

[@mantra12001]

It's good content to see how a wheel cylinder is rebuilt, but it would also be good to highlight when it should be replaced. In this case a rebuild would be good for an emergency fix bit it won't last too long. The piston was clearly seized in the bore caused by rust or other corrosion. This means the iron of the cylinder or steel in the piston turned to iron oxide and that material is removed when honing and cleaning the pistons. Combined with the scoring seen on the pistons and most likely this rebuild will leak fluid in the near future, if not right away, and coat the new brake pads in fluid. New wheel cylinders are so cheap $10-20, and such a vital part of the braking system that these should have been replaced.

[@jeremylastname873]

On some older vehicles, the cylinders are hard to replace. They can be sleeved. 😎

[@erik_dk842]

@@jeremylastname873 Exactly the kind of thing where having your own lathe makes sense. Having to pay someone to do the job would be $$$

[@DangerousSportsForSeniors]

And that’s why they make a specific lathe for drums and discs. Awesome work on the creative fixtures. Thanks for sharing

[@jackdawg4579]

I hate drums too, those return springs are always my nemesis!

[@TheOldaz1]

In a lot of old vehicles the drum is specific to each hub, so ideally turning the drums should be done with them fitted to the hub. Enjoying seeing how you are going about this, thanks.

[@joell439]

I hate to be thought of as one of those "Debbie-downer" types that tell you are doing it all wrong, so please don't think of what i am about to write as negative in anyway...... If you haven't done so already, you might consider adding a dab of anti-seize to those drum retaining screws that you faced the heads off of. That is of course if you ever think you will want to disassemble those drums in the future 😉😉. Incredible progress every week! I wish i could accomplish as much. 👍👍😎👍👍

[@JeremyMakesThings]

But they were so fun to drill out the first time!

[@joell439]

@@JeremyMakesThings 😂🤣😂. Exactly - you’re my hero when it comes to rusty anything.

[@Chumley360]

Man I've seen a lot of frames on some type of rolling caster system, but I like the simplicity of what you had on there. Good job using the KISS method. And awesome build 👏👏👏👏👏

[@davidsnyder2000]

Clever using caster wheels attached to the leaf springs. Haven’t seen that before. Great idea Jeremy 👍🙂

[@JeremyMakesThings]

It handles like the worst shopping cart you could imagine.

[@nextechsolutions5955]

The problem with placing lock-washers directly on a coated surface is they tend to scratch the surface and start the corrosion.

[@deeiks12]

The curvy edges of the calipper-holder came out pretty nice. Need to get myself a rotary table.

[@Si-Al-Ti]

Don’t know anything about cars, never done any home mechanic repair stuff. But I used to work in a factory building trucks and it always catches me off guard seeing how tiny car parts are compared to a trucks. Seeing someone roll around and lift up an axle onto a jack stand is just ridiculous lol.

[@lucasandri5462]

Very interesting video indeed, specially the rotary table part.

[@jimurrata6785]

Thanks for this! It will be a big step to have it rolling and some linkage installed so the wheels point in the same direction. 👍

[@kendingsor]

The parking brake cables on my truck are shot so I have to replace and since the internals of the drums haven't been touched for 240k I'm gonna rebuild them too (while I'm in there). Pretty sure the drums are locked onto the shoes from the lip they formed on the backside and some good ole Toyota rust so I'm not looking forward to it. They make a rear disc conversion but to keep the ebrake it ain't cheap.

[@MyLilMule]

I'm enjoying this. I love Jeeps, especially old ones. But I am also not a purist. Safe and reliable come first over authenticity to the original. Always lock your table and saddle when boring a hole. :)

[@JeremyMakesThings]

Huh, I never consider the table moved, that makes more sense than the dial shifting. I had it “locked” but on this old,worn out machine, sometimes that doesn’t mean much, especially when things get chattery (which they do, because the machine is old and worn out.) As far as being a purist, I really do appreciate the guys who make everything factory correct, even if the result is, at least by today’s standards, an objectively terrible vehicle- bad brakes, sloppy steering, doesn’t handle well, under powered. (But it was basically made to be a tractor.) Honestly, I think the most “authentically Jeep” thing to do to a Jeep is to modify it.

[@kentuckytrapper780]

Great video man, keep'um coming..

[@jdmccorful]

DRO ,,,YEAH, but you seem to be making good progress without on this job. Love your thoughtful completion of tasks..Thanks for the look and your skills.

[@Rustinox]

Yep, that will definitely stop you when needed.

[@ThePontiacmann]

Nice Work

[@markrandall1456]

Interesting. Investing in a inexpensive Harbor Freight brake tool kit would make your life easier. Another suggestion would be to mount your brake parts on the backing plate before bolting it on the axle. It’s interesting that you do so much on your lathe.

[@ikbendusan]

can't help but think you're going to regret those philips head screws down the line lol

[@JeremyMakesThings]

The advantage of the Phillips head is it gives the drill a better spot to start than a slot head. Lol.

[@ikbendusan]

@@JeremyMakesThings hahahaha you're not wrong

[@Gnomebitten]

I've been enjoying your videos a lot - a great mix of different home shop stuff, i wasn't expecting to see metal casting alongside restorations. Well done. Incidentally, if you're looking for a DRO for your mill (or lathe, for that matter), you can get a pretty cheap and good one called a Touch DRO that uses a tablet. You'll have to get scales to go with it, but the DRO itself is less than a hundred bucks (less, if you wire it up yourself).

[@gubr]

Over 10'000 🥳

[@larryboschen1287]

Your comments crack me up!!😂😂😂

[@ADBBuild]

A lot of BMWs use a single screw to hold the rotor to the hub. You should never tighten this more than hand tight as they will rust in place and be a royal pain to remove later. The lug bolts and the wheels hold them in place tightly. You may want to go back and loosen your screws up a bit, unless they are required to be tight for some reason.

[@jmunozar]

As always, thanks for sharing!, I always learn a lot from these videos. I am starting to get into the world of lathes; what is the lathe that you have?, is it a Southbend? Or a Logan?

[@JeremyMakesThings]

It’s a Logan.

[@user-cy2yp3ff4o]

Is it common with asbestos brakes on those old jeeps?

[@lumotroph]

Great to watch! Keep it up 😊

[@Jdes9924]

Why not use your cnc router to mark out your work? you already have the part programmed!

[@BenMitro]

It'll be brilliant when you never finish it :) - that gave me a nervous laugh. I have many "long term projects" on the go...some for years. It's a fine line between spending too much and doing it to perfection. To me, it seems you are making really sensible calls based on cost, work and impact on drive-ability & safety.

[@thespammerhammer]

Rebuilding wheel cylinders? Wrong on every level when rust is involved. Drill and tap bleeders? Let's see when the "pressure is on". The short shoe goes to the front, long shoe to the rear. You have to do it again. The caliper mounts are far too thin and under strained braking conditions, will distort or break. Very interesting build though but being safe is key.

[@dylanromine4101]

Im not a money spender myself but all my builds have 4 wheel disc brakes

[@jimurrata6785]

The wheel cylinder rebuild kit is $3, but NEW cylinders for my F-150 are $6.50. 🤣

[@chuckhaynes6458]

It's not advisable to use a petroleum based anything on brake parts. Brake fluid, Alcohol or Brake Kleen only. Oldtimer here... just sayin'. 4 in 1 brake tool sure would be handy. All RH threads on lugs.... Jeep sin No. 342.

[@jackdelancey248]

Had to laugh, realizing that I still have all of tools to do drum brakes.

[@stormdrifter7904]

amogus