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Just bought a 521


mainer311

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16 hours ago, mainer311 said:


Any idea what it was? Probably not if it was 40 years ago.

 

I’ve been looking and Autozone has one that is supposedly made by Wells. It’s very short, so I’m thinking it’s an electronic unit.

 

The adjustment procedure was in a repair manual for early Datsuns, now out of print.  The replacement electronic units are an exact fit for the mechanical bolt up and electrical connector but are as you noticed much shorter.  If visual exact looks are important, the outer case for the mechanical unit is held to its base by bent tabs.  Straighten the tabs, slide the case off and it's a close fit over the electronic unit.  Clip off the tabs and it will pass visually for a "factory" appearance.  The original outer case is tight enough that it will not come off without effort.

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The fittings are industry standard, but different by era, country, etc. You can get custom cables made from a variety of sources. Do a google search for custom parking brake cables and see for yourself.

 

Of course, it's easier to use the ones from Thailand, if they fit correctly.

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I did order them. Will probably take forever to get here. I ordered a new rear view mirror from Thailand recently and it took about 3 months. That'll at least get me the cables before my inspection is due.

 

I also installed a new VR today, to be safe. It is a Wells VR121, which is a mechanical unit. No more buzzing, and it holds a nice steady 13.8 volts. I put the old one in the box and put it behind the seat.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Truck is getting new parking brake cables from Thailand. So far so good. The original clips are rusted and I broke 2 of them, so those are on order from The Z Store. They’re a weird size and regular brake hose clips don’t work.

 

Also, the rear shoes are fairly new, but the friction compound is all spider cracked. Not sure what caused that. Maybe they’re just poor quality. Have some new ones coming.

 

QFGC4W3.jpg

Edited by mainer311
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If you look close, there’s anti seize slathered on everything, haha. I have a new drum coming too. I replaced the passenger side last year after I broke it, and now I’m replacing the driver’s side to match. I think it comes with the holes already in it.

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You guys ever get new drums and shoes, and even with the adjusters turned all the way in, the drums still don’t fit?

 

I had to angle grind the tops and bottoms of the shoes to remove some of the steel. Pretty annoyed by that.

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8 minutes ago, datzenmike said:

Did you disconnect or loosen the E brake???

 

Yes I have ground them down as well on my B-210.


I’m currently installing all new e-brake cables, so the one on that side is brand new and just hanging at the moment. 

Edited by mainer311
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9 hours ago, mainer311 said:

You guys ever get new drums and shoes, and even with the adjusters turned all the way in, the drums still don’t fit?

 

I had to angle grind the tops and bottoms of the shoes to remove some of the steel. Pretty annoyed by that.

I just did the ebrake shoes on my wifes Subaru,  I tried to reuse the factory adjuster and could not get it together....

I did buy a spring kit that had a new adjuster,  and the adjuster was about an 1/8-1/4 inch shorter than the factory one..... so you probably something similar going on ... 

 

 

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It was posited on a different post that the pads are larger because they are to be turned down on a lathe to make them perfectly round to fit your drum. I don't know... who does this? Another was the drums are probably worn larger.... I always thought they were re-lined and had trouble with mm to inches so better to be too large??? I recently replaced my rears and the drumd slipped on perfect the first try so I bought a lottery ticket.

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The shoes are Raybestos brand from RockAuto. Definitely not NOS, but a thicker friction material did cross my mind. I actually took a file and broke the sharp outer edge into a chamfer to see if that would guide the drum on, but it was still way too tight. After a little grinding, the drum went right on. 

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50 minutes ago, datzenmike said:

It was posited on a different post that the pads are larger because they are to be turned down on a lathe to make them perfectly round to fit your drum.

 

Turning a semi-circular brake shoe on a lathe? Seriously?

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