wd45 brake job

This subject has come up many times on this site, to start it would be best if you had some kind of repair manual that shows a picture of how they are assembled. the shoes are in two halves and must come out the top after removing the tin cover. there is a pin on the bottom of the brake housing (center bottom) that comes out from the outside. this pin will come out one of two ways -- hard or easy. You will  find much good help on this site,, a brake job on one of these can be dificult but it is also rewarding and always good idea to have brakes!!

Did you learn any new words dealing with that pin Danny? :) They're the same on early D17. My left side didn't fight much at all, but the right side sure worked my patience. Had to weld a 1/2" bolt to the head of the pin to draw the right side out.

I would like a pdf emailed to me on the brakes for Wd45. rd_church@yahoo.com
Thanks Dan from Iowa

Hi Rick

One thing I'll add, because I haven't seen it mentioned anywhere regarding these Allis-Chalmers brake jobs... I had a sort of epiphany when a friend's little boy had just discovered "Chinese Handcuffs," that go over the fingers - something I'm sure everyone over the age of 6 knows about, lol. ANYWAYS- I realized that with the brake pins going through holes in the shoes, etc., that any wobble or off-centered effect of any part(s) that the pin passes through would, or at least could, cause a similar binding effect. And maybe that's why there's so much trouble getting them out, sometimes, at least with some of them. So I put it to the test, and - well, who can say that keeping the parts jiggled while pulling, and stopping when I felt the pin bind at the same time as I felt the shoes etc. go rigid, made the difference. Or if it was a month of spraying Seafoam* DeepCreep* every few days for a month or so. Or both. But, it's worth a try, and if you think about the effect of parts binding on the pin as it's being withdrawn, it makes sense. I wish you well!

a good plasma cutter really works well to cut the anchor pins in two

One thing nobody has mentioned:  Perhaps the brakes just need adjusting. When I purchased a second WD45 a few years back I though it needed new brakes.  First I decided to adjust them thanks to some advice on this forum. Success!  The brakes now work fine and I did not have to deal with the pin removal process.  Just a thought.. 

Definitely not a fun job, but it is really nice to have brakes that work! I've done two now, had to use the hot knife on the last one. Need to do the CA and the D-17, not this year though.

That. Would. Be. AWESOME! lol! Way to dodge a bullet, I hope.

Dan1129 wrote: After taking the seat plate off I got a better look at the brakes and noticed on both sides the shoe return springs were broke on one side. Prob the reason I don’t have brakes? Hopefully saved a headache here guys!

What I did on mine was weld a grade 8 bolt to the head of the pin. The bolt was like 6" long IIRC. Then I slid a piece of pipe over the bolt long enough that just a little bit of thread was showing. I used a thrust bearing intended for installing wheel studs on a car without pulling the hub and drew the nut down. It worked just like a gear puller and pulled the pin right out. You need to use grade 8 bolt. I started with a grade 3 and the threads stripped.

The difficulty in replacing the brake shoes is compounded with the urgency of time. If you are patient and allow the pins to soak it will be a much easier job. Oh and a small pipe wrench works pretty good to rock the pin back and forth. If you ever see the pin move even just a tiny amount then you have won.

Edited by Stan IL&TN - 03 Oct 2018 at 3:46pm