HELP! How do I jack it up to fix stuck brake?

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HELP! How do I jack it up to fix stuck brake?

Unread post by Dyke Corson » Fri Aug 30, 2019 1:37 pm

I need help - my driver's side rear brake is locked up, for a while I could go backwards, then forwards a little but now I can get no forward motion at all and I'm out of space to back up!! The passenger side tire is digging a real nice rut in my front yard, it spins just fine! I assume I'm gonna have to take the dual wheels off and pull the brake drum, but I have no idea how big a floor jack I'm gonna need or how to go about this - any advice would be greatly appreciated. I assume this is from sitting too long? (it sat about 2 years) Someone else said by backing up I'm making it worse causing the adjusters to tighten? I'm clueless!!

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Re: HELP! How do I jack it up to fix stuck brake?

Unread post by Woodsman » Fri Aug 30, 2019 2:53 pm

Is it on solid level ground?

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Re: HELP! How do I jack it up to fix stuck brake?

Unread post by Dyke Corson » Fri Aug 30, 2019 5:08 pm

Yes Just off my driveway level and very solid

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Re: HELP! How do I jack it up to fix stuck brake?

Unread post by Woodsman » Sat Aug 31, 2019 9:42 am

Block the tires so it can't roll. Mine is a 22 foot and just rear of the back spring shackle there is a point where the frame rail meets a cross member, that would be my jacking point. I would use a bottle jack. Build an maximum height platform for the jack to fit under the frame and jack it up. You may have too reset the jack depending on how high it needs to be lifted for the tires to clear the ground.

You need safety stands or cribbing that is being raised as the vehicle is lifted, to catch it should the jack slip or support blocks shift. You should make sure the frame can rest on safe supports while you are servicing the brakes, you may need to do some pounding and levering to get things apart.
I'd do both sides and check the bearings and seals at the same time.

Break free but don't loosen your lug nuts before you start jacking.

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Re: HELP! How do I jack it up to fix stuck brake?

Unread post by Dyke Corson » Sat Aug 31, 2019 10:17 am

would a 3 ton floor jack work? The fiberglass body comes way down over the wheel, will jacking at the crossmember raise the body and the tire? Someone told me I would need one jack to raise the body and another to raise the axle to get the tire off? If one jack would raise the whole thing (body and tire) that would be a lot better!
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Re: HELP! How do I jack it up to fix stuck brake?

Unread post by KB2CRK » Sat Aug 31, 2019 1:01 pm

A 3 ton might do it. Bottle jack to the frame would be best for the low fenders. On a 270 the rear could have as much as 2 1/2 tons on each side.

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Re: HELP! How do I jack it up to fix stuck brake?

Unread post by Woodsman » Sun Sep 01, 2019 10:53 am

You need to have a comfortable margin of extra lift from your jack. To jack one wheel the jack should be able to support 50% of the vehicle's total weight, I would use at least a 5 ton bottle, 7 would be best. The reason you jack on the frame is so the wheel does not lift at the same time as the frame does. Just like changing a car tire the wheel will only start lifting once the vehicles weight is off the springs, so the tire will become more exposed in the well as the vehicle is lifted.

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Re: HELP! How do I jack it up to fix stuck brake?

Unread post by Dyke Corson » Thu Sep 05, 2019 7:42 pm

UPDATE: Tonight a couple of friends (experienced ol' farm mechanics) came over and were able to free things up working from the backing plate by loosening the adjuster and who knows what else in there. They worked very slowly with lots of PB Blaster, spoons, screwdrivers, hammers, etc. when they were done I drove it around a country block (about 4 miles) and the more I drove it the better it felt. They never had to put a jack on it. At least now I can eventually get it in somewhere for some real repairs. In the meantime I will take it around the block every few days to keep things from locking up again! Thanks to everyone here for the advice!

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