A simple tool I never knew existed

[MushCreek]

After a life time of struggling with the little springs that hold drum brake shoes against the backing plate, I was looking at a video to make sure I got everything back together correctly on my '95 F-150. The guy had a hand tool to do this task! I looked at the retainer, and it has a 7/16" hex stamped into it. I took a 1/4-20 bolt, drilled a clearance in the head for the pin, and screwed it into a piece of aluminum hex for a handle. You hold the pin with a finger from behind, and push and turn (with the tool) the retainer. I can't believe I learned this at age 72 after doing many of these drum brakes over the years. I suppose you can buy this simple tool, but I made one faster than I could drive down to the auto parts store.

 

[kaymccampbell]

Nifty. I've had this kind for 60 years. Works a treat.

 

[driftpin]

I have one I got from JC Whitney and one such as Kay pictured.



The JC Whitney tool I probably acquired about 57 years ago, not as-long ago as Kay, when I acquired my first 4-wheeled vehicle, w/drum brakes all-around. It's the 3-in 1 brake tool w/a spring stretcher, a retaining spring thru the brake shoe side for spring-off operations, and the crimped side for installing the brake springs at the shoe ends.

When I bought the JC Whitney tool, I also bought a set of SAE flare-nut wrenches. Those worked for me for years before I bought a better quality set. When I bought my first transverse 4 cyl. motorcycle I bought from JC Whitney a carburetor synchronizer, which doesn't have a name on it, but it appears to be identical to an EMGO. It still works perfectly, though I have a Motion Pro 'wet' set of carb synch vertical tubes/gauges, and another set of bourdon tube analog gauges, w/a bunch of adapters, I still use the JC Whitney set.

 

[signcrafter]

For the U shaped spring type clips this tools saves a lot of frustration, https://www.amazon.com/Lisle-48400-Brake-Clip-Tool/dp/B000HTNQ6O/?tag=atomicindus08-20