Brake Assister Adjustment; H A N D Brake Adjustment; Bleeding The Brake System; Relining Brakes - Cadillac 1937 LaSalle VVI Information

61
B R A K E S
ing nut and tap the p i n lightly w i t h a soft hammer
in the direction required to equalize the clearance
at both ends of the secondary shoe. Retighten
the locking nut at once, and recheck the clearance
at both ends of the shoe.
6. T h e clearance between the p r i m a r y brake
shoe and the d r u m is secured b y turning the
notched adjusting screw, through the hole i n
the lower part of the dust shield, using T o o l H M -
13985. M o v e the outer end of the tool toward
the center of the wheel to decrease the clearance
u n t i l the brake drags. T h e n t u r n the adjusting
wheel in the opposite direction just u n t i l the brake
drum is completely free of drag.
; 7. Reinstall the adjusting hole cover and the
— drum inspection hole cover.
8. Repeat steps 3 through 7 uniformly for each
of the four wheels.
9. F i n a l l y , adjust the operating rod that con-
nects the brake pedal to the master cylinder.
f T h i s rod must be adjusted to allow \i to ^ - i n c h
%•„ free movement of the brake pedal before it starts
t\ the piston on its pressure stroke.
Note: This adjustment is important and must
E T not be neglected. The piston primary
m* cup must clear the by-pass (Fig. 5,
l g " Plate 22) when the brake pedal is disen-
TF"' gaged, otherwise the brakes will drag.
j~ ' 3. Brake Assister A d j u s t m e n t
Adjustment of the v a c u u m brake assister, used
on series 37-90, is illustrated and explained in de-
l tail i n Plate 24.
This adjustment is made, if required, after the
.§«57-90 brakes have been adjusted as explained i n
felSJote 2.
•fe4. H a n d Brake A d j u s t m e n t
P N o adjustment is required by the hand brakes
ipbther than the elimination of any slack in the
mconnections. T h i s must be checked whenever the
'^brakes are relined, or in cases of excessive hand
*lever travel. M a k e this check as follows:
^ 1. See that foot brakes are fully released,
t' 2. A p p l y hand brake slowly u n t i l all slack is
t t a k e n up in the linkage and the strut rod just
i s t a r t s to operate the brake shoe in one wheel
»unit.
fe'3. K e e p the brake shoes in this position b y
| h o l d i n g the cable and, after fully releasing the
i h a n d lever, adjust the clevis on the front end of
|the cable so that the clevis p i n can just be installed.
4. Repeat this operation for the other rear
i brake.
» . . 5 . If the brakes drag w i t h the h a n d lever in
*;the fully released position, back off the clevis
; adjustments u n t i l they are free.
^5. Bleeding the B r a k i n g S y s t e m
T h e braking system requires bleeding, either
^entirely or in part, whenever any of the pipe
lines are disconnected or whenever air gets into
a n y of the lines.
If the pipe line is disconnected
irom the master cylinder, the system must be
bled at all four wheels. If a pipe is disconnected
from an individual wheel cylinder, however, o n l y
that one wheel cylinder requires bleeding.
1. F i r s t of a l l , fill the supply tank w i t h genuine
Special N o . 5 brake fluid. K e e p the tank at least
one-half full of fluid all during the bleeding
operation. T o o l N o . J-713 is a special supply
reservoir for automatically maintaining the correct
level.
Note: The supply tank filler plug is accessible
upon removing the cover-plate on V-8
cars, the left front floorboard on V-12
cars and by lifting the left side of the
hood on V-16 cars. Extreme care must
be used to prevent dirt from entering
the master cylinder while this filler plug
is removed.
2. Remove the cap screw from the end of the
bleeder connection at the wheel cylinder a n d
attach the bleeder drain tube, T o o l N o . J-628,
allowing it to hang in a clean container such as a
pint fruit jar.
3. Unscrew the bleeder connection three quar-
ters of a turn.
4. Depress the brake pedal by hand, allowing
the pedal to return slowly to the releaseo! position.
T h i s provides a pumping action which forces
fluid through the tubing and out at the wheel
cylinder, carrying with it any air that may be
present.
5. W a t c h the flow of fluid from the hose,
preferably by keeping the end of the hose below
the surface of the fluid, and when air bubbles
cease to appear, or when the stream flow is
uninterrupted, close the bleeder connection.
Depressing the pedal 5 to 7 times is usually
sufficient to bleed a line.
6. If the entire system is to be bled, repeat
the foregoing operations at each of the four wheels.
7. Replenish the fluid in the supply tank after
each cylinder is bled. Should the supply tank
be drained during the bleeding operation, air
will enter the system and necessitate rebleeding
of that line after the tank has been refilled.
T h e fluid withdrawn in the bleeding operation
should not be used again. Refill the supply
tank w i t h fresh fluid only.
8. Before reinstalling the filler p l u g at the
conclusion of the bleeding operation, make certain
that the supply tank is more than half full of
fluid.
6. R e l i n i n g Brakes
1. J a c k up car.
2. Remove all four wheels.
3. R e m o v e brake seal on all Cadillac cars.
Note: The 37-50 L a Salle is not equipped with
brake seals.
4. R e m o v e wheel hub and brake d r u m assem-
blies.
Note: D o not depress the brake pedal when one
or more of the brake drums is removed.
5. Disconnect hand brake cable clevises at
lever on frame.
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