No wonder my rear brakes were not working....

[Excal]

I got the brake drum off and was surprised to see all the mud caked on the brake pads,springs,and everywhere else.It was rock hard,I had to practically chisel it off with a hammer and flathead.The brake arm moves freely now, rebounds like it should,and when I spin the other tire and press the brake arm in it stops it good.Just gotta get some cables and a footbrake....and clean off the dirt that fell off onto the axle too.

(Yes I know its on backwards lol,I just slid it on to take a picture)
113192

[Xpress]

Wow, I'd have dipped that in a solvent tank to clear it out. No wonder why you couldn't stop :D

[EarlyBronocGuy]

Mud is not an approved friction material.

[aldochina]

ya excal thats pretty bad!! i'm suprised the arm wasnt froze right up with all that crap in there. I would clean all that out best you can. You can get cables any where. i might have the springs, peg and brake pedal give me a few days to check. that is an 86 and theres that much crap in there?? they were supposed to have sealed better than the 85. must have been run in rough conditions its whole life with no maintanance.

[Thorpe]

My 85 was in much better shape than that! I would stick fresh shoes in there as long as its apart... If they arent worn down, that much crap on them, cant imagine they would stop for squat... (tried to salvage my old shoes, just to tear it apart again and put fresh ones in)

[aldochina]

new shoes for sure, and slap a wire wheel in a drill and clean up the inside of the brake drum, and the backing plate.

[Excal]

Ya,I dont think its been cleaned once its entire life!You should have seen the air filter and inside the box :o .I got it very cheap though so I cant complain to much.
If you do have the footbrake and peg let me know.

[Dirtcrasher]

That large o-ring should be sealing it up. If it's there, I'd look it over, clean out the groove and add some silicone to it.

That main axle seal may also be why water is getting in there......

It's still good to drain the backing plate anytime you do some deep water crossings.