BRAKES

3/4 ton WC, "Flatfender" POWER WAGON, & M-37 Series


Having brakes that work properly is a matter of life or death.  Certainly bad brakes can cause injury or property damage if you are only moving your truck inside your shop. 

I am amazed at how few people have a Shop Manual to cover this critical area.  I admit with some embarrassment that the first time I worked on brakes, I had a manual in my shop but did not read it first.  I am equally amazed by how many people who obviously do not have a Shop Manual will jump in and tell you the wrong things about working on your brakes. 

Here is the most important instruction from the manual:

That having been said, the Kempner POWER WAGON Museum Technical Support Section presents this information from the Dodge Truck Shop Manual, "W" Series, Part Number D-11318. 

This section consists of six pages all presented separately so you can print them and have them with you when you are working on your brakes.  When you bring a page up, go to "File" on your toolbar and click on "Print".  You may want to use the "Print Preview" tool to see if your printer is set up for this format.  If the "Print Preview" shows three pages to print, selecting Page 2 should give you a copy of the page from the Shop Manual.  You do not need the other text from the web page.  Just be sure to number the pages as you print them.

It would be great if we all had the special tools shown in the Shop Manual.  Great mechanics through the years have improvised ways to accomplish the jobs of these tools.  One example is using carbon paper taped onto the brake shoes while spinning the wheel (hub) to find out-of-round places on the brake drum.  Yes, I know carbon paper is in short supply, but the concept can be used with other marking methods.  A pair of dividers pivoted on the center mark of the axle can get you close when checking the brake shoes for "out-of-round" condition.  Ask your friendly, professional truck mechanic about comparable equipment and methods. 

Sorry about some smudges on these pages, but we use the Shop Manual for working on about 20 trucks here at the Kempner POWER WAGON Museum. 

The POWER WAGON Advertiser's "Dodge Service" is in its Third Printing.  This handy manual covers Brakes, Front Drive Axle, Transfer Case, Rear Axle, and Differential.  "Dodge Service" includes a lot of the content of the Shop Manual pages presented here.  There are also added comments and helpful hints.  Available from PWA, $15.00 plus $3.00 shipping.  PWA, 3090 Benton Iowa Road, Norway, IA 52318-9510

Work Safe - Drive Safe!

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