VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1912-1928 1927 Chevy Brakes

I am in the process of taking apart the rear(only) brakes on my 1927 Chevy. My intent is to clean, repair/replace and paint. The whole area including the emergency brake is just caked with oil that has leaked out from the differential. I have several questions, all pertaining to that area.

#1 The brake system is a Series AA. The service manual tells you how to adjust the brake bands, but it does not tell you how to remove/replace them. Although it doesn't appear to be that difficult I thought I'd ask before screwing something up. Does anyone have instructions, suggestions or tips on making removing the service and emergency brake simple.

#2 What is the thickness of new service and emergency brake bands, and what would be an acceptable amount of wear before replacing them? My emergency brakes appear to be well soaked with differential oil.

#3 The differential oil leak seams to be a problem. I believe that there is no seal on the axle shaft and that some leakage is normal. Is there a new axle bearing type that could be used to replace the existing bearing and reduce the amount of leakage?

#4 After having this area all apart, I plan to replace the differential oil. I know the book says to use 600W gear oil, but a Pennzoil cross referance book at an oil mart says that a 160W multiblend is equivalent. Any thoughts or comments on that or should I be sticking to the real 600W? Aswell, how much oil is needed to fill the differential?

27 Chevy I had the same problem with my '26 'K'. Just loosen the brake adjustment bands a little to help slide the hub off.

Gary Wallace has modern axle seals for it. I used Lucas 85/140 differential oil. And just fill it until the oil level is even with the lower opening of the fill plug.

I'm not sure about the thickness of your bands. My car has the smaller '25 brake system on it. Good luck and I hope this helps.

Hi 27Chevy,
Here are some dimensions for the brake lining for your '27.

External service brake lining: 34" long X 2" wide X 5/32"
thick.Though you may be able to use 3/16" thick lining,and
if you can,you'll get a bit longer service use out of the
brakes.

Emergency brake lining: 28" long X 1 1/4" wide X 5/32"
thick.Again,you might be able to use 3/16" thick lining,but
that will depend on the drum bore to lining clearance,with
the hand brake released.If the clearance is too tight,you may
have to revert to the 5/32" thick lining.

The correct oil for the differential,gearbox & universal joint
was 600W SUPER CYLINDER OIL.It was used on some steam
locomotive parts as well as stationary engine too.This oil is
a straight mineral gear oil,with NO fancy additives.The modern
equivalent grade works out to be a straight mineral gear oil
with an SAE rating of 140.
If you can find a MOBIL oil distributor anywhere near you,
they should be able to help locate the 600W SUPER CYLINDER OIL
for you.

Hope this information helps you out.