VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1912-1928 1928 brake cross shafts frozen - remedy?

HELP! I am working to free up the brakes on my 1928 Chevrolet project. The cross shafts that traverse the frame are both frozen in the plates on each side of the frame. I have soaked them in solvent for about a month without success. Before I drill out the rivets in the side plates, I would like to get some input.

Might as well as drill out the rivets. Corrosion on the shaft and swelling of the bushings will lock them. Even if you get them freed up they will seize again. If you can get replacement balls machined in two halves it will not be necessary to remove at least on of the end arms. I would suggest bushing grade nylon or Delron for the bushings.

I would also suggest that you soak them in a mixture of molasses dilluted 7 to 1 with water, this will eat off the rust is safe to handle and you can dispose of it in your compost etc, but mainly it means you will free up the cross tubes and less risk of bending them etc when removing. then you can bush them, any slack in the braking on a rod and lever car reduces your efficiency as per the recent discusion in "27 Landau" , RAY

Thank you for your replies and suggestions. This afternoon I drilled out the rivets, cleaned the shafts outside of the bushings and applied a good anti-seize and was able to work the shafts and bushing loose. I then cleaned the shafts where the bushings normaloly rest and applied more anti-sieze. They seem to be moving freely. The proof will be when I get the car back together and adjust the brakes; this will be in a couple of months. Again thanks!
Dave

Some anti seize compounds are not meant for parts that move. They do not contain lubricant and can cause increased wear.

Thank you for the input. I checked the anti-seize I used and found it did not state that it had any lubicant in it. I wiped most of the anti-sieze off the shafts and worked a water resistant lubricant in between the shaft and bushing surfaces. The shafts seem to move very freely now. See how long it will last!

Arend did a good rebuild thread here a few years ago on replacing the pot metal bushes with bronze. Cant find it on this search function but have his pics somewhere.