Sometimes,I sit here in front of my computer,and I think out loud
to myself. I'm sure a few other people out there have done that
too. I have often thought to myself,"MAN,Thats a good Idea". "I
should write that down". Most of the time I don't. BUT, this time,
I will.
How could I secure the new brake material to the old steel core
without it coming off and having me "crash and burn"? It came to me
as I was buying Stainless steel nuts in the hardware store. There
they were, aluminum tinners rivets.
I remember having a conversation with a friend of mine a few
years back who builds experimental aircraft in his garage as a
hobby. He told me that he could buy a "Rebuild Kit" for the brakes
of his airplane. Which meant he could reline the brakes with new
lining when they wore out. Thats when I started thinking,"Boy,That
would really be neat if all those guys sloppin' through the mud
could reline their brakes." Because we mudders can wear out a set
of factory pads in a week. At least I have.
Now I'm thinking to myself, HEY ! , This might actually work !
But then I realized I'm still missing one thing, the actuall brake
material itself. Time goes by,but then again it happened. I was
looking through a catalog one day at work for a company called
McMaster Carr. There it was. Brake material !! AND, I could buy it
in the thickness I needed. AWESOME !!
So now I'm thinkin', How could a schmuck like me , do this on
my ATV, and maybe save a few bucks at the same time.
My buds are thinking I'm nuts for thinking about doing this.
I'm thinking,I have 2 ATVs and it cost me $200.00 every time I do a
brake job
I would have to make sure that I check the brakes often to
ensure I did not damage the brake core. ( Thats the steel plate
that the brake material is bonded to)
Now comes the hard part......Figuring out ALL the details and
actually doing it. If I were to really think hard about doing
this,the details might go something like this.
If I were to try this,I would need to know some technical
information like, the size of the brake material bonded to the
core. Maybe I should buy one more set of factory pads to get all
the dimensions I need. Good Idea !!! Then using my dial calipers I
can measure the length and width and TOTAL thickness of the brake
pad. So far , so good.
Thinking about the
Details
This is basically what you need to do 1 set of
pads.
1) 4 aluminum "Tinners Rivets". These can be purchased at any
hardware store.
2) 2 new pieces of brake material.
3) 2 brake cores.
4) 3 drills.
5) A block with a pin pressed in it. The pin has a flat top. This
is used to secure the rivets.
6) Epoxy adhesive. (not shown)
7) Hammer. (not shown)
Math
You have to start by doing some math,YEAH , the class you swore you
would NEVER need to know. I am going to use some numbers here that
are totally fake,so dont use these numbers,just the formulas.
First we need to know what thickness brake material to buy. To
figure this You need to know the total thickness of a NEW
brake pad. Lets use 5/16. Next you need to know the thickness of
the brake core. Lets use 1/8. So our formula is 5/16 - 1/8 = 3/16.
3/16 is the thickness of the brake material we need to buy.
Next you need figure the depth of the "counterbores" you will need
in the pads along with the size of your rivets.
If the brake material is 3/16 thick and we use a rivet with a head
that is 1/16 thick we can counterbore our holes for our rivets 1/8
deep. This will give us 1/16 of brake material below our rivet.
3/16 brake pad - 1/16 head of rivet = 1/8 - 1/16 of material to
secure rivet = 1/16 clearance between rivet and brake rotor.
If its a little hard to follow, read ahead and things may start to
make more sense. Then come back and do the math.
1) You need to use the brake core from your factory brakes. If they
look like this,pitch them in the trash
2) REMOVE ALL THE OLD BRAKE MATERIAL.
If after you scrape and sand off all the old brake material the
cores look like this, your in good shape.
3) Next, cut your brake material to the size you need to fit your
brake cores.
You can buy this from a company called McMaster Carr.
Ph#-----------. For 3/16 thick by 1 1/2 wide Its runs about $3.00 a
foot.
EXTREMLY
IMPORTANT
4) Measure your rivets. (The rivets cost about 4 cents apiece)
Select a drill that will drill a hole the "EXACT" size of the rivet
. If the hole you drill is too big the rivet will be loose in the
hole AND WILL FAIL !!!!! THE RIVET MUST BE TIGHT IN THE
HOLE.
5) Using an epoxy adhesive that bonds metal, bond the brake
material to the cores. When I do this, I put the shoes in a vise to
keep them under pressure. This makes for a better bond.
6) Using the proper drill size, drill 2 holes in each pad for the
rivets. Once you drill the 2 holes for the rivets,use a larger
drill to countersink the back of the pads for the rivet heads.
AGAIN, If the hole you drill is too big the rivet will be loose in
the hole AND WILL FAIL !!!!! THE RIVET MUST BE TIGHT IN THE
HOLE. I highly recommend using a drill press for all drilling.
7) Next,using 2 drills the same size as the heads of the
rivet,drill 1/2 way thru the brake material with the regular drill
pictured on the left. Then with a drill that has been ground flat
at the end , as pictured on the right, drill to your final depth.
You need to use a drill like the one on the right to give the rivet
a proper surface to seat into. The drill on the right produces what
refered to as a counterbore (a flat bottomed hole). I HIGHLY
recommend doing this step in a drill press to control your final
depth.
I know its hard to see it but....................
This is a cross sectional view of what the hole and counterbore
should look like when finished . Notice the flat bottom.
8) Once the pads are bonded, drilled, and counterbored, and
countersunk,the next step is to install the rivets. I place the
rivets in the holes like this. Then using the tool you see in the
next frame,I secure the rivets by peening them over as shown
below.
This is what I use to insure the rivets I install are installed as
tight as possible.
It keeps the rivet from dropping down when I peen over the back of
the rivets. Its just a steel block with a pin in it that has a flat
top.
9) Place the counterbore over top of the anvil. Then using a hammer
, peen over the rivet evenly until you completely fill the
countersink with the rivet.Then using a file,file the head of the
rivet FLUSH wth the back of the brake pad.
You should now have 1 set of brake pads ready to install on your
ATV. That wasn't that difficult to think about.
Hmmm !! Do you think it's possible
to do ???
PLEASE READ DISCLAIMER !!!!!
While this project is a possibility to do. WE DO NOT recommend it
actually be attempted.
Failure to properly secure the brake material to the brake core may
result in severe bodily injury or death
Great article. For the average Joe without access to a peening block, drill press, grinder, vice, etc..., this may not be possible - but for many of us it is. Great way to save money. It should also be noted that many linings today are only bonded and not riveted to the backing plates. This can be done safely, especially if the caliper design "captures" the material if it should come loose. Old-school mechanics used to re-line brakes all the time before the advent of numerous parts stores.
Carol Craan / Lesburg, FL, UNITED STATES
Posted Sep 29 2008 05:40PM
I am looking to open a machine shop in the Caribbean and I would like to re-line brakes and clutches like the old-school mechanics. I have been looking for the equipments, the lining, the bonding agent etc, but so far no luck .Can any one helps me? If you have any information to where I can buy any of this please let me know.
Off-Road Videos - Check out over ten years of extreme 4x4 action, product testing and the Off Road Nation at play. Baja racing to rock crawling, ATVs in the sand to motorcycles in the dirt, it's all here. Rate them, share them and upload your own.
ATV Reviews - Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha, Polaris, Kawasaki, Can-Am. First rides to long-term tests, check out the latest in ATVs, UTVs and Side-by-Side vehicles of every make and model. Read expert opinions and follow custom project vehicles.
Axxxtion Sports..... Axxxtion Sports is heating things up with their 2010 Winter Heat snowmobile calendar! Simply Sexy!
Posted Jul 04 2008 02:06PM
