Merritor front air brakes

BobWolf

Veteran Expediter
Owner/Operator
I'm planning on swapping out my steer axle drums and shoes. Mechanically I'm not worried about it I just want to know what else I should be looking for. Obviously hub and cam seals, but any tips to make the job go quicker and will help.
Also other than replacing the ratchet pawl Meritor are slack adjusters rebuildable or worth rebuilding? They spit some water past the pin going up to the clevis last time I lubed them
Thanks.
Bob Wolf.
 

greasytshirt

Moderator
Staff member
Mechanic
If there's no s-cam play, you can ignore the cam seals. If there is, replace the s-cam bushings and seals at the same time. The outer seal is installed backwards on purpose. Grease is supposed to escape to the outside, rather than blowing out the inner seal and greasing up the brakes. The s-cams only need a couple of pumps of grease to avoid this possibility.

The pawls on the slack adjusters can be replaced. No one rebuilds them. I frankly have never had one apart.

Take a pair of shoes and a drum with you. There are countless brake configurations, and some of the stuff looks similar, so it's easy to put the wrong brakes on the truck.

If it has worn out anchor pin bushings, they can be a ************ to remove. Do not heat the brake spider with a torch. Get a pin bushing driver. A c-clamp press-style one, if it's in the budget. Put some pressure on it, then whack the outer circumference where the bushing is pressed in with a hammer. That'll get it to pop free. Press, Truck Anchor Pin and Bushing

The hub can stay in place, unless you're also putting wheel seals in it, or are inspecting the wheel bearings. The outer locknut torque (if equipped with one), has a torque of only around 250 ft-lbs. The book says 400, that is now wrong. (Edit: Depends on the specific front axle in question). After final torquing of outer locknut, there needs to be between 0.001-0.003 endplay. If more, the brake rotor may push the abs sensors out enough to set an abs code for excessive air gap. If too tight, you'll roast the spindle. This means you'll need to get a dial indicator with a magnetic base. No one ever bothers to do this step, but this last step confirms that you've done the work correctly. Do it correctly.

http://www.amazon.com/Anytime-Tools-INDICATOR-FLEXIBLE-MAGNETIC/dp/B000N1B3EI/ref=pd_sim_sbs_469_4?ie=UTF8&dpID=41Di9uJhSvL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR160,160_&refRID=1121SXFNPRFTJYX6JJNB
 
Last edited:
Top