Tips for brake floater kit installation?

[alexiskai]

I'm happy to concede that (a) hydraulic systems are technically superior and (b) the floater kit modification has tradeoffs and isn't a true (whatever thing here). For me, the bottom line is that this car gets driven maybe 100 miles a year. Brake wear is just not a factor. Far more important is that this kit offers me much greater stopping power than I currently have, and it's a modification that I feel competent to tackle on my budget and with my low skill level. That's the value proposition for me; others may differ.

[alexiskai]

Started the install this weekend. Going OK so far, but I've had to pause because I found that my operating pins and operating wedges were badly worn. My roller pins were also in bad shape because there was excessive play, allowing the pin to slide almost off the track. So it was fortunate that I had ordered the deluxe kit that had Ted's replacement roller pins. Also I had trouble removing the adjusting wedges because someone in the past had crimped the edges over, presumably to help keep worn caps in place. Had to grind it down with a rotary tool, but I got it out in the end.

New operating wedges, pins, and caps ordered from Bratton's. Also ordered some brake pills just in case. Hope they get here by next weekend.

[Railcarmover]

Your reasoning is sound and your approach is correct,good luck

[1crosscut]

This past winter I did a set of Ted's floaters for a fellow club member. He had started the project and gave up part way through. (he is not very mechanical)
I had never worked with the system before so it was all new to me. I found it to be quite a challenge at first for several reasons.
1. Stepping into a project that was already in progress.
2. It was in his unheated garage away from my tools and it was colder than heck for the duration of the project.
3. He had it all screwed up.
4. He really had it all screwed up.

I ended up basically going back to scratch and starting over fixing a lot of things that should have been fixed in the first place.
After doing that it went pretty well and I would be comfortable doing it again.

If I had to give one tip it would be to replace the front actuating wedges with new. Doing that helped a lot. His were slightly worn and caused things to stick a bit.

[alexiskai]

Agreed, my wedges were badly worn; I think they may have been the originals.

One thing I found to be helpful is, rather than working all the way through first one brake and then the other, I did both brakes in parallel. This helped me compare components on each side and determine which ones were worn, because the wear tended to be uneven. Otherwise I wouldn't have known what to look for.

[alexiskai]

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If your operating wedges look like the one on the left, it's time to replace them.