How to remove rear brake tension bar?

I bent the brake tension bar on my 1982 XJ and have a replcement, but can't get the old one off. The issue is I can't rotate the arm down far enuf to remove the pin that holds it in. Any suggestions? The photos show the part I'm trying to remove (the long arm), and a closeup of the connection point. Thanks.

 

Here's the mount point

 

Hi Xjazz,
I remember thinking wow this would be a bugger to take off if you didn't want to also either,
1. remove the swingarm or
2. remove the wheel and shocks to move the swingarm up or down, out of the way.

There might be a way to remove the brake pedal and disconnect the spring and switch from it and then disconnect the rod from the rear drum to swing the brake pedal spigot around to get the join below the swingarm also...

At the time I was doing the swingarm bearings and was glad that I didn't forget to put the rear brake rod thingemie(the one you have pictured) back in.

Maybe you could just straighten it!

 

Can you take the brake pedal off the splines, relocate it at a very severe low angle, then lift it to rotate that connection down far enough to clear the obstruction?

 

you should be able to just pull the stay bolt (the bottom most red circle in your first pic) allowing you to rotate the up in back (clockwise in your pic) and get the rod out of the cross pin that way. you should have to loosen your axle nut to allow this.

I bent my brake tugger rod thingy (the technical term) once too but just bent it back in situ, starting by just standing on the pedal then tweaking a bit by hand, readjusted at all three points (pedal,brake arm, light switch) and keeping an eye on it for the next few thousand miles. The thing isn't a critical precision sort of deal. It could just as well be a cable for all that flexation matters. It only does anything under tension. That threaded rod is cheaper and easier at the factory.

Come to think of it I bend it about half the time when I change tires, stuffing the wheel back in I forget to tie it out of the way so I crash into it while my mind and hands are concentrating on not smearing gravel into my hub splines.

 

The problem you face, there, is made complicated for you because the Clevis Pin is in there BACKWARDS.

The Cotter Pin belongs on that end.
Pull the Cotter, ... The Clevis Pin falls right out.

Before I did any long-form taking things apart, ...
I'd CUT the Head off the Clevis Pin and carry-on after getting a NEW Clevis Pin and a Cotter Pin.

 

I just went and looked at my 650 Seca.

No cutting necessary, from what I can see.

You should be able to remove the nut/spring from the very rear and swing the actuator arm clear of the rod, or close enough.

Then remove the brake pedal. That should allow the whole mechanism to rotate and flop down enough to give you clearance, whether the pin is in there wrong or not.

Be careful not to stretch the life out of the brake switch actuator link/spring. Might want to unhook it.

 

Folks, thanks for the responses, but I'm pretty sure Rick Massey
has it right. The clevis pin (attaches near the swingarm) comes out from the back, toward the swingarm, and a cotter pin facing out is what holds it in. Although the swing arm has a dent in it that appears to be there to allow the clevis pin to come out, there is not enuf room for it to pass.

I've done all the things suggested (removed brake pedal, unhooked tension spring behind pedal, removed brake rod and rear tire) and you still can't rotate the tension rod far enuf up or down to allow the clevis pin to pass out the back.

So, I guess I'll take Rick's advice and cut the clevis pin, and put the new one in with the cotter pin facing in, toward the swing arm.

One last question, I've lost the nut and bolt that hold the brake rod in (bottom most circle in the photo), are they a simple nut that fits into the back of the brake drum cover and a bolt?
They way all this occurred is that I had put on a new tire, and must not have put the brake rod nut on properly, and when I hit the rear brake, the bolt came out and the brake shoe cover spun around and bent the tension rod around the axle. Crap.

Thanks!

 

Sort of. It's the BOLT that fits into the backing plate, from the rear, and the nut and washer go on the ouside. The bolt has a hole through it for a cotter pin, the nut is NOT "castellated" the cotter pin just goes through the bolt.

The real bolt is a shoulder bolt, so that the torque arm can rotate slightly in relation to the backing plate when the suspension moves up and down.

You can USE a "normal" bolt, for now, and drill a cotter pin hole thru it. Then don't TIGHTEN tighten the nut, so that the torque arm will still be able to move in relation to the backing plate. The movement is so small, only a few degrees, that as long as you have a cotter pin through the bolt there's no chance it will unscrew itself.

I would get the correct bolt eventually though. Yamaha pn 90109-08406-00, BOLT Still available if Len doesn't have them.

The clevis pin itself is no longer available. Be sure you have a replacement before cutting.

 

Clevis Pins at my hardware Store are of two varieties.

Steel and Bronze.

The Bronze are Lengths, Size and single-hole drilled.

The Steel are Long, Multiple-hole drilled.

Get the right O-D. ...
Add a washer at each end if you have room.
Mark it,, ...
Make the Cut ...
Round-off the cut so it doesn't hand-up going in.


The Bolt and Nut you are talking about are "Special"
The Bolt has an Oversize O-D which puts some extra beef where the Rod and Brake Assy are joined.

If a Standard Bolt leaves free-play.
Use a Bushing to eliminate free play ... -or-
Drill the two holes to a accept a tight-fitting SHOULDERED Bolt.
Use a Washer and a Nyloc Nut,

Drill a hole through the Threaded End of the Bolt for a Cotter Pin or Track Safety Wire.