Bought a 91 legacy for $50. Had a grinding noise and owner suspected the rear diff was shot. I didn't dispute him on it. 

After removing badly rusted brakes, I found this. Just had to share! To good to keep to myself.

 

 

Another pic of the damage

well there's your problem

Who knew you could fit a mini-machine shop inside the drum!?!?

holy cow... I have seen some nasty brakes over the years, but that mess takes the cake!

 

Ladies and gentlemen,

The sad part is that some fool drove the car in this state ... for quite a while to do all of that damage. He should be banned from even owning a car.

The emergency brake will sometimes fall apart like that; had it happen once creating a god-awful racket!

On 8/13/2018 at 7:44 PM, ThosL said:

The emergency brake will sometimes fall apart like that; had it happen once creating a god-awful racket!

yeah... that is not emergency brake parts.. that is tone ring for the ABS, looks like the cylinder, too, and the various springs that are supposed to hold the shoes in place... not really sure what the screws came from tho.. unless they are from the destroyed tone ring?

Tone ring... that's what that's called? Yes, the screws came threw the spindle into the ring. 

There is no way to rebuild it. It's too beat up. I'll be pulling the assembly from another car. 

I'll do a complete brake job on this before it's done. The car is going to a lady I know who lives on Social security, and has trouble walking. This ride will give independence and make doctor appointment much easier. So ya, good brakes equals piece of mind. 

As for the previous owner, I can't say anything bad.  He's a nice guy overall. Just a bit clueless. While marijuana is legal in Washington,  it doesn't mean everybody should partake.

10 hours ago, StephenA said:

Tone ring... that's what that's called? Yes, the screws came threw the spindle into the ring. 

There is no way to rebuild it. It's too beat up. I'll be pulling the assembly from another car. 

I'll do a complete brake job on this before it's done. The car is going to a lady I know who lives on Social security, and has trouble walking. This ride will give independence and make doctor appointment much easier. So ya, good brakes equals piece of mind. 

As for the previous owner, I can't say anything bad.  He's a nice guy overall. Just a bit clueless. While marijuana is legal in Washington,  it doesn't mean everybody should partake.

yeah, the tone ring is for the ABS system, there is also a small sensor that reads the wheel speed via the little spaced blocks in the ring. you may want to try to get a spare one of those, too, if you can - I am betting the sensor for that wheel is trashed from the fallout of that mess.

And my hat is off to you, sir, for taking care of that lady. The world could do with a whole lot more like you.

Thank you for helping that lady. That is huge

11 hours ago, StephenA said:

Tone ring... that's what that's called? Yes, the screws came threw the spindle into the ring. 

There is no way to rebuild it. It's too beat up. I'll be pulling the assembly from another car. 

I'll do a complete brake job on this before it's done. The car is going to a lady I know who lives on Social security, and has trouble walking. This ride will give independence and make doctor appointment much easier. So ya, good brakes equals piece of mind. 

As for the previous owner, I can't say anything bad.  He's a nice guy overall. Just a bit clueless. While marijuana is legal in Washington,  it doesn't mean everybody should partake.

Thanks for helping out a person in need.  

Thanks for the kind words. I have some skill, she has a need. 

A neighbor scraps old cars. He's bringing me some subes so I can strip parts before the scrapping. That helps a lot with this project. I've helped him, he helps me. Small town.

Thanks for the tips on these brakes. My manuals say very little about these. 

Advice time. Is it better to replace the back plate or the entire assembly?

You can see in the picture where I'm pointing out the bent areas. Hub? Is that the right word? The 3/4 breaker bar and 32mm socket should arrive today from Amazon.

Edited August 16, 20187 yr by StephenA

i would replace the the hub, yes.. and that lower bit in your picture, I believe, is the sensor for the ABS (that reads the tone ring) been a while since I had one of these 1st gen Legacys...

the upper bit in the picture is the pivot point for the brake shoes, so yeah.. that whole thing needs replacing.

 

oh, and for Factory Service manuals, try here

Those manuals are great! Thanks for the info

you are quite welcome.

sadly the early models (90-94) are not covered quite as comprehensively as the later ones, but there is enough there to figure things out, and this seems to be the case on many sites offering the FSMs..

For future reference, there is a sticky thread in this section that has compiled a list of the most frequently encountered stuff with links to the topics covered (New Gen Subaru FAQ sticky compilation) - on page 2 of that thread, there are several links for service manuals, including the one I gave you above.

The plot thickens. A neighbor who hauls scrap steel knew of a guy with an old sube. I met with him yesterday and wound up buying two part subes for $75. One engine supposedly runs. Doubtful. One has no windows and the body is shot. Literally. Bullet holes in the front and rear doors. 

 But now i'll have complete suspensions from two rigs. I'll strip the all parts i think ill need and move the hulks off my property. Fortunately,  i have shop spare for storage.  I'll have to build more shelves. 

But first I have to go put some spare tires on these hulks so the car mover doesn't kill the suspension.  I might try flat towing them.  

I just want this car fixed and delivered to it's new owner.  It's like making chicken soup. First, catch the chicken...

Thanks for the advice. 

if it's a concern on these 'hulks' - flatbed towing will protect the center diffs

Edited August 21, 20187 yr by 1 Lucky Texan

I think the center diff is currently residing in the back seat.... I will have to do something with the CV's. Luckily, I don't have far to move them. 

It's been interesting time. I finally got the parts car up to  my place on Monday.  Today I finally got a chance to start swapping the hubs.

Now i have another problem...

No ABS on the parts car. Is there a way to disable the ABS with no ill effects? I'm just going to continue the swap unless I hear different. 

Personally ive had to many close calls with my ABS not braking fast enough and would love to disable it on my own car. That's a whole 'nuther story.

So far I'm about $380 into this car. Its not to bad for a DD for my friend. Granted, I'd love to have a 2.2 swap kit from SJR for my '87. This is more important.   I really hope I can gave it done by the end of September as I'm moving to the Washington coast soon. 

my old 95 had broken wiring to the abs sensors - i just pulled the fuse for the system and went on my merry way.

yes, it had an abs light on the dash so.. if you have to have inspections, that could be problematic, if no inspections, good to go.