When is it time to replace the back plate?

Ask Andy › Category: Brakes › When is it time to replace the back plate?
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Brian C asked 4 years ago

Andy,

I am trying to bring my old friend Herschel back to life. I am working my way through each system and currently am working on the brakes, replacing lines and hardware as needed.  In replacing the hardware, I noticed that the metal “pins” on the bottom of the part that holds the adjusting nuts are missing on 3 out of the 4 back plates. Otherwise the back plates are in good shape with, what I would think, was a standard amount of corrosion for a car this age. Is it worth replacing the whole back plate just for those pins?  When I adjust the brakes am I going to run into issues are need to perform this maintenance far more often?

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Michael Glass answered 4 years ago

Hi Brian,

Great question! This is something that does get overlooked when you are doing a brake rebuild. The correct terminology is a leaf spring. This leaf spring clip holds tension on the brake adjuster star and it keeps it from turning on its own, causing the brake shoes to come out of adjustment.

If this is the only problem with the backing plate, then I would suggest to fix the backing plates that you have. Unfortunately, as of writing this, So. Cal. Imports doesn’t stock these parts but the leaf spring is available. Here are the part numbers for the replacement leaf springs:
• All Super Beetle front & T3 rear: part #311 609 485
• All Beetle front-rear & Super Beetle rear: part #211 609 185A
Please note that replacing this part will require grinding and welding.

Hope this helps,

Andy

/by