Slack adjuster main spring housing contaminant sump

A slack adjuster for a brake, the slack adjuster comprising:

• a housing assembly having an interior;
• one or more components housed in the interior and configured to operate together to adjust the brake, the one or more components including a spring and an elongated rod;
• at least one opening extending through a sidewall portion of the housing assembly, said at least one opening configured to allow one or more of fluid or contaminants to drain from the interior to an exterior of the housing assembly;
• and
• a guard disposed between mating surfaces of portions of the housing assembly, wherein the guard is one or more of in sealing contact with or interlocks with one of the components housed in the interior and is configured to prevent the one or more of the fluid or the contaminants from entering into the interior, and wherein the guard abuts and acts as a spring seat for the spring, the guard including a washer having a central opening defined by a rubberized inner portion that one or more of comes into sealing contact with or interlocks with the elongated rod of the one or more components.

A brake apparatus comprising:

• a housing assembly having an interior and one or more adjustment or control components housed in the interior, the one or more adjustment or control components including an elongated rod, the housing assembly also including a spring housing and a cone nut housing;
• a guard compressed between mating surfaces of the spring housing and the cone nut housing, the guard configured to prevent one or more of fluid or contaminants from entering into the cone nut housing and contacting the one or more adjustment or control components in the interior of the housing assembly, the guard including a washer having an outer portion and a central opening defined by an inner portion, wherein at least the inner portion of the guard is rubberized and one or more of comes into sealing contact with or interlocks with the elongated rod;
• plural openings extending through one or more sidewall portions of the housing assembly;
• and
• one or more of plural plugs or patches removably respectively disposed in the plural openings and sealing the plural openings, wherein the one or more of the plugs or the patches are positioned and configured for a selected one of the one or more of the plugs or patches to be removed after installation of the apparatus in a brake system, with the others of the one or more of the plugs or patches left in place, for one of the openings associated with the selected one of the one or more of plugs or patches to be exposed to allow one or more of fluid or contaminants to drain from the interior to an exterior of the housing assembly.