Tool for measuring the travel of a vehicle brake rod

A unitary manually operable tool for use with a vehicle brake assembly that is subject to wear and thus to the need for adjustment thereof, the brake assembly having a brake actuating cylinder and a face wall out of which a generally straight brake rod movably extends, wherein operation of the actuating cylinder to apply vehicle brakes causes the brake rod to move linearly outward from the face wall, as the brake rod moves from a brake-off position to an extended brake-on position, the tool comprising;

• a rigid, elongated, member having a first pivot at one end, a manual handle at the opposite end, and a second pivot at a location intermediate said first and second ends,
• a rigid L-shaped member mounted to said first pivot, said L-shaped member having a pusher portion configured for engagement with the face wall of the actuating cylinder so as to be spaced from the brake rod, and having a linear scale portion fixed to said pusher portion so as to be positioned generally adjacent and parallel to the brake rod, and
• a rigid brake rod operating member having one end mounted to said second pivot, said operating member having a portion spaced from said one end that is configured to cooperate with the vehicle brake assembly so as to cause the brake rod to move from the brake-off position to the extended brake-on position as manual force is applied to said handle, to thereby cause the brake rod to move a distance relative to said scale portion in accordance with the need for adjustment of the vehicle brake assembly.