The picture below is a spring brake used on Semi trucks and trailers, most guys replace them with a new one rather than repair the old.
So you may come across discards, they are dangerous, they can take your arm off or even kill you should you attempt to take one apart.
You need a special tool to disarm the heavy spring inside the rear chamber, even then I would not recommend this for a novice.
The special tool is intended to be left on to hold the spring compressed while you replace a blown diaphragm.
I use the torch to blow a hole into the rear chamber enabling me to cut the spring while the spring brake is still assembled. You will hear the spring hit the end of the chamber when cut, you need to cut this spring about four times before it is disarmed, then you can safely open it up and separate the steel from the aluminum.
Treat the spring brake the same way you would a rattle snake.
Under no circumstances remove the front or rear clamps, unless you have cut the spring with a torch no less than four times.
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