The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Driveline Brake Drums won't fit back on

I am having a heck of a time getting my front brake drum back onto the 56 3100 Chevy Truck. The drum won't fit over the brake pads once i have everything in place. Even when i have the adjuster turned all the way in. I've done 3 sets in my life cars and truck, and never had this kind of a problem before?? I even tried putting the old brake pads on to see if that would work, and it will not. A friend said i just need to beat the drum on, and once it goes over the lip it will be ok. But, again, i have never had to resort to this before. The pads fit tight up at the top and line up good, everything looks as it should. So am at a loss. Any suggestions appreciated.

Is the brake drum new? I've had brand new brake drums(made in China, of course) that had to have a considerable amount of machining done to them because they were incorrectly made at the factory.

Many times, new drums are egg shaped instead of round. Do you have a real brake shop nearby that can turn the drums to true them?

Are you using the old drums? If so, then it needs to be measured to see if it's still less than the maximum allowable wear.

Try putting the drum on the other side and see what happens. Are you sure its the correct drum? I don't know the specifics about the '56 truck so this might not matter. Some vehicles have different width shoes front and back which take different drums.

Don't listen to your friend. Beating a brake drum to install it is for idiots.

Snap a picture of the front shoes on the truck

I ~suspect~ you’ve already tried this, but…..

Push the outside of the shoes inward, like you’re trying to squeeze the air out of a basketball. Need to make sure you get the wheel cylinder pins pushed as far IN as reasonably possible. Or you can try to squeeze the pins themselves and then make sure the tops of the shoes find home again.

I'll bet that the wheel cylinders have extended a bit. Open the bleeders and squeeze the shoes together.
If you messed with the anchor pin, you may have to loosen that and move it down (the hole for it in the backing plate is vertically slotted.)

Good call. Relieving some pressure makes this much easier.

Thanks everyone. The drums are fairly new, like 4 years old, and worked fine. So i don't think it is the drums. I think the tips on compressing the wheel cylinder is likely my issue and will give that a go. Thanks.

Prop a piece of wood under the brake pedal so there's no way for the weight of the pedal to cause the wheel cylinders to extend- - - -then open the bleeder and squeeze the shoes together with a bar clamp if necessary.
Jerry

There should be no need to open the bleeder, if the cylinder and hoses are in good working order then the springs and a little hand compression should easily push the fluid back into the master and the shoes should be at their smallest diameter. If the drum has a ridge and the shoes are brand new then some material removal may be in order, the ridge may be actually smaller in diameter than the original diameter of the drum due to rust in the ridge.

I appreciate all the help, but nothing seems to be helping the situation. I am going to take it to a local shop just down the street. I am tired of fighting it. What is the typical cost of labor to have the brake shoes replaced in these old vehicles these days for the two front's? They are ok with me bringing in the parts i have already bought thankfully. My guess is $400. I hope i am high! LOL

You should try this.....

I don't see anything or any attachments??

Can you take and post pictures of your front brakes assembled on the backing plates and the inner faces of the drums.

Hard to give advice without seeing.

Since you have the same problem with both new and old shoes, there is something else that has changed to make the drums not fit in both cases.

I`d bet it has something to do with the star adjuster and the new brake shoes.
Do the shoes not fit uniformly? Or is there a high side/end that holds up the fit?

Please tell us what the problem turns out to be and what the solution is.

I know the horse is out of the barn so it's too late to close the door but I never disassemble both sides of a pair of brakes at the same time. I leave one side assembled so I can refer to it while working on the other side in case I forget something or something doesn't fit. I use the assembled side as a template for the side I'm working on.

It's a habit I started in high school auto shop and continue to this day for both drums and discs.

Here’s a link to instructions on how to add pictures to a post.