The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk taking brakes to get machined?

I am reconditioning the entire drum brake system on my '63 c-20 with eaton axle so that I can stop all 6,000lbs. My rear drums have a lot of deep grooves in them as gravel must have been routinely added to my b.shoes to help them stop after researching subject, i think I will take them to my parts store to be turned, if they can be? see photos here 63c20brake album @ http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/truckstein/my_photos

1- Before I go, do I clean up the assembly(proper ediquitte?) or just hand them over
dirty. 1 is cleaned, other is not?
I don't want to breath brake cleaner if they can't be turned, but I don't want to be a greasy jerk either, ya know?
2- Are new drums available for 3/4ton eaton rear?

Truckstein,


My thought would be to disassemble them, clean them, have them turned and repack, reseal and install them.

You don't want bearings with sticky grease on them when they are turned...they should be naked and clean.

When you put your drums back on, you want everything clean and tidy.


Stuart

I agree, clean'em up - the shop needs to check them for thickness and roundness before deciding if they can be saved - if they haven't been turned before and if the grooving isn't super deep, they'll be salvageable

Bill

Clean them before & then after you get them back. I dought if they will be usable. If they are grooved that much & have wear through the years, they will probably be too thin. We used to go ahead with them if they were just a little beyond specs but these shops now won,t turn them if they are over max. Napa shows new ones as part number 640-1004 but I don,t know if they are still available.

I bought some for mine a while back through CarQuest. They are still available but pricy, about $140 each. You will need access to a press to take them apart and to reassemble them,
Scott

Thanks to all for your replies. I have two eaton axles '63,'65, a lot of work to pull and clean 4 hub assemblies, but if i can get 2 that can be turned it would save me tons of $. A long shot with their age though. No matter what else gets done to the truck, i realize doing brakes correctly is priority #1. Sounds like clean drums are just a necessity when repairing, the heck with ediquette. Thanks again for extending a little of your knowledge!

You're going to need to remove the seals and bearings before yoy take them in, too. They won't turn them with them in place as they'll get contaminated. Actually, they also need to come out so they can be chucked up on the lathe as well.

Thanks for the advice longox, I spoke with the machnist at my local parts store this afternoon and he said the same thing. He says they use the race of the inner bearing to center off of so i can leave that alone, but still need to pull seals, which leaked anyway, and the bearings. I am going to work on it in the morning, In fact I think I love the smell of gearcase oil in the morning, smells like...victory!