The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Ever had Stupid Brakes ! ! !

What an experience putting brakes on my son's '62....

The shoe linings are too thick. Even with the adjuster turned all the way in plus turning the drum twice the shoes are still rubbing. I got my shoes at Pep Boys, so please don't throw any sharp objects at me!

Any suggestions? I got the only part number they had in their book.

Do I need to go to a Chevy dealer? Our local one doesn't stock much for 40 year old trucks. Or are there any after-market manufacturers who focus on older trucks.

Thanks in advance.

check the fit with the shoe off, to make sure you have the proper contact between the shoe and the drum (heal, toe and center(use rear shoe for checking,longer)) if that is ok you might be able to grind away part of the shoe where the adjuster goes to allow more clearence,. But if the contact between the shoe and the drum in incorrect, the brake rebuilder may have used 1/4 lining instead of 3/16 or not have ground the shoe.

Make sure the "pads" that are on backing plate aren't Grooved and holding shoes outward too much. Sometimes you can grind the groove some flatter, but if real bad, have to weld them up to fill and regrind or replace backing plate.
Seems someone else had same problem on AD truck here. Maybe materials aren't as plentiful anymore now that asbestos if outlawed and they only have a few choices for thickness.
Use to be in old shops, they had a brake show "arcing" machine to make shoes match the arc of drums. Used to O/S drums so shoe still hit on full surfaces. Maybe if you find an older brake shop they could grind your shoes down to fit your drums. Take the drums with you.

OK I have a couple of questions:

Do you still have the old shoes?

Do the new shoes match the web or metal part?

How thick are the linings?

Have you opened the bleeder to allow some fluid to leave and let you compress the shoes further yet?

Are all four linings the same length or do you have 2 short and 2 long?

Let us know and we will get you all set up.

Thanks! You might have solved it.

I'll measure it tomorrow. It looks like it's easily 1/4" thick.

Why do they have different thicknesses? I never heard of that....

Thanks for all the suggestions:

1. Backing plates are good.

2. I forgot about those! One guy I was talking to suggested that I get out the sandpaper!!!

Thanks!

1. Yep.

2. They match the metal part. Is that the same thing as the "web"? I'm not familiar with that term in relation to brakes.

3. I'll measure tomorrow. The linings look fatter than any shoes I've ever seen.

4. Nope. But the tops of the shoes are flush against that top stud (I don't know the precise term for it). They can't move in even another fraction of an inch.

5. Two short. Two long.

JYF The bolt at the top is called the "anchor bolt".

Did you replace the Adjusters? Or are you reuseing the old ones?

How bad or thin are the old linings?

Ok Shoes are the same.

One long and one short per side. I believe ( and could be wrong if so someone correct me) that the long shoe will go in the forward possision and the short shoe in the rear possision.

I am guessing that you have both sides removed (old brakes)?

Ok this is how I would proceed.

1) with the new shoes on. I would remove the "hold down pins" and springs then I would shift the shoes forward and backwards. This will verify if the shoes are hanging up on the backing plates.

2) attempt to install the drum. If the Drum Starts to go on the shoes, STOP and remove. RE install the Holddown pins and springs. If the drum still wont go on the shoes get out the tape measure.

3) Measure the ID of DRUM and the OD of the SHOES.

4) Make sure that the parking brake (cable) isn't interfering in any way. Some times the cables will activate the parking brake mechanism. Not likely but good to check.

5) Reattemp Installation of Drum. Still no luck then I would have to say the lineing are too thick. But I doubt it.

Any Chance of getting some pictures of this?

Save you old shoes as a last resort you can send them in and have them relined! Are the Old shoes Riveted on or "bonded" glued on?

Do you have any local "Brake shops" ( Midas or Tuffy) you might want to see if you can buy one of the guys lunch in exchange for coming over to take a look and see if he can figure out what is wrong?

Or check with another parts store to see if their linings are as thick.

Let us know what you find out JYF.

Thanks and Good luck.

The shorter lined shoe is always to the front of the car or truck as it energizes the rear shoe through the adjuster, Unless you have some setup that uses two wheel cylinders per side or I had a Datsun that the bottom of the shoes was fixed and the wheel cylinder was I single piston that slid in a slot in the backing plate to operate the other shoe.

Yep! That's what I have....

::::Going out right now to give that old hunk of rust a thrashing::::

I'll be back.

I've never had stupid brakes, just a stupid mechanic.

One more thing to check is the fit of the shoes in the drum. Take a pair of the shoes and set them inside the drum. With the situation you described, there should be a gap near the mid-point of the shoe. If so, go back to where you had the drums turned (or Pep Boys) and get them to grind the shoes to match the drums.

I stand corrected. I knew someone would correct me. I can picture the set up in my head I always forget which way is headed toward the front / back!

Thanks ALBERT! You nailed the problem....

Funny thing is, none of the local mechanics or parts guys I talked to even mentioned that possibility. Everything else was okay, so NOW it seems completely logical to me. Sure was frustrating at the time though....

Thanks everyone else for all the other great suggestions as well. We're done and rolling.

JYF so what did you do just get some new shoes?

Nope. It was Sunday before I actually got to it and I doubt anyone within two counties would have arced my shoes on a Sunday, so I did my "usual" and improvised!

HUH???

What just happened here?

I used to be the JunkYardFrog....



Who changed me to 1962?! That's accurate because that's the year of the truck, but still it's puzzling.

hmmm

I wonder if my son registered here....

That might explain it. I did tell him about this site and the advice you guys have been giving me.