The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Brake shoes rub new drum

On my 55.1 front drum brakes, I have installed new drums and shoes. I backed off the brake adjustment screw star wheel all the way,and the shoes still rub on the drum. I can turn it with one hand. When I've replaced shoes in the murky past, I never had it rub. What have I done wrong? thanks - scott

Rotate drum so it can leave a mark on shoe. make sure drum is true and flat on hub/axel. pump brake peddle to center shoes in the drum. then check rub marks on shoes, sometimes drums are not square at inner corner[ file shoe] make sure all parts are correctly seated, wheel cyl compressed. It is possable that shoe linning is thick ? and they say the shoe should rub a small amount after adj

T-RUCK Thanks for this one too. The lining looks right to me. I think that pumping and checking sounds good. Gotta get the rest together first tho. Thanks again - Scott

Had the same problem on my '54 Buick Special. I was the tech editor of a Mopar magazine at the time, and the teck editor of Mustang Monthly and the Editor of Mustang Monthly had no clue either. Here were three hard-core car guys who were totally flumuxed by a Buick drum brake.
After trying a few things for a few days, I called a buddy, and he asked his dad. His dad said he once had the exact same problem with a '55 Chevy way back when.
He just took a piece of emory cloth, draped it over the offending shoes, sawed back and forth a few times and removed some shoe material, slid the drum on and drove.
Took all of 3 minutes to fix on the Buick. And yes, we all felt stupid!
-Brad

My rule of thumb is, unless the new drums (or rotors) are clearly marked on the box that they require no machining, I machine them. Exception is OEM products. I can't control how the parts place has handled or stored them and I can't control if the original machining was done correctly.

My 62 1/2 ton chevy brake shoes always rub as there is suspose to be a slight drag if the shoes are adjusted correctly. I did have a problem with a set of rebuilt front shoes as they were glued on the shoes crooked. A replacement set fixed that problem. Also shoes with an FF rating on the side gives much better stopping power with my non-power brakes. Hope this helps.

Thanks for all the tips. Plenty to try.

Scott

Daily 52 1/2 ton Chevy truck.

I had the same issue ever since I bought new drums a few years ago.

On each set of new brake shoes I always grind the upper pivot half-round area where the two shoes meet on top. I use a 3/4" dia. coarse grinding bit on a drill removing just a little amount on both shoes.
Just enough to be able to slip the drums on.

When adjusting the brakes, push the pedal a couple of times after each adjustment to center the shoes, before checking for drag or rubbing.
Shouldn't rub with 14 clicks after the wheels start dragging. Maybe very slightly on a high spot.
Also the shoe with the longer pad is supposed to face the rear.