The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Driveline brake shoe hold down springs

truck is a '50 chevy 1/2 ton. can anyone tell me if there should be brake shoe hold down springs on my front shoes? when i took off the front drums/hubs neither side has them. in the shop manual it refers to the springs, but has (1948). The shoes seem to be connected via a linkage that connects the articulating linkage to four bolts in the backing plate. is this the correct set up? thanks for your help

Hy jhannigan, yes there should be hold down springs on your brake shoes, I think the correct springs would be the flat single 180 degree loop with one end open. If you can't find those you can use coil springs and "nails" of the appropriate length, hope that helps.

47-50 had them front and rear. They are readily available from any of the parts places. I just got mine the other day from Classic Truck Parts of America

Thank you for the replies. Can you tell me how the springs attatch? There is no hole in the backing plate for the pins to go through. thanks again, john h.

There are no holes in the back plate but there are two loops at the 9 & 3 o'clock position. The spring hold down pins are J hooks that go thru the springs and into these loops. http://chevy.oldcarmanualproject.com/1929_54chevyparts/04/315.HTM.

Thank you very much ed, that was a big help