The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk drum rebuild advice

1951 3/4 ton´s rear wheel cylinders are leaking and one of the drums was completely frozen when it got here.
so looks like its time for my first drum rebuild.

found a good thread in the archives and looks like the job breaks down into.

-rebuild the wheel cylinders
-turn the drums
-replace the shoes
-replace rusty springs

found the parts i need at jim carter but the shoes with new linings are about 140 a pop. wanted to know if i can clean up my old ones and get them relined? also any general tips on old drums.
this site has been really useful.
thanks
aubrey

They can be re-lined, but you can find a better price elsewhere. You might have a bigger problem if they have been turned previously. You can only go so far without weakening them.

Yes, you can have the shoes relined. Dont try to clean up old linings that have had grease or brake fluid on them. They will never be any good. The drums need to be measured before turning to make sure they are still in allowable specks. About 60-90 thousands is the max amount. Some drums are 1/8 larger then a standard size so don't let that fool you. Anything larger then 1/2 ton are hard to find parts for, especialy drums & especialy Huck brakes.

Olive1, if you watch ebay you will find old stock shoes with asbestos friction or asbestos linings that you can have installed on your shoes. Asbestos is a much more effective friction matertial for brakes and clutches than the so called "Organic" friction that has been manyfactured since about 1980.

I put asbestos pads and shoes on my street rod roadster and it was like adding a power booster compared to "organic".

I had my shoes relined and they did all the cleaning etc. I have no problem with the shoes on my 1 Ton.

I think that you may be able to buy new drums from JC. I bought some for my 38 and they were made in Argentina. One was .015 over but I didn't follow up. If you can't see new drums for sale be extremely careful about machining the ones you have.

I got my shoes (Huck) from NAPA. They were about $40.

thanks for all the replies. great news on the shoe lining. found a shop that will reline them at 20 bucks each and carefully turn the drums. they were super helpful on the phone and knew about the huck parts.

they also had a better price on the wheel cylinders than JC. www.austinbrake.com. i think i am going to go ahead and replace them they look pretty wornout and they arent too much more expensive than the kit.
now if i can just get some wheels and tires for the front she will be ready to make an illegal spin around the block.
-aubrey

I just pulled one of the rear drums off my '46 one ton and it looks like I had more oil in the drum than in the differential. I don't know if what was in the drum was brake fluid or not. It was caked about an 1/8 of an inch deep. When I took the wheel cylinder apart hardly any thing came out and it looked more like water and had little odor to it. I don't know whether it was the cylinder or the oil seal that was leaking or not. I am new to this so could you tell me what to look for when it comes to an oil seal. I probably consider both and correct problems.