Brake lining too thick?

fritznbud

fritznbud

Senior Member
Is it normal procedure, when you replace brake shoes with pre-lined new ones, to have to grind off the lining to fit the brake drum back on? I have been dremel tooling a good bit here, stopping to check by sliding a piece of sandpaper between the lining and drum and have alot more sanding to do and i am starting to think this aint right! Eveything came apart just fine, cleaned up nice and went back together just dandy. Now, if i could only get the drum back on. I cleaned and sanded it but did not take it in for turning. Can you guys give me some tips? Thanks
 
make sure the brake adjuster is turned all the way out and that everything is snapped into place where it should be.
 
Covered all bases before i posted. Adjuster all the way, lefty-loosey, on the driver front, turned in to end and that seems to take in the top part of shoes.
 
Where did you buy the lined shoes? The most likely problem is the shoes are not seated correctly to the backing plates.
 
Mikes A-fordable pre-lined shoes i picked up yesterday. They have 3/16" thick linings and my old ones had 1/8" left with lumps underneath from pieces broken away, and some places missing. Sounds like plenty of room to me, 11 1/8" from center, edge to edge is my measurement now with new shoes in place. A simple brake system, and if i see no other reason for no fit, then i'm going to sand them down until the drum passes over them and seats in place.
 
I just went through this and it seems counter-productive to sand off perfectly good lining to get the drums on. I used 50 grit paper and spent about ten minutes per wheel and got the drums on. Focus on the ends of the shoes, as the lining sticks up there more than any where else.
 
Great Lakes Greg said:
I just went through this and it seems counter-productive to sand off perfectly good lining to get the drums on. I used 50 grit paper and spent about ten minutes per wheel and got the drums on. Focus on the ends of the shoes, as the lining sticks up there more than any where else.
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Thank you Greg! Reading Mike's notes, 11" brake drum and mine look beautiful too, plenty of steel, and i'll be taking off that extra difference. It just seems that there would be more space for adjustment in the wedge. 1/16" off each shoe and the good 'ol stop and fit through-out the job.:rolleyes:
 
I would not be sanding any lining off the shoe other than to arc it to the drum. First, make sure the drum is over 11.000". Then if the drum will not go on, I would shorten the Brake adjusting rods a little on each side of the wedge. Make sure both rods are the same length. You paid good money for the shoes, why prematurely wear them out before you use them. The ends of the shoes are as important as the middle. If the ends wear out down to the metal, and you still have lots in the center, are you still going to use the shoes?
 
Jim Parker Toronto said:
I would not be sanding any lining off the shoe other than to arc it to the drum. First, make sure the drum is over 11.000". Then if the drum will not go on, I would shorten the Brake adjusting rods a little on each side of the wedge. Make sure both rods are the same length. You paid good money for the shoes, why prematurely wear them out before you use them. The ends of the shoes are as important as the middle. If the ends wear out down to the metal, and you still have lots in the center, are you still going to use the shoes?
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Very good advice Jim, thanks. I'm afraid that the adjusting wedge adjusts the brakes and that's where it ends. Greg is right as rain on this one Jim. Adjusting rods have nothing to do with where your shoes set.
 
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fritznbud said:
Thank you Greg! Reading Mike's notes, 11" brake drum and mine look beautiful too, plenty of steel, and i'll be taking off that extra difference. It just seems that there would be more space for adjustment in the wedge. 1/16" off each shoe and the good 'ol stop and fit through-out the job.:rolleyes:
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A Double kudos to you Great lakes Greg!! I love a fresh, just went through that, answer. Toss the sandpaper...grinding wheel is what it takes if you only have a full day to do brakes :cool:. Today's answer does the trick. Counter-productive yep...but i have brakes now and, like Greg said, the edges of the linings must be ground down to seat the drum, pull off the drum and grind some more until it fits. Look for contact spots, repeat, pete, repeat. :)
 
fritznbud said:
Very good advice Jim, thanks. I'm afraid that the adjusting wedge adjusts the brakes and that's where it ends. Greg is right as rain on this one Jim. Adjusting rods have nothing to do with where your shoes set.
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You must have misunderstood, I was not taking about the Brake rods, but the brake adjusting pins that go between the wedge and are attached to the shoe. These can be ground down to give clearance to the shoes/drums.
 
Mr Parker is right on this one. Not only will it help with the clearance, but it is quite important that they apply equal pressure at the same time when they are actuated. I feel that it is important enough that I made a tool to match the lengths of each pair at each wheel as well as the taperered contour.
 
Linings have been ground down like i posted. I have great brakes. I'll not have to do the brakes again in my lifetime.:confused:
 
Did you mount the brake adjusting shafts on the top of the shoes and install them so that they will conform to the cone shaped adjustment wedge? There is a taper to the ends of the adjusting shafts, and the high side needs to be outboard, and the low side inboard when the shaft is inserted in the hole.
 

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I never herd of linings to thick i though 3/16 was the standard . I ordered a set from flat head ted that was 1/4 inch and i had all new drums and parts and they still went on easy and had to adjust them. There must be something else wrong.
 
Here's the tool I made to check the length and angle of the brake rod pins. Why would you sand off any more lining than besides what is necessary to arc the shoes, thats the wear point. With rivetted shoes you have already lost 2/3 of your lining to rivets!
 

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Sounds like the problem I had with my '37 and NOS drums. Found out that the company that relined the shoes arced all of them to .030 assuming all drums were at least that far out. Ended up sending them back to be arced correctly.

Charlie Stephens
 
Will N said:
Did you mount the brake adjusting shafts on the top of the shoes and install them so that they will conform to the cone shaped adjustment wedge? There is a taper to the ends of the adjusting shafts, and the high side needs to be outboard, and the low side inboard when the shaft is inserted in the hole.
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I sure did Will. Nice to have such a difference from one side to the other, makes for a no way only one way fit, unless you have 13" drums :D...Great lakes Greg had the same situation, and i agree with him and did what i had to do. Someone had posted to grind the shafts...not. Yeah, grind off those when the linings are the problem... so that makes 2 of us that have gone through the oversized brake lining ordeal. It's only because Greg and i have flawless, unworn machines ;)
 
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