Rear Brake Drums Don't Fit

3

'31 Patina

Senior Member
I just installed new rear brakes on my '31 coupe. I can't get the drum to go back on. The adjusting wedge is turned all the way out.

I did a search on previous posts about this problem and some guys talk about sanding the shoes or grinding a little bit off the adjusting shafts.

Any help is appreciated.

Thank you.
 
It seems that the lining on the shoes are a little thick to overcome well used drums. Once you get new drums and the specs are as new the thicker linings get in the way.

So you need to either sand the shoes or grind down the shafts to bake them work.
 
Did you put on new emergency brake linings? Often they are too thick and need to be sanded thinner. If you took off the emergency bands and tried the drum,that would tell you which linings were the problem.
 
I tried putting the drum on without the emergency brake bands so it must be the brake linings that are a little too thick. I'll try sanding them down a bit to see if that works.
 
are the shoes fitted to the drums prior to installation ? i fit mine by grinding the ends a lil . i also bevel the outside edge so the drum fits ez . the e brake is also a problem , so bevel them also ............. steve
 
Did you measure the drums after swedging them to the hub? Some drums have to be turned to get them to the proper diameter.
 
Patina 31, if you have had your shoes ARCHED, do not grind any more off the shoes. You just paid good money for linings, why grind it away. First, check the adjusters and make sure you are sitting in the groove, and not the high part of the adjuster. Just give it a little turn to set them. If the drum will still not go on, then grind the adjusting shafts down a little, but be sure to do each side the same! This would be not as critical for length if you are using Ted's stuff. Don't forget to bevel the ends of the shoes a little.
 
Just a wild idea on my part but i just put new brakes on mine couldnt get the drums to slide on completly. It was my key the key would slide forward jus enough to hold the drum out.I had to push the key in with a punch , then the drum went right in.
 
Since I'm having my drums turned I'm also going to have the shoes arched at the same time. Hopefully that will solve the problem. I will double check that the adjusting shafts are not on the high part of the adjuster; I just backed the adjusters all the way out and didn't even think to look to see where the shaft was actaully sitting on the adjuster.

I will let everyone know what I find out once I get the drums and brakes back.

Jim Parker Toronto said:
Patina 31, if you have had your shoes ARCHED, do not grind any more off the shoes. You just paid good money for linings, why grind it away. First, check the adjusters and make sure you are sitting in the groove, and not the high part of the adjuster. Just give it a little turn to set them. If the drum will still not go on, then grind the adjusting shafts down a little, but be sure to do each side the same! This would be not as critical for length if you are using Ted's stuff. Don't forget to bevel the ends of the shoes a little.
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