Hi i can not get rear brake drums over the shoes. Drums cut .020 new drums new wheel cylinders emey brake not hooked up. I can get the drum on about half way. i've been told the shoes may be oversized and have to be cut down. That seems to be something done in the past. Can you by shoes that are thinner. I also had this problem with the front but the .020 cut of the drums fixed that. thanks
rear brakes 47 ford
- Thread starter bill h
- Start date
hueyhoolihan
Well-known member
i recently removed both rear brake drums on my '41 and replaced one backing plate. i also re-installed the parking brake levers as they had installed incorrectly. the shoes on both sides were removed as part of the process. when reinstalling the drums i found that there was not enough room between the shoes and the drums to even start to get them past the shoes.
i eventually solved the problem by backing off all four adjusters on each wheel as far as they would go. it helped to take a good look at them in order to understand how they worked. this made it clear as to how to get as much room as possible. the shoes were practically new and the tolerances when finally assembled were very small.
i was very concerned that the new-to-me backing plate (you DO NOT want to put one of these on without a lift!) was warped and the source of the problem on one side. it was not.
rich b
Well-known member
Seems to be a problem with many of the new repop shoes; compare them to your old shoes and grind down the tabs if that is the source of your grief.
I just had a similar issues. This is what solved it. 2 steps. Adjust the brake cams so shoes are not pushed out at all. 2nd I had thought I had slack in my parking brake cable when I felt the cable. But to be sure I marked with a paint pen on each parking brake lever arm that the cable attaches too..a small mark on the back of the show ..to show me where the parking brake arm was sitting...ie how much pull the cable attached had on that lever .Then I crawled under and pulled the pin on the cable under the centre of the car and allowed the rear Y part of the cable to drop onto some cardboard on garage floor. I went back and checked my paint mark and noticed the parking brake levers moved back significantly! I was then easily able to put both drums on. I should mention this was also with newly re-lined and arched shoes on original ford script shoes. Then ...as a reminder when you hook up the rear brake cable..to use a few block of wood and put pressure on the brake pedal..hold it down when you re-hook up the cable..it will help get the adjustment correct. The manual states this also. cheers
hueyhoolihan
Well-known member
the fact that they hubs slide over the shoes only part way suggests the the shoes or their braking surfaces are not perpendicular to the axle shaft or the hub's braking surfaces are not. the former would represent a manufacturing error. the latter, a machining error.
i would try both drums and to determine whether or not there is a discrepancy between the drums, so as to point to either possibility.
i would try both drums and to determine whether or not there is a discrepancy between the drums, so as to point to either possibility.