Series 3 - and other/related - brake shoes…

[davros]

Ok. So, there was a time not-too-long ago when I would buy brake shoes for the SIII 88” SWB and the salesperson would ask things like “are your drums oversized” etc. I would buy the shoes (sometimes needing to exchange my old ones), and the new ones WOULD FIT! Without lurching to one side or making them unable to be adjusted!! Like most blimmim cars!!
Now, I am the one asking, “Do you have shoes that are not made in a large communist country where safety, sizing and quality control are not high on the agenda?.
“No”…

Help! I am soooo sick of very poorly fitting brake shoes! And being in Denmark WA, no chance of radius grinding of shoes etc in town. I don’t want or have time to spend hours faffing around with a rasp or 80 grit emery cloth!

Question:

What brand of brake shoes actually fit out of the box, every time, in 2022, for 10” SIII drums, and can be sourced in Australia?

It’s 1940s designed brakes for goodness sakes - very simple components, not hard to get right!! And a major safety issue!

Any help appreciated. Feel free to vent as well!

Dave

[gromit]

Most brake shops can get them from Clutch & Brake Australia.

From memory linings are are bonded at their site in WA but I had new friction material fitted to an Indian (motorcycle) clutch plate at their NSW site.

Never had an issue with CBA shoes, they would also bond new linings on your old shoes. Longer wait time and if you wanted them in a hurry you paid freight each way so exchange was cheaper unless you waited.

I used to deal with them direct but haven't been there for a few years so staff have changed, they are not meant to deal direct with the 'public'.



Colin

[Homestar]

These days I radius the shoes to fit the drums as nothing will fit out of the box properly. They may work ok but they generally don’t have much contact - usually at each end from what I’ve found. As there’s no asbestos in modern linings I use some spray on contact adhesive inside the drum and stick a bit of corse sandpaper inside the drum then put on a dusk mask and sand the shoe inside the drum until it contacts the whole surface - only takes a couple of minutes per shoe and you have a guaranteed fit. [emoji4]

[davros]

These days I radius the shoes to fit the drums as nothing will fit out of the box properly. They may work ok but they generally don’t have much contact - usually at each end from what I’ve found. As there’s no asbestos in modern linings I use some spray on contact adhesive inside the drum and stick a bit of corse sandpaper inside the drum then put on a dusk mask and sand the shoe inside the drum until it contacts the whole surface - only takes a couple of minutes per shoe and you have a guaranteed fit. [emoji4]

Yeah might try it!
A company has suggested Ferodo shoes. Going to give them a try and will post my experience.
One issue I found with what you described is the shoes being “off centre” perhaps, to the end hinge point, if that makes sense? So they can be ground by rubbing them but then when fitted are still “off”.
Also, why to modern car shoes just fit? As did my 1990s LR shoes? I never ground them in in years past… Poor quality control I feel.

[davros]

Most brake shops can get them from Clutch & Brake Australia.

From memory linings are are bonded at their site in WA but I had new friction material fitted to an Indian (motorcycle) clutch plate at their NSW site.

Never had an issue with CBA shoes, they would also bond new linings on your old shoes. Longer wait time and if you wanted them in a hurry you paid freight each way so exchange was cheaper unless you waited.

I used to deal with them direct but haven't been there for a few years so staff have changed, they are not meant to deal direct with the 'public'.



Colin

Might try them in future! Sad I chucked out my old and quality “worn out” shoes…

[davros]

Woohoo.
Found shoes I’d recommend, sourced by KLR Automotive:

Rear Brake Shoe Kit 4x4 Perentie/Defender/County - KLR Automotive (https://klrautomotive.com.au/brake-shoe-kit/)

KLR Automotive - Everything Land Rover & Perentie Making the Best Even Better. (https://klrautomotive.com.au/)

Aussie company. Made an inquiry and soon Brad got back to me, agreeing that poorly fitting parts were a frustration, and advising of some options - his pick being Ferodo. Italian made - first clue of a step up in quality control.
About $195 and a full set ex UK was at my door in regional WA in less than 2 weeks. Remember to get some locking tabs too (and bolts if your crappy ones had metric threads…).

The pads on the Ferodo shoes have a lovely finish, the exact right curve and chamfered leading edges. The threads are cut correctly and the adjustment posts are straight and well secured.

My don’tfitpart ones are lying on the shed floor, whilst I seek an alchemist to change them back into dollars! Kinda not cool that dodgy brake parts are even legal to sell…

[p38arover]

Part no. STC2797

[gromit]

Woohoo.
Found shoes I’d recommend, sourced by KLR Automotive:

Rear Brake Shoe Kit 4x4 Perentie/Defender/County - KLR Automotive (https://klrautomotive.com.au/brake-shoe-kit/)

KLR Automotive - Everything Land Rover & Perentie Making the Best Even Better. (https://klrautomotive.com.au/)

Aussie company. Made an inquiry and soon Brad got back to me, agreeing that poorly fitting parts were a frustration, and advising of some options - his pick being Ferodo. Italian made - first clue of a step up in quality control.
About $195 and a full set ex UK was at my door in regional WA in less than 2 weeks. Remember to get some locking tabs too (and bolts if your crappy ones had metric threads…).

The pads on the Ferodo shoes have a lovely finish, the exact right curve and chamfered leading edges. The threads are cut correctly and the adjustment posts are straight and well secured.

My don’tfitpart ones are lying on the shed floor, whilst I seek an alchemist to change them back into dollars! Kinda not cool that dodgy brake parts are even legal to sell…


They were obviously new shoes, last time I got a re-lined axle set from CBA was about $25 so $50 for a full set.
I was getting them at Trade price though, I'll have to revist and see if they will still sell to me.

Colin

[davros]

They were obviously new shoes, last time I got a re-lined axle set from CBA was about $25 so $50 for a full set.
I was getting them at Trade price though, I'll have to revist and see if they will still sell to me.

Colin

Lesson for all too - don’t chuck out old shoes that were previously well-fitting. I chucked mine before realising the crappy nature of the ….part ones. And I believe the ….part ones are misaligned somehow, perhaps in relation to where the semi-circle is cut out at the ‘bottom’. So, relining them would not alleviate the issue, unless someone would radius grind them - and unsure if that would use the cutout as a reference or just size them to the drum and assume the cutout was correct… I did ‘grind’ them by putting emery into a drum and rubbing them by hand, taking them down to size, but on fitting they still were too high, only touching at the tops…

[TimNZ]

I've not found any brake parts available now that are fit for purpose. I'll take old master and slave cylinders and get them overhauled as new ones sometimes don't even survive a month. If the old shoes are past re-lining I'll take brand new ones, along with the drums, to get re-lined and matched to the drums. Brand new drums will also go on the lathe and get machined round, as they're never round new.

I know that sounds a bit down at the mouth and over the top, but I've got to the point where I'm sick of doing jobs twice. Fortunately I'm i Perth, (and not rural), so it's not such an inconvience to drop the parts off to Hitech brake and clutch in Wangara, however I'm pretty sure they just send them to Perth Brake Parts in Welshpool to get the work done.

Cheers,

Tim