Thread: quick Brake question

40 years ago with my old Series 1, when I had that issue I just took the angle grinder with a sanding pad to the shoes and ground them down till they fitted - started with the obvious high points - sounds drastic but not much normally had to come off.

Garry

I had same problem with new drums and shoes.

Once upon a time "brake places" had machines for fitting one to the other. :0) Not any more! :0(

On mine it was a case of "hand fit" - I used a set of files.

I found the drums did fit and rotate till I did up the C/S screws and or the wheel nuts. Then nix nada not!

One drum at time, tighten screws, turn with a long lever, file down the high spots. Repeat and repeat and repeat till drum rotates freely, i.e. just scrapes.

Trying to "run/bed" them in not wise. Friction will cause drums to heat and then fade. Little to no braking!

Cheers

Rick F

G'day All,

You need to have the brake shoe linings radiused to fit the brake drums. The outcome will depend on the condition of the drums (standard/over size or just skimmed.) and how much of the original shoe will be left after radiused. What is left will effect how many miles they will last before re-lining. (The quality of aftermarket brake shoes is problematic!.)

Burt Bros. Automotive, Fairfield East in Sydney can do the radiusing for you. They usually need the drums and shoes to take measurements.

Chris

Originally Posted by Busted Syncro

G'day All,

You need to have the brake shoe linings radiused to fit the brake drums. The outcome will depend on the condition of the drums (standard/over size or just skimmed.) and how much of the original shoe will be left after radiused. What is left will effect how many miles they will last before re-lining. (The quality of aftermarket brake shoes is problematic!.)

Bust Bros. Automotive, Fairfield East in Sydney can do the radiusing for you. They usually need the drums and shoes to take measurements.

Chris

Thanks for the info Chris

I think the dreaded auto correct may have struck. Did you mean the Burt Bros?


Burt Bros Automotive – Burt Bros Automotive

Cheers - Simon

G'day Simon,
Sorry for the typo. Yes, "Burt Bros. Automotive." They have been in brake business for years and also do bonding of shoes. Great people to deal with.
One of the problems with these aftermarket shoes is the actual steel shoe may not have the correct radius as well. They can fix this kind of things as well.
Chris

I have a post in my 101 thread I think - last time I did the shoes (it's got disk brakes now) I stuck a bit of sandpaper in the drum with some spray adhesive and gave the shoes a rub back and forth a few times as they were too tight - didn't take much and it worked like a charm. A quick file or run against a sander would also do the trick as others have mentioned.

to start with, have a go at doing the clearances on the leading/trailing edges, doesnt usually take much, if youve been using the brakes you'll see where they've been cutting in on the drum, radius relief there and you might just get it.