Is Arcing shoes necessary for brake job?
 

I recently had a brake job done here in California on my 1930 Town Sedan at a local shop. They turned my front drums as they were out of round but did not arc the used shoes to the newly turned drum . The car stops well with no pull either way after applying the brakes. After jacking up the car for some underneath cleaning I noticed some high spots and dragging in the front wheels as I spun them. I called the machinest and he said don't worry about it, after you drive the car for a number of miles those high spots in the shoes will bed in with the drum and go away. Is this correct? Thanks.

Re: Is Arcing shoes necessary for brake job?
 

Yes the high spots will ultimately wear down.

Re: Is Arcing shoes necessary for brake job?
 

Like Brent said, the high spots will wear down. But keep in mind, those high spots are the only contact with the drum and probably making your brakes 80-85% useless, ... but slowly getting better every-time you use the brake.

The shoe's really should be arched for everyone's safety including your own.

Regards
Bill

Re: Is Arcing shoes necessary for brake job?
 

Excellent advice Bill.

Re: Is Arcing shoes necessary for brake job?
 

Jim,

If you put a more specific location in your profile someone might know of a local place you could have the shoes arced. It is possible they are working well because by chance the manufacturer arced the shoes too fit the drums you have. Have you tried returning them to the place you purchased them and asking them to return them to their supplier? I agree with the safety concern, you are going to have to decide if there is a problem.

Charlie Stephens

Re: Is Arcing shoes necessary for brake job?
 

I think that is somewhat of an overstatement. If the brakes were 80% useless the car would not be drivable.

Newly turned drums and shoes that have been working in those drums are pretty close to as good as it gets. Arcing the shoes might give you that last 5-10%. The high spots will wear down quickly (BTW, even with arced shoes or shoes that have been in the drums for 10,000 miles you will STILL hear some high spots when you spin a wheel). If you are happy with the way the brakes feel, if you can slide all 4 wheels in a panic stop on dry pavement, I wouldn't worry about it.

Re: Is Arcing shoes necessary for brake job?
 

back in the late 50s to the mid 70s the local parts dealer where I lived at the time in Huntington NY, Suffolk Auto parts, would always arc the shoes to your drums, if you brought the drums in to them. Seems like auto shops got away from doing that with all the concern about asbestos dust. Brakes do work better from the start when this is done. One of my regrets a few years ago, Brent had a brake arcing machine at the Mid-Atlantic swap meet in Lurray VA, and I didn't purchase it..

Re: Is Arcing shoes necessary for brake job?
 

Math is an Absolute,...

Take a piece of chalk, ... rub it on your shoes covering them completely in chalk. Now go take your car around the block and then pull the drum's. You will see exactly how much braking contact you have.

Now calculate the square inches of contact vs no contact, ...

Sure, if your shoes have the same area of contact you might not have issues. However, that's rarely the case. If not, all the tires will grab differently and it can get bad.

Regards
Bill

Re: Is Arcing shoes necessary for brake job?
 

I may still have one more as I have purchased some estates that had them in there. I am debating whether to drive up for Luray next weekend. Send me a PM if you still want me to look for one.

Re: Is Arcing shoes necessary for brake job?
 

I agree !!! I first check to see how close the actual shoe matches the drum before I rivet on the lining . If the shoe is off very much I pick a better fitting shoe . My brakes will lock all four wheels without arcing the shoes . Ford didn't recommend having the brake drums turned. The only time that I would turn steel drums would be if I had installed brake bands and then only enough to true them . Steel drums are thin to begin with .

Re: Is Arcing shoes necessary for brake job?
 

I agree with Dick. I haven't arced shoes in many years.

Re: Is Arcing shoes necessary for brake job?
 

Thank you fellas for confirming what my mechanic had said about the high spots wearing down the more I brake. Good to see there are still honest ones around. I do like the chalk idea and will try that next time though I do feel that arcing should be performed when installing new shoes and drums.