Are brake floaters worth it?

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

Originally Posted by alexiskai

I'm no engineer, but I think it's supposed to be the floating wedge and anchor. The rotational force exerted on one shoe by the rotating drum is transferred as braking force to the other shoe via the floaters, rather than being transferred to stationary components on the backing plate. In this manner, some of the braking force is "recycled" from the wheel itself, decreasing the force exerted by the operator to achieve a given braking force.

Could it be that you removed part of the brake springs?

[alexiskai]

Originally Posted by BRENT in 10-uh-C

Could it be that you removed part of the brake springs?

If you have a point here, make it.

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

Originally Posted by alexiskai

If you have a point here, make it.

Colin, it has been made many times before on here. My point is, -part of the brake pedal pressure needed in stopping is to over come the tension of the springs on each corner's braking system. Remove some of these springs and it requires less pedal pressure to push the shoes towards the drum. That really has nothing to do with the 'kit'. So, saying because of his brake kit, it now requires less pedal pressure is not really accurate is it? In other words, I can use the same brake pedal pressure on a stock braking system with springs removed and achieve the same results

The next term that is so often over-used is this thing called centering. Ford never used a gage going down the line to make sure each set of shoes was centered. The biggest issue is people use band-aids to cover up boo-boos. Ever since I started installing roller tracks that are the same OE dimension, -AND in the same location as when Ford's assembly workers installed them, I have not needed to even check if the shoes are centered, ..because every time I do check, they are. Ford specified on the print "Locate accurately to this dimension." ...and he gave a tolerance of just a few thousandth for it to be located. From my experience, the Brake Housing Plate mounting holes along with the shanks of the Rivets and the holes in the Brake Shoe Centering Bracket can all add up to installation somewhere around in the 0.040" - 0.050" out of the proper location. This is why Ford did not allow the mechanics in the Agencies to replace the centering brackets. Unless you have a fixture to jig it off of, in all likelihood you will be wrong when you install it.

[Ruth]

Originally Posted by BRENT in 10-uh-C

Colin, it has been made many times before on here. My point is, -part of the brake pedal pressure needed in stopping is to over come the tension of the springs on each corner's braking system. Remove some of these springs and it requires less pedal pressure to push the shoes towards the drum. That really has nothing to do with the 'kit'. So, saying because of his brake kit, it now requires less pedal pressure is not really accurate is it? In other words, I can use the same brake pedal pressure on a stock braking system with springs removed and achieve the same results

To tell the truth, I could not tell if the springs were removed or not when stepping on the pedal when the car is standing still.

It is only when the car is moving and the brakes are applied that the self-energizing brakes feel softer. I believe it has to do with the shoes being pulled into the drums and you don't have to apply as much pressure to the pedal.

It is hard to explain but they do feel like power assist brakes on later cars (to a lesser degree).