Can't get rear hubs back on over new shoes

[flatheadv8]

I have installed new shoes in the rear and can't get them retracted far enough in to get the rear drums back on over them. The spotting marks on the lower anchor pins are both facing inward. The upper cams are also both adjusted in. What am I missing?

[Lawson Cox]

Have shoes been arc ground to match hubs? If not, grind a little bit of an angle off to the ends of the shoes until they will let the hub slide on. Better still, have drums turned and shoes arc ground to fit, which is the best way.

[alanwoodieman]

make sure the emergency brake cable is not pulling on the shoes, also as Lawson says, take the shoes off and put them inside the drum and see where the shoe is contacting the drum--sometimes just a little off the top and bottom of the shoe and they will go back on

[Charlie Stephens]

Sounds like a problem I had a few years ago with the hydraulic brakes on my '37. NOS drums and new shoes. Turned out the company that relined the shoes arced all of their shoes to .030 over and they didn't fit my NOS drums. Took them back to the dealer that sent them back to the reliner and had them arced correctly. After that they fit fine.

Charlie Stephens

[Vanspeed]

This topic comes up so often. When we need the shoes arched to the drum and there is no shop that has any clue to what you are talking about, what do you do??

So many people state this but those people that did this are are long gone, along with most of the machines that did it. What are guys supposed to do that can't find a source? Sand them by hand? Yes I guess that would get you there but why has the aftermarket not supplied new drums with correct arched shoes??

Baffles me.

[cas3]

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i just did some fronts that the new shoes were thicker than the cam washer, so when i tightened up the anchor bolts, the shoes would tweek out of line, and they locked up the drum tight. and, i laid a straight edge to the shoe and found that when they punched the hole for the anchor bolt the ends were bent, and had a burr around the hole. it took all afternoon to do a 1/2 hour job. i always wondered why someone would pay to have shoes relined, when new ones are cheaper. now i know. in your case, i agree with the others, check the E brake, and have they been arced?

[Karl Wolf]

Originally Posted by Vanspeed

This topic comes up so often. When we need the shoes arched to the drum and there is no shop that has any clue to what you are talking about, what do you do??

So many people state this but those people that did this are are long gone, along with most of the machines that did it. What are guys supposed to do that can't find a source? Sand them by hand? Yes I guess that would get you there but why has the aftermarket not supplied new drums with correct arched shoes??

Baffles me.

The problem is that the linings traditionaly are made with asbestos...
The arcing of brake shoes is not a good thing for those that do it.
Yet, there is a place and sometimes a need for it.

We ourselves probably don't want to be the ones to do this.

Most shoes redone by rebuilders such as Wagner have found an arc setting that seems to work for standard size to .060 oversize drums.

My guess is that one-off relining jobs sometimes don't manage this.

Karl

[Talkwrench]

Vanspeed there must be a company in your area that does brake bonding / clutch linings. I take my drums to them and have the linings made to suit the drums. I just recently did these for the Lincoln drums I fitted to the front. The supplier of this kit supplied the linings that were barely over 1 3/4" not the 2" that they should be and one didn't fit that well. I happily paid $70 and had them done properly.

[George/Maine]

If you measure 9-3 o'clock and see if less the drum .If you have the old shoes see how long the new shoes are. They should have a chamfer on top so its doesn't hit drum.
The shoes are to long and the shoes look to have NO rivet holes. If rivet no longer the first rivet by 1/4" or just cut off 1/2" of lining.

[TomT/Williamsburg]

Yep - been down this road and with wide 5s so I feel your pain. Cost a lot of money and time, let me tell you. No one does this stuff anymore anywhere near me and that is close to a 300 mile radius to me or more. It almost would have made more sense to buy the new 5 on 5.5 hubs and the separate modern style drums that Speedway sells than go through the hassle. Heck, I might separate the hubs from the drums I have lying around that are too far gone and start going this route period ....

[rotorwrench]

The government had their usual knee jerk reaction when they required the arcing machines to be destroyed. All they had to do was require folks to change the materials. It has been a long time since asbestos has even been mined up in Canada where most of it came from. I did hear that the Chinese have been trying to purchase the mineral interest on the old mines so they can get the stuff for their manufacturing concerns since they have no EPA to stop it. It will be interesting to see if that happens or not. Someone still has to dig out the materials and I doubt if the Chinese would send miners or ore processors over but you never know.

Many of the old arcing machines survived the government mandate and are still at work arcing the new materials. A person has to watch out for the old NOS linings if they are in that business. I'm sure there are still asbestos linings out there hiding in storage.

[john in illinois]

I have found shops that repair large trucks arc shoes. In my area a NAPA store that services truck brakes still does it.

John

[Old Henry]

I have to actually disconnect my parking brake cable to get the levers to release enough for full retraction of the shoes to get drums off and on.

[flatheadv8]

Wow..thank you for the awesome responses! I will take all the suggestions and give it a go. I did completely disconnect the E break cable at the Y. At that point it was 10:30 pm and I had had enough. Lol Trying to get her on the road for Monday's parade. We'll see. Cheers

[Darrell S]

I was fortunate enough to find a place here locally that arcs the linings to the drums. If anyone in the Seattle-Everett area needs this done you can go to Seattle Brake and Clutch. They relined my old front shoes and arced them to the drums for around 80 bucks. They are primarily a truck outfit but they will do cars too.

I would think that most major areas would have similar services also.

[J Franklin]

Maybe we need to start a list for different States. Friction Materials in Eugene Oregon does relining and arcing shoes.

[George/Maine]

This problem seems to be very often.
Looking at post 1 the shoe on the right is away from wheel cylinder more.
Its looks like the hole for the emergency brake is in wrong location not letting the shoes to return all the way. If you have a Ford shoe I would look at it very close and see if made wrong. When made wrong hundreds will show up.

[41ford1]

To me, it looks like the E brake is under tension. Did you loosen the cable?

[Mart]

You've probably solved it by now, but the first thing I would do is see if the parts go together with the emergency brake parts removed.

Actually, I would probably eyeball the shoe in the drum first, to see how well the radius matches. There are a few methods that can be used to improve the fit between the shoe and the drum which don't involve machining.

Look at the pieces in a methodical fashion and you should be able to identify the problem.

Mart.

[flatheadv8]

Update!!

I disassembled the E-brake at the center of the car and took all the tension off the cable. That helped.

I also turned the cams at the top, which I had already adjusted to pull the shoes all the way in from the shoes. Or so I thought. they had returned a bit back out from zero the other direction.

I also triple checked the anchors at the bottom. All said and done the drum went back on. The driver side went back on right away.

Thank you to all for the help. I appreciate having all the knowledge only a few clicks away.