Well there's the problem!

[Admiral]

So, my driver's side front brake has been groaning a little bit lately. It hasn't been too bad, only rearing its noisy head at very low speeds. Yesterday I decided to pull the drum and take a gander at what was going on in there and I'm sure glad I did.



Do you see it? How about now?



Yep, for some reason ALL of the friction material has been RIPPED off the front shoe. Bits and pieces of it fell out when I pulled the drum, which, oddly enough, spun freely when mounted on the car.



Luckily the drum and rear shoe are still ok.



Believe it or not, stopping performance was excellent, even without any braking material! Any idea what could have caused this? My mechanic friend is re-lining the shoe right now. I think it may have not been properly attached when it was rebuilt.



Thanks!

- Craig

[A bones]

Good save, No answer, just more questions. How come the one shoe looks bonded while the bad one has rivets. Also is there a recognizable re-builder involved? ... P.S. just throwing this out for fun. Stopping power is not the main function of linings. Longevity and resistance to friction heat is the key to good material. Of course the longer the life the harder the pedal. Softer lining (shorter life) easier pedal. Tom

[Admiral]

Originally Posted by A bones

Good save, No answer, just more questions. How come the one shoe looks bonded while the bad one has rivets. Also is there a recognizable re-builder involved? ... P.S. just throwing this out for fun. Stopping power is not the main function of linings. Longevity and resistance to friction heat is the key to good material. Of course the longer the life the harder the pedal. Softer lining (shorter life) easier pedal. Tom

They were rebuilt by the same guy that did my engine, a local old-timer here in Detroit. It's a molded-type lining that was riveted to the shoes. I trust him implicitly, though as I recall one of the shoes didn't seem quite right when I installed them; perhaps this was the oddball. Oh well, nobody's perfect.

[JM 35 Sedan]

Your floater mechanism may not actually be floating on both sides. I would not be too quick to put blame on the brake linings. When I installed mine some of the parts and the areas they fit in had to be sized a little so they would move freely. If I had not done this, it's possible I would have had the same thing happen.

Another thing I just noticed is you did not put those little round disk dust covers back in place to keep dust out of the floating/adjusting mechanism.

[V8COOPMAN]

That ain't pretty! Of course, I'd have to question where those shoes came from, but more importantly, who rebuilt them, and to what type of specs?

Hard to tell exactly what's going-on from the pictures. As A bones pointed-out above, there are rivets of some sort in the front shoe, but similar-looking rivets are also visible on the INSIDE of the rear shoe. However, those rivets don't APPEAR to be the type used to hold and attach linings. They appear to be some sort of a "filler" rivet. Like A bones noted, the rear shoe's lining APPEARS to be bonded, although it's possible the rivet holes MAY be filled with dust.

Whatever is going-on there, those shoes are obviously of rediculous quality. I'd junk all eight of them without question. I can't tell whether they are actually riveted or bonded linings. I'm thinking that those linings were poorly bonded in place. If they were in fact "bonded", this is the perfect example of why you couldn't make me put BONDED linings/shoes on a coaster wagon.

Glad you caught that before something dire took place. Perfect time to say......don't buy any cheap-ass brake components of questionable manufacture!! DD

[Admiral]

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Originally Posted by JM 35 Sedan

Your floater mechanism may not actually be floating on both sides. I would not be too quick to put blame on the brake linings. When I installed mine some of the parts and the areas they fit in had to be sized a little so they would move freely. If I had not done this, it's possible I would have had the same thing happen.

Another thing I just noticed is you did not put those little round disk dust covers back in place to keep dust out of the floating/adjusting mechanism.

The car came with floaters when I bought it. I took them out, cleaned them up and they look brand new -- no wear anywhere that I can see. They also fit very nicely in the backing plates and move freely so I don't *think* this is the issue but of course anything's possible. As for dust covers, I have no idea about these . They weren't there when I got the car. Are they available in the aftermarket?

Originally Posted by V8COOPMAN

That ain't pretty! Of course, I'd have to question where those shoes came from, but more importantly, who rebuilt them, and to what type of specs?

Hard to tell exactly what's going-on from the pictures. As A bones pointed-out above, there are rivets of some sort in the front shoe, but similar-looking rivets are also visible on the INSIDE of the rear shoe. However, those rivets don't APPEAR to be the type used to hold and attach linings. They appear to be some sort of a "filler" rivet. Like A bones noted, the rear shoe's lining APPEARS to be bonded, although it's possible the rivet holes MAY be filled with dust.

Whatever is going-on there, those shoes are obviously of rediculous quality. I'd junk all eight of them without question. I can't tell whether they are actually riveted or bonded linings. I'm thinking that those linings were poorly bonded in place. If they were in fact "bonded", this is the perfect example of why you couldn't make me put BONDED linings/shoes on a coaster wagon.

Glad you caught that before something dire took place. Perfect time to say......don't buy any cheap-ass brake components of questionable manufacture!! DD

I see what you mean now. The rear lining looks molded but it's actually riveted to the shoe (as they all are), the rivet heads are just covered with the leftover cruft from the disintegrated front lining.

The shoes are original to the car and are stamped with the Ford script. As for the lining, I have no idea if it's new, but knowing the guy that did them for me it's probably NOS material. He's a pro and I trust him.

Thanks for the suggestions! Keep 'em coming!

[cmbrucew]

I have seen an entire lining separate from the shoe. No indication any thing was wrong. This was on a 966D front loader. Every thing original equipment Cat.
Discovered during unrelated maintenance. Go Figure.
Bruce

[Talkwrench]

Bugger ! you don't see that everyday..