Brake drum headaches!

[In The Ten Ring]

OK....where did I go wrong?

I have reassembled my drum brakes BUT now I cannot get my drum back on!

The adjuster is run all the way in...yikes!

I have noticed that my secondary shoe is a little bit lower than the other....and the drum seems to be hitting on that side. I think I'll try and raise that side a bit tomorrow.




Any suggestions?

[TBONE1964]

Your park brake is holding the shoe out. I can see it in the photo. Are you going to use the park brake? If not pull that flat bar out that is just below the wheel cylinder. It is called an equalizer bar and it is there to push the primary shoe into the brake drum when you apply the parking brake. It is common when park brake cables are frozen up.


What you want is for both shoes to be resting on the anchor pin on the top. Then your drum will slide on and you can make your adjustments.

[beetle1960]

Originally Posted by TBONE1964

Your park brake is holding the shoe out. I can see it in the photo. Are you going to use the park brake? If not pull that flat bar out that is just below the wheel cylinder. It is called an equalizer bar and it is there to push the primary shoe into the brake drum when you apply the parking brake. It is common when park brake cables are frozen up.


What you want is for both shoes to be resting on the anchor pin on the top. Then your drum will slide on and you can make your adjustments.

as tbone said..I can see it as well

[Gonepostal]

X2 park brake holding secondary shoe out

[Bigdav160]

It's hard to tell from the pic. Look at the anchor at the top.

Is the hold down piece out of position? Have the shoes fallen off the backing plate pads?

There is space between the shoes and wheel cylinder plungers. Something is preventing the shoes from retracting back into place.

[In The Ten Ring]

"Hold downs?" Other than yesterday, I'm new at this. If possible, please use the terms from this link since that is all I have had to go by.

http://www.pbase.com/nufsed/drumbrake

So my parking brake might be in the way???? Don't I need it to operate the truck? I guess I could take it out (although I don't know how) and let a shop fix that.

It might be frozen? That certainly possible, as the truck has sat for 7 years in this very garage. If it is, how do I fix that?

[TBONE1964]

The term for that flat bar I mentioned is the "strut" per your attached diagram and from memory that is correct. You do not need this unless you are concerned about your park brake working. My guess is that your park brake cables are froze up and need replacing. If you have no plan on using the park brake then remove the strut bars and have a great day. They are not required for normal brake application.

[In The Ten Ring]

Sorry about not knowing all the terms.....and thanks for using the terms in the link.

OK! Tomorrow, the struts go "bye-bye".....thanks a ton guys!

I mainly just want to get this thing mobile enough to make it to a shop.....how hard is it to replace the parking brake cables?

*I may not be able to afford a shop fix!

[In The Ten Ring]

Hold it! A fellow over in the "builds" forum thinks I may just need to bleed the system.....I have been planning to do that anyway....should I try that first?

What do you guys think?

This truck has sat for 7 years in my garage.

[TBONE1964]

Originally Posted by In The Ten Ring

Hold it! A fellow over in the "builds" forum thinks I may just need to bleed the system.....I have been planning to do that anyway....should I try that first?

What do you guys think?

This truck has sat for 7 years in my garage.

That may be another problem you have but air in the system will not keep the drum from sliding on. Get the drums on, then adjust the brakes and see what you have.

[Bigdav160]

Bleeding the brake will not help. The return springs (grey and black) should pull the shoes all the way together.

I know I'm old and my eyesight isn't what it use to be but I'm not sure I'm seeing a problem with the parking brake. The spring on the end of the strut is slightly compressed but I'm not sure that is the problem

[JointTech]

crack the bleeder on the wheel cylinder and squeeze the shoes together at the top so they are both touching that pin.

dont remove the parking brake... Fix the problem. You dont want your 6700lbs truck sitting on the parking pin on a hill. also how you gonna ebrake it around corners

[TBONE1964]

Based on the photo above, the strut rod is preventing the shoes from resting on the anchor pin. Unless the park brake cables are replaced, the only way the drum will slide on is to remove the strut rod.

Let me know how it works out for you.

[In The Ten Ring]

Tbone1964,

I am going to remove the struts tomorrow and see what that does concerning the drum.

I'll keep everyone posted....

Now the odd thing is....YESTERDAY....when I had put the washers under the retaining clips in backwards...the drum went on easily!

[In The Ten Ring]

But there's an even bigger problem: my garage is at the end of a short and steep driveway...assuming I get the drums back on, will I have brakes at all for the backing down of my driveway?

[TBONE1964]

When you get the drums on and brakes adjusted you should have a good brake pedal.

In your case as someone else mentioned (Joint Tech) you may want to make sure the parking brakes work properly before driving/parking on hills. I would buy new park brake cables if I were you. I will attach a link to the next post so you can see the parts involved.

http://www.lmctruck.com/icatalog/cb/full.aspx?Page=157

Link is for LMC. You can get cables from different suppliers. I used LMC for a reference only and do not promote there products or services.