What is the thickness of door friction pads?

[ohboy321]

I have rebuilt my hinges and the last thing I need to do is repair my door friction pads. Through trial and error I was trying to get the hook on the arm to catch when in the open position (like in the picture), they ended up to thin, and were slipping at an angle and getting caught up when the hinge was is the closed position.

I have started over and glued in new pieces of brake pad that are ¼” thick. I have looked at better than a dozen threads on this subject, but haven’t been able to find one that mentions the overall thickness. The question has been asked several times but so far there hasn’t been any answers.

The best info I could find was on reply #120 on this thread: http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...=318544&page=5, but with the .210” brake pad thickness I couldn’t get the arm inserted.

Does anyone know the overall thickness of the reproduction replacements? If I understand the function correctly, the arm should slide over and catch the slot on the hinge when the door is opened.

Thanks.

[Stocker]

It's a bit confusing.... Look at all the figures he posted in that pic.

Each pad is .060.... two pads combined are .120.... The .210 figure is two pads + slider, divided by 2, plus .01 for freeplay.

[ohboy321]

Thanks Mike. Pads at .060 would sit below the lip of the retainer, so I couldn’t go that thin. I looked at that thread again and after subtracting the thickness of the 2 retainers (.120) from the opening of .762, and the slider (.242), he was left with .400. He divided that by 2 and came up with .200 for each pad. He and added .01 to probably make sure things were nice and tight when assembled. My opening is the same, but my slider is .175 at the thinnest section. Below is the image showing the calculations he used (thanks Bruce88).

I am going to try to get this to work again, but if I knew the thickness of a reproduction or factory replacement friction pads it would be a better starting point. With those dimensions I could concentrate on getting the slide to catch properly when opened instead of experimenting with getting the thickness right.

[Stocker]

Hah! I told you it was confusing, and I managed to confuse my self! Hang in there, I have a new replacement arriving in a couple days. There might be some calipers in my Dad's old tools, I'll have to take a look. Might get that measurement for you soon.

[ohboy321]

Originally Posted by Stocker

Hang in there, I have a new replacement arriving in a couple days. There might be some calipers in my Dad's old tools, I'll have to take a look. Might get that measurement for you soon.

Thanks Mike. Any help getting the pad measurement would be greatly appreciated. I am surprised that it hasn't come up more often with all the threads related to rebuilding the pads.
-Steve

[Stocker]

No problem, Steve. The friction pads should be here tomorrow. I went through Dad's tools and no calipers, so I ordered a digital caliper but it might take a week to get here. Maybe I can borrow something sooner.... I'll let you know.

[sprint_9]

I made my pads 3/16 thick, or close to it atleast.

The corner of my factory pad didnt appear worn, and it was 3/16. Anything much over 3/16 and you cant get everything back together, even with a hammer.

[ohboy321]

Originally Posted by sprint_9

I made my pads 3/16 thick, or close to it atleast.

The corner of my factory pad didnt appear worn, and it was 3/16. Anything much over 3/16 and you cant get everything back together, even with a hammer.

Thanks Sprint_9. 3/16" translates to .1875, and as I mentioned, with the pads at .210 I couldn't get the arm back in. 3/16 gets me closer to a better starting point.

Originally Posted by Stocker

I ordered a digital caliper but it might take a week to get here. Maybe I can borrow something sooner.... I'll let you know.

Appreciate the effort Mike. Sounds like a perfect justification for a new tool!!

-Steve

[Ramjet51]

I had 14 old pads, thickest that I measured was .194 on any corner.......so .200 does sound right

[Stocker]

Steve, you're dead right -- any reason for a new tool is a good reason! It could take at least a few days to get here though.

In the meantime, my pads arrived today and appear to be exactly 3/16" thick using a tape measure. Stacked 'em and measured exactly 3/8" (how about that!).

I'll wait to install them until the caliper gets here, just to get a more accurate 'official' measurement.

[Tdrcreyn4]

Subbed

[Stocker]

My new digital caliper arrived today and here's what it says:

Friction pads are .18", retainers are .06".

Pad doesn't quite fully seat in retainer but probably would if you file the corners just a tiny bit.
I measured the retainer + pad at .26", indicating a .02" gap which may close up when the pads are installed.

Now to see how they actually fit in place.

[ohboy321]

The pad thickness measurements mentioned so far are:

3/16 (.1875), .194, .200, .18 (new).

Based on these numbers I will size them down to .200 and start from there. I will not go with anything less than .18, which was the mistake I made during my first attempt. I will be heading out to the garage in a few minutes to work on them, and will report back later with my results.

Thank you all for the replies.
-Steve

[Stocker]

Got the new pads installed last night. Slider went in OK at first, then got progressively tighter which I would expect, but this was ridiculous. Probably due to my having previously spread the slider apart with a large flat screwdriver when the old pads were in. Everything finally went together but was dragging something fierce as the door was opened all the way. I smeared a bit of white lithium grease on the slider, then wiped it off leaving just a very thin film. Also squeezed the slider together in an attempt to return it to its original shape. End result is great, I couldn't be more pleased with it!

[ohboy321]

Today I sized each pad/retainer combo to a total thickness of .260, reassembled on the hinge, and it appears to be working okay. The hook on the arm is still not catching the inside of the door side hinge, but the function of the pads appear to be keeping the door in “check” enough that it does not swing wide anymore.

With the door hinges rebuilt and adjusted properly, I no longer have to lift the door to close it, and the lock works perfectly. I had replaced the latch mechanisms last year, but because the hinges were sagging so much they locks were hard to use.

I will be sure to update the thread if I make any changes or adjustments when I rebuild the drivers side.

The wife can now open and close the door herself with ease…so we went for a long ride and ate ribs.

Thanks again for all for the help.

-Steve

[Chevy4Life]

Wait these doors are supposed to stay open?