rear drum brakes

[414banger]

how tight should rear drums be when redoing brakes i just did my rear brakes with new hardware and shoes the drums were still good so i reused them and the drivers side with the adjuster screwed all the way in was tight enuff that i had to beat the drum on with a rubber mallet and the passenger side i adjusted out a good quarter inch is this normal

[414banger]

been doin some searching and read that there is a primary and a secondary shoe how do you tell these apart

[Sharps40]

Primary shoe and secondary shoes have different length friction material. So, Primary shoe has the short length of friction material and always faces the front of the truck (same on the front brakes.) Secondary shoe has the long length of friction material...it always faces the back of the truck (same on the front brakes).

No the situation you describe above is not normal. With new shoes and even if brand spanky new drums when you back the star wheel all the way off the drum should slide on with not more than a slight drag. Beating them on means the shoes are expanded too much...or misaligned. Make sure the top of each shoe rests on the upper anchor pin and the sides of the shoes are on the face of the backing plate, not in the outer groove of the backing plate. Either situation will have the shoes expanded too much either at the top or bottom.

Also, carefully compair the dimensions of your new shoes to the old ones to make sure ya got the exact right set. i.e. length, depth, curvature, etc.

[dougf]

I adjusted mine to a point where when I spun the wheel by hand, it would complete one full revolution. This was just a slight drag. This is what I read other people did also.

As for the shoes, check out this pic here. The small shoe goes in the front, large in the rear when refering to the front or back of the vehicle:

[Sharps40]

Once the drums are on, adjust the shoes up to a light drag, go test ride. If you don't have full pedal, they may need brought up a bit closer. Some rubbing is normal till the shoes seat, this will be even more pronounced when you don't turn the drums true for the new shoes.

If it pulls right, the left front shoe is too loose or the right front is to tight, adjust accordingly till it stops straight on a hard stop.

[Sharps40]

Originally Posted by dougf

I adjusted mine to a point where when I spun the wheel by hand, it would complete one full revolution. This was just a slight drag. This is what I read other people did also.

As for the shoes, check out this pic here. The small shoe goes in the front, large in the rear when refering to the front or back of the vehicle:

This is correctly assembled.

Side note, remember that the star wheels are L and R marked/dedicated to their respective side. If you put the left on the right, the automatic adjusment function won't work.

[414banger]

thanks guys i will go back down to the garage tomorrow to take a look i might have both primarys on one side and secondaries on other side i didnt even pay attention thought they were all the same i will let u guys no tommorow

[Sharps40]

Good luck. Might take some wigglin to get the shoes on the backing plates and the upper anchor at the same time (With the springs seems like ya get one shoe about right and then bump it off tryin to spring up the other shoe) but careful alignment with a short and long shoe per side and I'll bet them drums slide on easy with the star wheels backed off.

[Sharps40]

Prolly not much help but perhaps?

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=551452

[414banger]

the bad thing is getting the drum back off to check but i will post tommorow what i find

[414banger]

well good news i had both secondaries on the drivers side thus making it tighter i got then switched around and now both drums slide on like butter