MTFCA Forum

Got wooden wheels off and sanded up and ready for paint. While test fitting on rear backing plates, one side fits great and spins very easily and hand operation of the brake cam stops the wheel. The other side is very tight to go on and takes significant force to rotate the wheel in either direction. I have switched the wheels and no difference, so presuming something is going on with one side brake linings.
The brake spring feels very tight and the shoe is fully collapsed onto the cam and I am feeling some wires coming through the brake lining material, so not brand new. These wheels are new to me having traded wire wheels for them, so no pre disassembly history with me.
Other than lightly sanding down the brake lining material, is there something else for me to check? The drum feels round and smooth and the tightness I am feeling is uniform, no highs or lows and swapping the rear wheels does not change anything. I do not have the keyways installed, so the axle and trans is out of the equation, IMO. In fact, I am not even installing the washer or castle nut, just placing the wheel and drum onto the brake shoe and trying to rotate.

Open to thoughts and suggestions.

I presume the hubs and drums are not the same ones that came off. So several things could be causing the problem. Remove the brake shoe and try on the wheel. If it still binds, the problem is not in the brake shoe. If it does not bind, the problem is most likely the fit of the brake. Have you changed anything else other than the wheels and drums? have you added any external seals?
Norm

I’m guessing you have a reproduction shoe on that one side…

Reproduction’26-‘27 rear brake shoes have been made “too large” for at least the last two decades and whoever manufactures them has not yet made a correction. I’m talking about the actual steel shoe, not the lining. The parts of the shoe the cam bears against has to be ground quite thin to make the reproduction shoe usable and it’s poor practice to make that modification on a safety item. Don’t waste time and sacrifice safety trying to repair them. Install good used originals (which if you find them, are more valuable than the reproductions).

Well, as much as I hate to mess with that darn brake spring again, I'll remove the shoe and try the drum alone as see. But, as this came off a Bubba depot hack chassis, it is probably the reproduction brake shoe. Especially since I feel wire in the lining material, don't know what the original material was, but presume no wire.
If the drum fits with no shoe and I know it is the shoe, I will proceed from there. Thanks for the tip on the reproduction shoe.

The last few rear axle fit issues (usually during the installation of R/M brakes to a low drum avle), I sprayed a lite coat of some quick dry flat black spray paint inside the drum to pinpoint the rub spots. I have not used 26-7 repop brake shoes. The small drum repop shoes are too wide & need extensive massaging.
I have found that the outside edge of the brake lining needs some radius to clear the drum on the large drum shoes.

Ford made a slick spring tool for those monster springs, Robert - 12"+ piece of 1" wide flat bar with a roll pin inserted at one end. I'll try & grab a photo later for you - makes it a much easier task !

Could be wear inside the hub causing the hub/drum to slide on to the axle too far and rubbing on the brake shoes or seal. Try one of the axle shims for the tapered part of the axle / hub to see if anything changes.

It starts to rub immediately upon the drum touching the bracke lining, although not as severe as when the drum is fully on. So, I don't think it is taper or axle related. But / / / So I have the brake shoe in the vice and lightly hand filing the two ends and I will also lightly hand file the brake cam inside the backing plate as well as dressing the entire brake lining. I will taper the leading edge as I do so, but do not think this is the centire cause . I'll work my way down until the issue is resolved.
The brake spring tool is interesting, if you have a pic. If not, I may cobble something up on my own. The small phillips head shaft is working for now.

signsup wrote: ↑

Sun Mar 24, 2024 5:21 pm

entire brake lining. I will taper the leading edge as I do so, but do not think this is the centire cause . I'll work my way down until the issue is resolved.
The brake spring tool is interesting, if you have a pic. If not, I may cobble something up on my own. The small phillips head shaft is working for now.

I don't use brake spring pliers to get the spring in place. I hook the lower, the set vice grips on the upper section of the spring and pull up to set the spring.

Promised follow up. Hand filed shoe plates, brake cam and dressed hard rubber brake lining. Reinstalled and 80 percent improvement. I may move on and live with this and let it work itself out, or I may remove again and hand file a little more and eliminate all rubbing. But addressing the brake shoe was, IMO, the issue.
Thanks to all. now to paint wheels and demountable rims and install new tires, tubes and flaps and baby has a new set of shoes.

The last set I installed, I had the same problem (new brake lining), I reread Langs information in their catalogue and "tapered" the ends of the new lining and all is well. Might look at that area.
Jerry

Where the end of the brak lining meets the metal band near the cam? Or the entire outer edge of the linging? I noticed that my lining was very "bumpy" and not as smooth as I would have imagined. So, hand dressing the entire lining.

The problem I mentioned is with the reproduction SHOE, not the lining…