Re: Another brake question

Posted by Kevin Daly on Sep. 23, 1998 at 13:54:43

In Reply to: Another brake question
posted by Ken McGuire on Sep. 18, 1998 at 18:31:36

Mr. McGuire,

Besides the obvious function of providing a track for the up and down movement of the lower wedge, the stud and washer assembly are designed to stop the the shoes from fully retracting onto the wedge itself.

I thought it was strange at first too.The rollers (2 per shoe) slap against the stud and washer assembly before the shoe itself hits the wedge.Think about it, constant retraction of the shoes onto the wedge tends to push the wedge upward.It also wears out the wedge and the section of the shoe that rides on the wedge.Those springs pack a punch you know.

Originally the washers were round and later went to flats on top and bottom.Some folks grind the sides to bring the shoes in towards the wedge a little but nothing much is gained by this.

It is important to note that screwing in the conical star expandingwedge on the backing plate spreads the shoes open at the top only. That opening pivots from the lower pins where they go through the rollers.In my case the previous owner ground more than 1/4" off each side of the washer to bring the shoes in towards the wedge.Now the shoes are so far in towards the lower section of the wedge that with the conical star expanding wedge screwed in all the way, the shoes still don't contact the drums.This makes adjusting the front brakes very difficult.

The first step in adjusting the front brakes is to screw in the conical star wedge until the shoes just start to rub the drum.I can't do that! Follow me?The bottom line is your eyes are not playing tricks on you.

Regards,

Kevin Daly




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