Rear Brake Trouble

To arch (match) the shoe to the drum. Line the inside of the drum with sticky back (body work air file) 80 grit sandpaper. Run the shoe around the drum by hand until the shoe matches the drum. Then, remove material from the top and bottom one inch from the leading and trailing edges of each shoe to achieve .04 clearance measured with a feeler gauge at "just" the top and bottom of each shoe.
 
To arch (match) the shoe to the drum. Line the inside of the drum with sticky back (body work air file) 80 grit sandpaper. Run the shoe around the drum by hand until the shoe matches the drum. Then, remove material from the top and bottom one inch from the leading and trailing edges of each shoe to achieve .04 clearance measured with a feeler gauge at "just" the top and bottom of each shoe.
Someone mentioned early on in the thread about inverting the drum on the flange and sanding it that way? Either way it’s a good idea. I wish there was someone near me that arched drums… lol
 
I've done it both ways. They both work well. If I need to remove a lot of material, I put it on the axle and put the car in gear.
I think you can get better results at home than the shops can give you with the fancy machine.
 
I've done it both ways. They both work well. If I need to remove a lot of material, I put it on the axle and put the car in gear.
I think you can get better results at home than the shops can give you with the fancy machine.
Agreed. I find a lot of shops just want to get your car out of there.
 
So the pressure gauge I ordered doesn’t have any of the correct fittings. You’re supposed to connect the gauge to the bleeder port, right? They’re all too big unfortunately.
 
You’re supposed to connect the gauge to the bleeder port, right? They’re all too big
yes. you could get the thread size of the bleeders and die the closest fitting to the correct size. if they are all too large to die, it might be possible to chuck up a fitting in drill press and hold a sharp flat file or a cookie wheel to the side of it as it turns. it'll take a moment but it can be turned down to size that can be died.
 
yes. you could get the thread size of the bleeders and die the closest fitting to the correct size. if they are all too large to die, it might be possible to chuck up a fitting in drill press and hold a sharp flat file or a cookie wheel to the side of it as it turns. it'll take a moment but it can be turned down to size that can be died.
Ok great. I was thinking of grinding it down a bit but I wasn’t sure. I’ll grind some material off and test fit it.
 
i hope that it works for you. the front brake temps are 160, rears 300 and 500. to think that such extreme differences could be caused by a hold down pin, a shoe that's starting to delaminate or an out of round drum, is not realistic. bent axles, a couple of thousands out? no, no. those are not uncommon problems and have no history of causing overheating brakes. much less such an extreme condition as what you are experiencing.
 
i hope that it works for you. the front brake temps are 160, rears 300 and 500. to think that such extreme differences could be caused by a hold down pin, a shoe that's starting to delaminate or an out of round drum, is not realistic. bent axles, a couple of thousands out? no, no. those are not uncommon problems and have no history of causing overheating brakes. much less such an extreme condition as what you are experiencing.
You’re right. Just seems very odd for something so little to cause a big problem like this. I’ll report back once I get everything sorted out.
 
Ok great. I was thinking of grinding it down a bit but I wasn’t sure. I’ll grind some material off and test fit it.
Turns out the threads are just a bit too big for the bleeder port… not sure where to go from here. I replaced the rubber hose and hard lines at the axle. I’ll bleed the system on Sunday maybe. I’m hoping the hose will fix it…
 
Quick update:
I just put the rebuilt (original) brake booster on. I noticed that the rod that attaches to the brake pedal arm on the newer booster was about 3/4” longer than the original. Would that interfere with anything?
 
if you have to push the rod in to attach it to the pedal, then yes definitely. waiting for good news.
Hmmmm that’s exactly what I had to do. When I installed it, the pedal push rod went beyond the pedal. I had to compress the booster a fair bit to get the nut and bolt to line up with the holes. Never thought anything of it…
 
I also had the same problem after installing Napa Proformer shoes all around. I did replace the rear brake hose and visually check everything else in the rear brakes trying to figure it out. My local old school mechanic suggested trying Wagner brake shoes and the problem went away immediately just as luigi164 mentioned earlier in this thread. I was able to take the car on a 1200 mile trip shortly after the shoe change and checked heat at rear wheels at every fuel stop and they we perfect.
 
I also had the same problem after installing Napa Proformer shoes all around. I did replace the rear brake hose and visually check everything else in the rear brakes trying to figure it out. My local old school mechanic suggested trying Wagner brake shoes and the problem went away immediately just as luigi164 mentioned earlier in this thread. I was able to take the car on a 1200 mile trip shortly after the shoe change and checked heat at rear wheels at every fuel stop and they we perfect.
I can’t find any quality name brand shoes anywhere… usually just the Chinese stuff sadly.
 
Back
Top