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Discussion Topic:
48 Merc front brake shoes
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blarge |
10-11-2020 @ 2:21 PM
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Member
Posts: 94
Joined: Oct 2009
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I put new locally purchased front brake shoes on my 48 Merc. The drums are 12 inch, and have never been cut oversize. The drums would not go over the new shoes. I had the shoes "arched" .020 on the dia, and everything went together ,OK. With the new shoes and for 1ooo miles, the brakes do not stop the car very well( major brake pedal pressure needed) and fade on stops from 70 MPH. Any ideas what went wrong and where I can get brake shoes that fit standard size drums and will stop better? The car was fine before I did the brake job 2 years ago. Bill Large
This message was edited by blarge on 10-11-20 @ 2:22 PM
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kubes40 |
10-11-2020 @ 2:38 PM
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Senior
Posts: 3406
Joined: Oct 2009
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1) Are the drums truly round? 2) Are the drums glazed? 3) Did you have the shoes arced to the actual diameter of the respective drum? To do this properly, one must accurately measure the respective drum and cut the shoes to that size - not an arbitrary .020". It seems difficult to believe if they (drums) have never been cut that they are truly round and not glazed. Linings may be too hard.
Mike "Kube" Kubarth
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51woodie |
10-12-2020 @ 5:35 AM
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Senior
Posts: 511
Joined: Jan 2017
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I would suggest that you pull the front drums, and have a look at the shoe contact pattern. When I put new brakes on my '46, they didn't work as they should have. I pulled the drums, and found about 40 - 60% contact on the four wheel ends. As there are no shops to arc shoes in my area, it came down to hand sanding the high spots. Much better contact and brakes after several rounds of sanding.
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billcarry |
10-12-2020 @ 12:12 PM
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Joined: Jan 2016
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Had a similar problem on my 48 and talked with Bill Large about it at the time. The reason I had to replace the front shoes was a leaky right wheel cylinder. After all sorts of messing around (there was a discussion on the forum about it at the time) I realized that the replacement front shoes were not the same 'brand' as the ones I took off. They were not worn, but the right front was wet from the brake fluid leak. I spent a lot of time soaking and drying the wet shoe and finally put those originals back on. These were identified as Ford shoes - but who knows. Anyhow the brakes then worked fine, were balanced and did not pull. My only thought was that using different 'brand' shoes front and rear created the very bad imbalance I had experienced. Bill Carry
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cdeac47 |
10-12-2020 @ 2:06 PM
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Posts: 37
Joined: Apr 2020
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I just had the same issue with my '47 Ford 2 door sedan. After a lot of trial and error found out the work I did was fine but Ecklers/Mac's sent the wrong shoes. When the shoes are arc'd the radius of the shoes surface should match the inner diameter of the drum. I measured and found the contact point at the top of the shoe was just about touching the drum and the bottom of the shoe had an 1/8th gap between the shoe and drum. My car has the standard Lockheed brakes not the self energizing Bendix brakes; I think your Merc has the Lockheed brakes as well.
This message was edited by cdeac47 on 10-12-20 @ 2:08 PM
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pauls39coupe |
10-12-2020 @ 4:34 PM
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Member
Posts: 205
Joined: Jul 2014
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Hi Bill, give me a call, I have the gages to measure the shoe radius and the drum diameter. Paul in Jackson
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cdeac47 |
10-13-2020 @ 3:42 PM
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Posts: 37
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There you go; measurement gauges!
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supereal |
10-15-2020 @ 10:47 AM
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Senior
Posts: 6819
Joined: Oct 2009
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If the shoes have bonded linings, it is likely they are too hard. That is OK for non-power brakes, but not for our old cars. Usually the clue is that the shoes are not riveted if they are incorrect. Regards, Bob
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blarge |
10-15-2020 @ 2:13 PM
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Member
Posts: 94
Joined: Oct 2009
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Bob: Nice to hear from you again. Where would you recommend that I purchase "softer " linings? When this all started two years ago, I bought a set of linings from C&G, but they were to thick to allow the drums to be installed and I never got a chance to see how effective they were. My current plan is to have the drums turned to be .030 oversize so replacement linings will allow the drum to go on. I would like to get softer ( more deceleration with moderate pedal pressure) linings too. Do you have any additional ideas ? Thanks, Bill Large
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TomO |
10-16-2020 @ 7:35 AM
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Senior
Posts: 7256
Joined: Oct 2009
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Bill, Fort Wayne Clutch used to reline shoes, but they sold off that business and i can't remember who took it over, but if you give them a call, they might be able to recommend someone. Here is a place closer to your home. A local relining service recommended them several years ago, but I did not use them. Give them a call and explain your problem to see if they can help you. http://www.midwestbrake.com/index.php
Tom
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