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EFV-8 Club Forum / General Ford Discussion / 1939 Ford brake adjustment

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Posted By Discussion Topic: 1939 Ford brake adjustment -- page: 1 2     1939ute 05-28-2016 @ 6:57 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 80 Joined: Apr 2010 Just to let those interested know, the Ute brakes were checked out and the replaced parts were all good, the problem was in the adjustment, the bottom adjustment was incorrect on all 4 wheels, the top adjustment was 180 degrees out on all 4 wheels, the shoes weren't correctly centered inside all 4 drums. There was no air found in the system when bled! We took the old girl for a test run this afternoon and everything was good! Now to get the report from today's mechanic and have a chat with the first mechanic who initially dismantled and reassembled the recondition front brake parts. In the meantime, thanks to all those who offered their advice, I'm most grateful! Cheers, John This message was edited by 1939ute on 5-28-16 @ 7:24 AM CharlieStephens 05-26-2016 @ 9:52 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 893 Joined: Oct 2009 Remember put the long shoe on the front (http://www.earlyfordv8.org/forum/viewmessages.cfm?Forum=18&Topic=5010&keywords=long%20shoe). This is opposite from the Bendix brakes so sometimes later model mechanics forget. Charlie Stephens This message was edited by CharlieStephens on 5-26-16 @ 9:53 AM 1939ute 05-25-2016 @ 8:19 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 80 Joined: Apr 2010 Thanks for that Bob, It has better helped me to understand the process and given me something to think about! Since my last post, I've established that the drums are standard and not oversize and this weekend we (a mechanic who understands the Early Ford braking system and works on them and myself) are going to dismantle the front brakes and try to work out what isn't right and rectify it! I'll certainly post what we found and hopefully what we did to rectify the issue! Cheers, John CharlieStephens 05-25-2016 @ 5:09 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 893 Joined: Oct 2009 Bob, Arcing the shoes (not the drums) is important because it grinds the contour of the shoe to match the drum. This grinding creates a lot of dust which makes the EPA and OSHA crazy. As a result they require the machines to be modified (and certified) to catch all of the dust, which is very expensive. Since most brakes are disc, at least in front, there isn't enough demand for machines to arc brake shoes so businesses haven't invested in upgrading their machines. If you don't arc them you will only get part of the shoe contacting the surface of the drum. They will eventually wear in to the correct arc, hopefully you haven't run into anything before they do. Charlie Stephens This message was edited by CharlieStephens on 5-25-16 @ 5:10 PM fenbach 05-24-2016 @ 8:44 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 227 Joined: Dec 2009 charlie, could you explain "arcing the drums." and why it's important. I don't see any mention of it in the service bulletin that TomO posted. thanks. bob 1939ute 05-24-2016 @ 5:11 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 80 Joined: Apr 2010 Thanks for all the responses to my question and I'll now try and get the answers to the questions you've asked, study the attachments that you have sent, get in touch with the company that bonded the shoes (he did take a measurement of the drums prior to starting the job and I'm sure he said they were within the tolerances to fit new shoes) and reconditioned the wheel cylinders and then get back to you all with what I've found out! I have since read up a bit on arcing and have a better understanding of the process now, thanks for that! I still have the problem of what to do about the money I've spent with no real satisfaction and how I best go about rectifying the problem! Once again thanks to you all, I'm not a mechanic so I do listen to those that are and mostly those that know about the early Fords and I'll certainly let you know how I go! Cheers, John CharlieStephens 05-24-2016 @ 9:31 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 893 Joined: Oct 2009 Tom, Thanks for the followup. Without the upper limit in your second post I had visions of .125 and more over. It is frightening what is out there. By the way John, how far oversize are your drums? Charlie Stephens TomO 05-24-2016 @ 9:21 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 7256 Joined: Oct 2009 Charlie, you are correct. I mentioned the oversized shoes, because the wide 5 drums in good condition are very hard to find and oversized shoes will work on drums that are .060 - .075 oversized. Beyond that the brake fade can be dangerous. Tom CharlieStephens 05-24-2016 @ 9:09 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 893 Joined: Oct 2009 Tom, I would like to respectfully disagree with you . In my opinion if the drums are .060 or greater oversize they should be replaced. This becomes more true depending upon how much "greater" is. A question for John, do they have any laws in Australia about how much oversize you can turn a drum? Charlie Stephens TomO 05-24-2016 @ 8:53 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 7256 Joined: Oct 2009 You should have the mechanic measure the drums. If they are .060 or greater over size, then you need oversized linings and they will need to be arced to the drum. A spongy pedal usually means that there is still some air in the system or that the master cylinder is not performing correctly. Here is Ford's method of adjustment for the brakes. Tom This message was edited by TomO on 5-24-16 @ 8:58 AM

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