TheSamba.com :: View topic - Difficulty installing front drums over new brake shoes

Tue May 09, 2023 8:24 am

I am trying to install new brake shoes on my '57 beetle. After installing new brake shoes, I am having great difficulty getting the front drums to fit over the shoes. I can get the drum over the shoes nearly all the way, but can't get them over the the last half/3/4 inch. I don't want to beat the hell out of the drums to get them all the way on, and if they are still binding, I'd have to find a way to pull the drums back off.

The new shoes that I bought (well known vendor to this group) were identified as fitting my car. I will also mention that the drum seems to have a slight ridge at the edge of the open end of the drum.

What gives? wrong shoes?

Tue May 09, 2023 9:43 am

Some great brake advice in the archives, worth reading. Might find answer.

Tue May 09, 2023 10:55 am

I would try beveling the brake linings at each end of the shoes and grind the lip off the inboard edge of the drums or machine off with a brake lathe. Make sure the adjusters screws are free to turn completely into the star housings and the star housings are free to insert completely into the adjuster holder. Also make sure the wheel cylinder pistons are free to return fully into the cylinders. If your brake hoses are old and swollen internally they could be keeping the cylinder pistons from returning, try opening the bleeder valve to see if that allows pistons to return. Problem most likely is the lip on the drums.

Tue May 09, 2023 3:36 pm

definitely have the drums cut to get rid of any weird ridges. Just because the old shoes wore a certain way, doesn't mean it's right or that the new ones will fit. Good advice to relieve the sharp corner on the leading and trailing edges of the shoes. Also, check the adjusters, if the angle where the shoes sits is backwards, it can hold the brakes out a little farther.
SD

Wed May 10, 2023 9:26 am

I ran into the same thing with my car. I could pound on the rears but the fronts weren't even close.

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=...;start=500

Don

Wed May 10, 2023 12:05 pm

I'd remove the shoes and hardware and see if the drums install easily or if there's some interference with the bearing and/ or spacer and seal.
Then verify the shoes are installed properly- correct end at the wheel cylinder vs. adjuster. It doesn't always 'matter' , but VW designed it to be a certain way and occasionally those tiny details are what gets in your way.

But I have definitely had issues that seemed to be the shoes and it was the stub axle or spacer really causing the problem.

Thu May 11, 2023 8:29 am

Sometimes this problem is the result of mismatching brake shoe and adjuster type. Adjusters with flat bottomed slots match up with radiused shoe ends, and adjusters with angled slots match up with shoes that have radiused angled ends. Of course, as mentioned before, the wheel cylinder pistons must be pushed all the way in, and adjusters must be screwed all the way into the star-wheels. Side by side comparison of old and new parts might reveal what is going on.

Thu May 11, 2023 8:14 pm

OK: so I finally got the drum back off tonight and discovered that the problem was not the tight fit of the brake shoes, but rather that the inner race of the new bearings will not easily fit over the machined surface of the spindle. The inner race (toward the brake plate) seem too tight to fit onto the spindle - kind of like an interference fit. Since I still have the old bearings; I tried to fit the inner race of the original, old bearing race onto the spindle, and it doesn't seem to slide on either, even after I polished the spindle with fine emery cloth. Next step will ne to heat the bearing race to get it to expand enough to slide over the spindle.

Is this normal? Has anyone else experienced this issue?

Fri May 12, 2023 9:17 am

Yes, normal. The inner race is intentionally a sturdy interference fit on the spindle. Sometimes very hard to remove! Heat makes installation much easier.
Working quickly with a suitable tubular drift will allow the race to be driven fully home before it cools too much.

Fri May 12, 2023 7:20 pm

gliderman wrote: OK: so I finally got the drum back off tonight and discovered that the problem was not the tight fit of the brake shoes, but rather that the inner race of the new bearings will not easily fit over the machined surface of the spindle. The inner race (toward the brake plate) seem too tight to fit onto the spindle - kind of like an interference fit. Since I still have the old bearings; I tried to fit the inner race of the original, old bearing race onto the spindle, and it doesn't seem to slide on either, even after I polished the spindle with fine emery cloth. Next step will ne to heat the bearing race to get it to expand enough to slide over the spindle.

Is this normal? Has anyone else experienced this issue?
It would of been beneficial from a diagnosis point of view if you had mentioned the bearings also being replaced in your initial post.

Mon May 22, 2023 4:20 am

I had the same problem installing new brakes on my '55. When I looked closely the new brake shoe was a little longer than the stock one (where it sits in the adjuster slot). A couple of minutes on the grinder to shorten it an 1/8" or so and they fit perfectly.

Mon May 22, 2023 2:24 pm

From my experience they do not ever just slide on fairly easily. These days I take a fairly aggressive flapper wheel attachment on my drill and go around the stub axle for a minute then test fit the bearing.
And just do that until it seems to be the fit that makes it all work without curses.
Sometimes a bearing will go on easy and NOT come off easy. Or the other way around.
Fine emery cloth and polishing might be a little too gentle to really make quick progress.