How to adjust the rear drum brakes

[Dragsinger]

and about the aluminum drums. Be careful about drums that have been machined several times and are way over the safe spec limit. They have been known to break away from the flange.

Because of the rarity they have become pricey and finding a pair within spec is a problem.

[Mark Yacavone]

Originally Posted by Dragsinger

and about the aluminum drums. Be careful about drums that have been machined several times and are way over the safe spec limit. They have been known to break away from the flange.

Because of the rarity they have become pricey and finding a pair within spec is a problem.

All true..
Use at your own risk. I've never had any trouble with good ones. I've got one pair left that I don't think I want to use...Maybe on a U/SA car ;-)

[Jim Kaekel]

Personally, I wouldn't use aluminum drums. I put a pair on the rear of my car about 10-12 years ago. A close friend that worked in a brake shop told me to watch them close because they were noted for cracking the inner steel liner. Sure enough, within a couple of months there were cracks evident, so I tossed them. There's been a couple of stockers that I know of personally that went into the sand trap after breaking an aluminum drum.

[Travis Miller]

Over my years as a techman I have been sent to the far end a few times to check on cars with brake failure. I have seen my share of broken aluminum brake drums that caused the problem. While they may be worth a couple hundredths, stopping safely run after run seems more worthwhile.

[Lonnie Cox]

Originally Posted by Travis Miller

Over my years as a techman I have been sent to the far end a few times to check on cars with brake failure. I have seen my share of broken aluminum brake drums that caused the problem. While they may be worth a couple hundredths, stopping safely run after run seems more worthwhile.

That's enough for me no aluminum drums !

[Larry Hill]

Don't for get to readjust the rears after three or four runs or you may see your car wanting to creep through the lights. If you two step it will creep worse, also check yearly to see if the backing plate bolt holes have stretched. When you change rear tires from side to side pull the drums off and dump the break dust. We could hold the Cuda at 3200rpm with 1.75" X10" drums.

[FLEMING]

I am currently converting my footbrake car into a stocker... It has 4 wheel drum brakes (never had a problem out of them..).. is it worth the money to go to 4 wheel disc brakes?

[trmnatr]

First I use two long shoes per wheel, meaning when doing the brakes it takes 2 sets of shoes to do the job.

I also assemble the brakes on the bench, measure the top where they meet and find a socket that is that OD to hold the shoes apart as if they were on the car. Then using 80 grit sand paper, scuff high spots of the shoes until you have 100% lining to drum contact, then adjust until they just scuff the drums, install on car, tighten lugs by hand with spacer to hold drum on, lightly seat drum with hammer and re-adjust on the car just until they hit the drum (There is a tool for it too)

I do this for the front and rear. All backing plates have three spots per shoe where they rub, you should sand this down, and then go to 400 sanded with WD40, then 1000, then 1500 then polish it with metal polish. Do the same with the shoes, and then coat it with Sta Lube synthetic brake grease,,, and your ready to rock!

[M Brand 505B]

Totally agree with Mike and Ed. I ran aluminum drums on the rear of my car until the end of the season then switched to mark Williams single caliper rears. I cannot believe how much better the holding and stopping power is. I even had the soft shoes that held way better than the stock ones.

[rustang]

One thing I did was swap the adjusters side for side (Fords have a right and left hand), then put a spacer in the middle of each one to the correct adjustment.

When the adjuster tries to adjust the brakes, it only succeeds in tightening the adjuster against the spacers.

If I do need to adjust the brakes tighter I just have to hand file the spacers the appropriate amount.