Part 4 will be the last of our Tech Trick Tuesday blog posts for the year. If you missed part 1, part 2 or part 3, on checking for brake problems, you can read them on our Blog.
Step 13
Next the top anchor was measured to determine its diameter.
Step 14
A socket with the same diameter was identified to be used to simulate the top anchor of the backing plate.
Step 15
The shoes were put into the drum with the socket acting as the top anchor. The star wheel, do not change the adjustment found at the time of disassembly, was installed in its normal location at the bottom of the shoes.
The star wheel adjustment was found to be correct and the shoes showed that they are straight and should be making full contact with the drum.
What is the problem then? Remember the hold down spring, the nails they are installed on and the brake shoe return springs that didn’t “feel right” when they were removed.
This vehicle has the wrong spring/hardware kit installed on it. The shoes are not being kept seated against the backing plate so they can just be moved outward engaging the shoes into the drum. Instead they are being cocked causing the lack of full contact of the shoe into the drum and hence the locking brake problem.
Sherlock would be proud and would say that “indeed you were smarter than the thing you were working on”.
We will be taking a break next week and will start back up with Tech Tricks Tuesday in 2015.
Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and until 2015.
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