Brakes shoes too small for drum....

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RSorak 71Westy
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Brakes shoes too small for drum....

Post by RSorak 71Westy » Tue Mar 05, 2013 4:36 pm

Brake shoes appear to be too small in diameter. The 74 Super beetle I;m working on has front drum brakes and they work very poorly. The shoes are only contacting the drums in the center of the shoe for only a small area, maybe 1.5 or 2 inch long contact patch. The drums are NOT oversize. It appears the shoes are just wrong. Has anyone else seen this before?
Take care,
Rick
Stock 1600 w/dual Solex 34's and header. mildly ported heads and EMPI elephant's feet. SVDA W/pertronix. 73 Thing has been sold. BTW I am a pro wrench have been fixing cars for living for over 30 yrs.

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Amskeptic
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Re: Brakes shoes too small for drum....

Post by Amskeptic » Tue Mar 05, 2013 5:12 pm

RSorak 71Westy wrote:Brake shoes appear to be too small in diameter. The 74 Super beetle I;m working on has front drum brakes and they work very poorly. The shoes are only contacting the drums in the center of the shoe for only a small area, maybe 1.5 or 2 inch long contact patch. The drums are NOT oversize. It appears the shoes are just wrong. Has anyone else seen this before?
Are these new shoes that you purchased, or are they what you discovered inside?

VW did such maddeningly incremential improvements and size increases over the years, that I do not doubt that you accidentally ended up with earlier shoes (<1966, I believe) ?
Colin
BobD - 78 Bus . . . 112,730 miles
Chloe - 70 bus . . . 217,593 miles
Naranja - 77 Westy . . . 142,970 miles
Pluck - 1973 Squareback . . . . . . 55,600 miles
Alexus - 91 Lexus LS400 . . . 96,675 miles

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RSorak 71Westy
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Re: Brakes shoes too small for drum....

Post by RSorak 71Westy » Tue Mar 05, 2013 7:18 pm

What I discovered inside while investigating why the brakes were so crappy. I'll take a drum to the parts store with me when I go...
Take care,
Rick
Stock 1600 w/dual Solex 34's and header. mildly ported heads and EMPI elephant's feet. SVDA W/pertronix. 73 Thing has been sold. BTW I am a pro wrench have been fixing cars for living for over 30 yrs.

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RSorak 71Westy
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Location: Memphis, TN
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Re: Brakes shoes too small for drum....

Post by RSorak 71Westy » Tue Mar 12, 2013 1:48 pm

Ok After getting known right brake shoes no change. The drums are obviously way oversize. So bought 2 drums and installed them. Have not test driven yet still dealing with alternator issues. But I expect this to fix the problem of the poor brakes.
Take care,
Rick
Stock 1600 w/dual Solex 34's and header. mildly ported heads and EMPI elephant's feet. SVDA W/pertronix. 73 Thing has been sold. BTW I am a pro wrench have been fixing cars for living for over 30 yrs.

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Amskeptic
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Re: Brakes shoes too small for drum....

Post by Amskeptic » Tue Mar 12, 2013 3:43 pm

RSorak 71Westy wrote:Ok After getting known right brake shoes no change. The drums are obviously way oversize. So bought 2 drums and installed them. Have not test driven yet still dealing with alternator issues. But I expect this to fix the problem of the poor brakes.
Are the way over-sized drums cut that way (super-skinny thickness now?) or were they cast that way (made for Type 3s before they switched to disk brakes?)
Four bolt pattern and VW logo?
Colin
BobD - 78 Bus . . . 112,730 miles
Chloe - 70 bus . . . 217,593 miles
Naranja - 77 Westy . . . 142,970 miles
Pluck - 1973 Squareback . . . . . . 55,600 miles
Alexus - 91 Lexus LS400 . . . 96,675 miles

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RSorak 71Westy
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Location: Memphis, TN
Contact:
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Re: Brakes shoes too small for drum....

Post by RSorak 71Westy » Tue Mar 12, 2013 7:56 pm

They were cut that way, after comparing to new drums the diff is obvious.
Take care,
Rick
Stock 1600 w/dual Solex 34's and header. mildly ported heads and EMPI elephant's feet. SVDA W/pertronix. 73 Thing has been sold. BTW I am a pro wrench have been fixing cars for living for over 30 yrs.

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