New Brake Shoes; Unseen Issues...

I just tried to replace the brake shoes in my CJ5 and I have issues that I didn't have with the old shoes. They look identical when compared to one another (new to old), except the "ears" on each shoe that push against the wheel cylinder at the top and the ones on the bottom that act as a pivot point, appear to possibly be a bit longer than the ones on the older shoes. I can turn the cam adjustments all the way inward so they don't even touch the shoes, and I still can't get the drum on. It acts like the shoes are sticking out too far, but the wheel cylinder pistons are fully compressed. I would think that if I grind down the ears on both ends of each shoe a bit, then they will fit and allow the drum to go on. These are 9" brakes, if that matters. The old brakes were working fine, but they were saturated with grease and oil at one time, so I wanted to replace them, after I made sure the power brakes system I installed was working correctly. It has been working fine, so I don't think that has anything to do with what I am experiencing now.

I have checked to make sure the wheel cylinder pistons are retracting all the way and they are. They are brand new and so are the brake lines.

I just noticed that the pad portions of each shoe are the same size -- no primary and secondary shoe setup like some of the older cars and old VW's had, but I did also notice that some pads are located on the brake shoe metal backing, in a different spot than on other shoes. There is about 1/2" difference in location. Is this normal, or is this just a manufacturing tolerance? Should one shoe be in front and one in the rear? The old shoes all seem to be the same size with pads in the same place. Thanks in advance for any help on this.

 

I would guess that is why you are having problems. Don't remember a shoe setup without a primary and secondary shoe

 

If you are reusing the original drums they may have a ridge or lip around the opening. Corrosion build-up on the cast iron can make the ID tight for new shoes.

When I ran into that I just buzzed it off with an angle grinder, it is not a critical area.

 

If the shoes are the same size the primary shoe material is lighter in color than the secondary shoe.

 

Yeah, I thought this might be the issue, too, but it is not. There is no ridge. I remember having to do that with older cars I have owned, but there is no ridge on the drums.

 

All shoes are identical in color, both the metal and the brake material itself. It's like I said, they look identical to the old shoes, but for some reason the actual pad is not in the same area on all shoes. It varies. Maybe I have some bad shoes, or the wrong ones? Can't believe that there would be such a subtle difference between them. No instructions in the box. Most the time when one has a primary and a secondary shoe, there are instructions pointing this out and the secondary shoe pad area is much smaller than the primary shoe pad area. I will delve into it further as I get time and let you all know what I find out. If you have any other ideas, please post. Thanks to you all for the help so far...

 

Old time service garages and brake shops would turn or grind brake shoes to the correct radius. Maybe you can locate one in your area?

 

Glenn,
I've had them for a while, but it had to be Kaiser Willys or Quadratec.