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12-bolt drum brake weird question

Mastiff

Mastiff

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I needed to replace my brake shoes because the old ones were impregnated with gear oil from when the oil seal went out. I have a 12-bolt transplanted in so I always have to guess at an application to tell the counter guy. I told him to use a 1975 Chevy K10. The shoes I got appeared to match perfectly.

Here's the weird thing. There was some extra reinforcement on the body of the shoe up where the parking brake arm connects. The parking brake arm has a round part on it that goes through the shoe and then there is a clip to hold it in. The new shoe is extra thick, so the round part doesn't go through far enough to allow the clip to go on. I should have snapped a pic...

Anyway, it's a long shot, but I was hoping someone could explain WTF the deal is with this. By the time I figured it out the shoes had filth on them and can't be returned. I just put it all together without the clip because I need to get to work tomorrow and it looks just about impossible for the thing to actually disconnect because of the the way everything goes together and with the backing plate blocking it. It might last forever that way.

If anyone knows what I'm talking about and can explain it, that would be great.
 
Are you talking about the small coil spring retainers? There seem to be a couple of different lengths of the spring retainer things. I'm referring to the pin that comes from the backing plate and has the flattened tab on the end...you twist the coil spring cap over it and it holds the shoes tight to the backing plate.

Rene
 
No, it's like a metal arm. One end connects to the parking brake cable and the other end attaches to the shoe itself if I remember right. I'm talking about the way the arm connects to the shoe. It had a C-clip kind of thing but now it won't go because the ridge that the clip goes over isn't all the way through the shoe. Not sure if that helped...
 
bot0611 said:
Pic!!!
Click to expand...

I know. I didn't think of posting until I buttoned it up. But:

84909087L.gif


#6 is the thing that won't fit anymore because that hole is extra thick.
 
so the pin on no 3 is too short now?
I would try and find the right part, you don't want this lose, it won't fall off but it could seperate and bind on something.
If you can get a measurement, I can look in my parts bin I might find one long enough.
I tend to collect junk like that for some reason :whistle:
 
imiceman44 said:
so the pin on no 3 is too short now?
Click to expand...

Exactly. The shoe is reinforced on both sides at that point making it 3x as thick as the shoes I had before.

It didn't fall off on my way to work... :whistle: And yeah, it looks like it's impossible to come all the way out, but it could possibly bind. A likely scenario is that I put the parking brake on and it gets jammed that way preventing the vehicle from moving or the drum from coming off. :doah:

If you have a #3 with an extra long pin, that would be awesome. Or I go spend $20 more on new shoes and look closer this time. Or I try to grind it down without destroying it. What a PITA.
 
Did you make sure you got the right shoes?

It has happened to me once or twice.....weird though ive gotten wrong parts and put them on the wrong place but never found this problem maybe return them and buy from another store.
 
That is the arm for the e-brake. Soounds like you were given the wrong brake shoes. I would not use the e-brake until you have corrected the situation, like you said it could bind and cause the drum to become locked up and make it very hard to remove in order to repair the problem.
 
bot0611 said:
Did you make sure you got the right shoes?

It has happened to me once or twice.....weird though ive gotten wrong parts and put them on the wrong place but never found this problem maybe return them and buy from another store.
Click to expand...

How do I make sure? I have a 12-bolt axle and don't know the original application. The dimensions are the same as what I replaced, they fit the drum perfectly and all the attachment points for springs, etc etc line up perfectly. The only difference I can see is that there is extra reinforcement at that place where the parking brake arm attaches which makes it thicker.

Of course, they must not be the right shoes since they don't fit. I don't know if I guessed the wrong application, or if there are just too many variations for even the manufacturers to keep track of, or what. I'm guessing if I go to O-Reilly instead of Autozone and ask for the same shoe, they'll be different. I know what to look for this time.
 
ok its not that much a matter of for what axle they are for sure its a neede information but its abouth the meassurements as well specially width, they can be the same but if they are not fitting as they use to it makes me believe the ones you got are wider.. where you got them from , dont tell me autozone...id return them or better yet get a new set from another store and compare all 3, i bought my shoes from Napa last year paid around $40-50 i think and they fit right ... just my opinion
 
There were two sizes of shoes on 6lug axles,11" x 2" and 11-5/32" x 2-1/2" if I recall correctly...but you'd probably see that difference right away...

If your lucky the axle codes may still be readable,all GM axles are stamped with a three digit code on one of the axle tubes--only bummer is I have sen only a few that were stamped where the books tell you to look for it,on the upper right axle tube--I've had to wire brush both axle tubes to a shiny finish many times at the junkyard in hopes of finding the codes,about 50% of the time I faled to find one or they were worn off by rust or road dirt..most of the ones I did find weren't stamped where the books said it would be too...but if you can find yours a GM dealer can tell you exactly what year,gear ratio and whether or not its a posi by the code..
 
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