should I get new drum shoes?

[CFHdatsun77]

So was putting my rear brakes together and while I was figiting the the spring a chunck of my brake shoe kinda crumbled off and after looking at it after I was done it looks worse then I thought. Its about the size of a. Nickel I'd say?

[metalmonkey47]

That's a pretty large bit.

 

I'd say for the cost of shoes, go ahead and do it.

 

 

 

 

FYI, i've found the easiest way to put shoes on a 620 is to attach the springs to the shoe and stretch the shoes over the adjuster/wheel cylinder. More leverage means less effort.

[CFHdatsun77]

Ahh forsure, n I tried to fit the springs over the cylinder but the spring wouldn't fit between the hub n the cylinder. Plus that bar that runs between the two shoes makes it hard.

[mklotz70]

The rear brakes only do about 20% of the braking. Unless you're hauling heavy loads where you need every bit of braking, I'd just run it like that and check it again in a couple of months. Unless it's in the crown of the shoe. If it's one of the ends, I personally, would run it. But...as metal said.....they're pretty cheap since you're already familiar with changing them, now would be a good time.

[datzenmike]

Take a close look at the friction material. It may be delaminating and why a chunk came off. I overheated the rear shows on a Bronco by leaving the e brake on. When I pulled the drum the linings fell out in the size of Scrabble tiles.

[datsunaholic]

I had the linings fall off perfectly intact. They do delaminate.

 

But, here's the thing. If the missing section is up by the wheel cylinder or in the middle of the shoe, don't even think about re-using that shoe. If it's down by the adjuster, in the bottom half, you probably can get away with it. But shoes are so inexpensive (under $30 at RockAuto) there's no reason to keep suspect shoes.

 

I just replaced the rear shoes on my Mom's 620. Yeah, that bar is a pain in the ass. But it's still FAR easier to attach the springs first then lever the shoes onto the wheel cyl and adjuster than to try and stretch the spring alone. Usually just end up slipping, breaking the spring, or, as you just did, breaking part of the shoe off using a clamp-lever spring tool. The spring tools I've seen assume you have rivited shoes. To add to the fun, the spring kit my Mom got had anti-rattle spring posts that were too short (or too tall of springs) so we had to reuse the old ones. Fortunately they're just anti-rattle springs.