Bendix rear brakes
 

I've got the traditional Bendix rear shoes on the van.

I'm currently suffering with dragging shoe(s) on the right side only, for an unknown reason. The problem began when I replaced shoes about six months ago and it hasn't dissipated with wear (as I thought it would).

Took it apart last night and replaced the two upper springs, greased the star adjuster, and backed it off almost all the way.

The drum still fought it's way onto the shoes and the drag is unchanged.

The drum appeared to be misaligned with the shoe package and the two don't want to live together.

I'm clearly missing something and just wondered if anyone has a definitive suggestion...........otherwise it's going to the mechanic. Too much time spent screwing around with such a basic system.

Here's a real dumb question... Some kits have a "small" shoe and a "large" shoe for each side - the small shoe in front and the large shoe in the rear (or vice-versa). Did you possibly make a mistake and put the 2 large shoes on one side and the 2 smaller ones on the other?

I can remember occasionally messing with these shoes many years ago before we even had disc brakes. And there were times when the complete set of shoes wouldn't set correctly due to placement of the keeper springs. These are the small springs that hold the shoes to the backing plate. (I don't know if you are referring to these by "upper springs" or not). If this is the case, I would check the alignment of the complete set on the backing plate. As I remember, a shoe can easily slide off a ridge of the backing plate - where they belong. If it is off, slide it as necessary and make sure the keeper springs are still well in place after.

And there is, of course, the parking brake cable. Check for kinks in the outer braiding, frays in the cable, handle adjustment (if equipped) and a stretched cable on the left side. The right side parking brake engages first and provides the pivot or fulcrum for the left side. The star adjuster will not have as much as an effect on the park brake.

Many a time people have cranked the park brake adjustment to compensate for worn shoes only to run into the same problem you are having with new shoes.

Yes, primary and secondary shoes.

The primary shoe, AFAIK, is the forward shoe and it has less material on it.

The secondary shoe is the rear shoe and it has more material on it.

Please correct me if I am mistaken. I went via the diagram for the left side and made the assumption that the right side was the same............primary shoe forward.

Now, that makes some sense.............if the parking brake cable is jammed..........or doesn't fully release...........the shoes won't align with the drum when reinstalling the drum.

The van's parking brake hasn't worked properly in years due to corroded hardware..............:o

Thanks..........!!!

My guess is that the new shoes are not right, they could have been relined improperly(i.e. lining material too thick), misboxed, or the radius could be off. When looking at any problem, I ask myself, where were my fingers last?

I have found that it's really hard to get quality brake parts today, it might be worth buying the shoes from NAPA or the dealer.

IMHO, I would at least buy a different brand of shoes and throw them on, has to be easier to do than spending time at the shop. Plus, the old one's are probably hard as rock and glazed from being overheated.

What would really be trick is to find someone who can arc the shoes to the brake drum. It makes a huge difference, but I doubt most moachine shops have the machine to that anymore.

The cable for parking brake caused me some trouble on one of my older suburbans....

Yep - I would bet the farm on a corroded brake cable or related mechanism. Living in the rust belt isn't always a bouquet of roses...

I agree.........when the temperature drops in a few days, I'll go and hammer the cable back into the retracted position.

I've avoided dealing with those cables for years...........they're a bit pricey and they never get used.

If the parking brake cable was the problem and you don't use the parking brake, wouldn't the shoe wear down and stop dragging after a while?

The Bendix system uses one of the main shoes as the parking brake. This one drags in the morning...........before the first movement..........after a couple of blocks, it finally releases fully.

When the hot drum expands enough.....;)