Drum brakes, should I service these or just replace them?

[DeepBlue2010]

Guys,

I am not sure about the rules here. I don't want to douple post. Would you please take a look at post # 46 & 47 in my restoration thread and let me know what do you think. I postd some questions there as well and I would appreciate your feedback

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=486847&page=2

 

[lncoop]

Re: Drum brakes, should I service these or just replace them?

Hi Deep. FWIW starting a new thread wouldn't have been double posting since it's really a different topic, but no sweat. It's nice to see someone actually paying attention to the rules for once. Opinions may vary, but mine is if you sand away all evidence of the grease you'll be good to go. That gouge on the spindle is probably the result of someone trying to remove a heat welded race. I think if you just lightly sand, file or grind over it until it's smooth as a baby's bottom you'll be fine. Don't go crazy. You just want it to be as smooth as the rest of the spindle's surface. Good luck. Nice job on the resto. Looking forward to the culmination. Welcome aboard.

 

[DeepBlue2010]

Re: Drum brakes, should I service these or just replace them?

Thanks Incoop. By the look of this spindle, do you think it would seal OK after I sand it smooth?

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Drum brakes, should I service these or just replace them?

Throw away those brake shoes if you don't want your brakes to lock up...yes I said "lock up" because of the contamination.

You also need to figure out why all that grease got in there. Either the area on the axle that the seal rides is messed up or someone thinks that you are supposed to give Bearing Buddys a squirt of grease every time you trailer the boat. if the axle got messed up you can fix that with a spindo seal kit. If its from over greasing the bearing buddys someone needs their grease gun taken away!

By the way, the seal rides on the widest portion of the axle closest to the brakes, not where the big scratch is. Hard to tell from the picture but the spindle looks pretty bad. You may want to think about just getting a new axle.

 

[Volphin]

Re: Drum brakes, should I service these or just replace them?

Wheeeew boy! What a mess! Now that you have the grease cleaned up, replace the shoes. Personally, I would replace the spindle assembly as you obviously had a cut seal allowing bearing grease to contaminate the shoes. Probably due to the fact it looks like the spindle has been damaged by bearing failure/heat from lack of lubricity as you found where the grease went... And if it has been that hot, metal fatigue may be an issue on the spindle. Remember, that's what holds the weight.

HTH

V

 

[dingbat]

Re: Drum brakes, should I service these or just replace them?

The spindle is far beyond repair and needs to be replaced

 

[nlain]

Re: Drum brakes, should I service these or just replace them?

Unless there is an awful lot of crud on that spindle making it look bad, I have to agree with dingbat. Clean it up real good and get some fresh and better pics. Some of what you have are out of focus and others are a little too far away, that makes it difficult to get a good view of the spindle.

 

[Dewaynep]

Re: Drum brakes, should I service these or just replace them?

I don't believe that was "grease" that was all over the shoes and backing plate. It looks like brake dust mixed with water. You probably had a bad seal that allowed water into the drum that mixed with the brake dust causing it to look like grease. The "grease" is too evenly didtributed all over the place for it to have been grease. It was dust at some point and then got wet. It looks like you cleaned it up well enough to just sand the surface of the shoes to expose some new friction material and put it back together. I would have a good look at the inboard portion of the spindle to make sure there are no deep scratches to catch on the seal. When you get the new seal you can test fit it to the spindle to see exactly where it will ride and check that area for nicks or scratches.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Drum brakes, should I service these or just replace them?

You probably had a bad seal that allowed water into the drum that mixed with the brake dust causing it to look like grease.

Wow...that's a new one! A seal that prevents water from getting inside the drum area?

That is a classic blown rear seal.

 

[Dewaynep]

Re: Drum brakes, should I service these or just replace them?

I will respectfully disagree. Not with the fact that a bad rear seal will allow water infiltration (don't know what I was thinking when I wrote that), but that it isn't grease all over the inside. If it were grease it wouldn't be so evenly spread over the backing plate. I've seen it hundreds of times on cars and trailers. That's just my opinion.

 

[DeepBlue2010]

Re: Drum brakes, should I service these or just replace them?

Thanks everyone for taking the time to give me your opinion. Regarding the brakes, I am going for brand new ones, and since a replacement is not avoidable, I will go with

KODIAK 10" DACROMET PLATED Vented Integral Rotor/Hub and Mounting Bracket with STAINLESS STEEL Hardware and Caliper. 5 on 4.5" bolt pattern. These are $159.95 each =~ $640.00 for two axels.

About the axel, the picture of the axel in post #47 was after cleaning. There is no dirt or crud in this picture. I will post a clear close up so you guys can get a better idea what is going on with this thing. In case I need to replace the axel, do I also need to replace the other one regardless? In other words, do they have to be replaced in pairs like the calipers for example?

 

[nlain]

Re: Drum brakes, should I service these or just replace them?

As long as the other axle is good, no need to change it.

 

[DeepBlue2010]

Re: Drum brakes, should I service these or just replace them?

I hope these pictures will tell a better story




Do you guys still think it is shot?

 

[lncoop]

Re: Drum brakes, should I service these or just replace them?

Looks okay to me, but I was overruled earlier by guys with more knowledge. As I said before, opinions vary.

 

[mwmike270]

Re: Drum brakes, should I service these or just replace them?

pictures are hard to tell. when your replacing all the breaks like that and thinking about the axels. check prices for complete axels with the breaks on them. the parts seprate can be way more than complete axels.

 

[dan t.]

Re: Drum brakes, should I service these or just replace them?

Nothing wrong with the spindle that some emery cloth and some elbow grease wont fix, if the seal surface wont clean up I would look at installing a speedy sleeve for the seal to ride on.