Do I have 10" or 11"

[Mac2Night]

Boy, I wish that was what I was actually measuring ;D, but I am talking about my rear brake drums. How do I determine the size needed on my 1974 wagon?

The reason I ask it that when I bought the truck a couple of weeks ago the PO told me that the rear axle appeared to be locked up and was making a horrible noise, soon after he had the brakes redone. I took the drum off the driver side which took over an hour to get it off the shoes (see other post about this from a week ago).

One of the springs had come loose and the shoes was lodged against the drum and had scored it, so I went to NAPA and bought a 10" drum like the one that was on it (I measured the one I took off). In trying to install the new drum, I can't get it back on over the shoes (yes, I put the spring and retainer back on before attempting to reassemble things).

My thought is that when the shop worked on it for the PO, they may have put the wrong size drums on it (he had new shoes and new drums put on it).
Does it sound like drum is the wrong size? How do I tell?

 

[broncodriver99]

Got a pic? It should be as simple as measuring the drum. The brake backing plate has a flange around the outside edge that the lip of the drum slides into. If the drum is smaller than the backing plate it is wrong. If the drum is larger than the backing plate it is wrong.

Also, did you back the adjuster all the way in? If it has adjusted out you won't be able to get the drum back on.

 

[JIMS74]

The 10" drums are 2 1/2" wide, the 11" drums are 1 3/4" wide, should be able to measure the width of the brake shoe.

 

[Mac2Night]

Yes, I adjusted it all the way in as to not allow the shoes to be pushed out farther at the bottom..... still a no go. I will do some more measuring and add some photos when I get home. Thanks!

Also, did you back the adjuster all the way in? If it has adjusted out you won't be able to get the drum back on.

 

[Mac2Night]

Great info Jim! I will look at the measurements to get a better idea.

The 10" drums are 2 1/2" wide, the 11" drums are 1 3/4" wide, should be able to measure the width of the brake shoe.

 

[surfer-b]

Look on the face of the drum, most of the time it will have a max dia stamping in it, ie "max dia 10.250" or whatever it may be.

 

[Mac2Night]

Surfer,

It has the max dia of 10, but I think too small a drum has been placed on the brake, thus causing the wheel not to spin The drum and shoe are making constant contact with one another, thus possibly causing the spring and retainer cap to be forced off and causing the lock up issue with the driver side wheel). I am trying to see if the right drum size is 11" or if there is something else causing the drum/shoe to be in constant contact with one another.

Thanks for the suggestion though!

Look on the face of the drum, most of the time it will have a max dia stamping in it, ie "max dia 10.250" or whatever it may be.

 

[BoureeOne]

If I had a nickel for every time I said that in my life......


Do I have 10" or 11"



LOL, sorry...... Couldn't resist...

 

[bknbronco]

got the front pad on the front and the rear on the rear??

 

[bknbronco]

my status ran up or id post my pic of the 3 different axles and correct brake and bearings. Measure bolt spacing on the backing plate or end of axle tube.

small bearing with 10" brake 2"verticle and 3 3/8" horizontal
big bearing with 10" brake 2" vert and 3 9/18 horiz
big bearing with 11" brake 2 3/8" vert and 3 1/2" horiz

somebody throw that picture up here.

 

[Mac2Night]

bknbronco,

Thanks for the measurements. I think from my late night measuring that I have a small bearing axle. I know for certain now as well that the brakes are 10"ers. I also took the passenger side drum off and measured the shoe width like also suggested and checked to make certain that the longer pad on the shoe was on the rear of the unit. As surfer-b suggested, I confirmed on the drum outer housing that the stamped size was indeed 10.009" which set my mind more at ease that all of these elements confirmed exactly what I have.

The passenger side drum was a tiny bit difficult to remove (nothing like the driver's side with the shoe loose and lodged in the drum), but once off, it was quite difficult to get the drum back over the shoes. I read a really good thread from another board member about how to adjust the star wheel/shoe drag accurately so once the rain stops (not until Thursday it seems), I will get back to it.

Thanks for all the help and suggestions so far. I will update the post after I have a chance to tackle them.

my status ran up or id post my pic of the 3 different axles and correct brake and bearings. Measure bolt spacing on the backing plate or end of axle tube.

small bearing with 10" brake 2"verticle and 3 3/8" horizontal
big bearing with 10" brake 2" vert and 3 9/18 horiz
big bearing with 11" brake 2 3/8" vert and 3 1/2" horiz

somebody throw that picture up here.