Mike,
It sure looks like it might be worthwhile to remove the backing plate and assemble it all on the bench. Is that what you did?
Thanks so much again for the pictures.
Mike Moore
Morgan Hill, Ca
I couldnāt remember where the spider egg sack was supposed to goā¦now I know.
The large hook of spring goes around the backing plate pin and the hooked ends are indeed at 90 degrees to each other. Also, these photos may not be exactly as the parts should be installedā¦just wanted to give you the general idea. The manual will show the proper arrangement of parts.
Hey Rob,
I have some questions to ask: (We spent yesterday for several hours and assembled the LF many times, but it is not correct.
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If you look at the Plate 30 figure, I note that on the rear shoe, the lining goes to the end of the shoe. On the front shoes, there is a much shorter piece of lining. I had great difficulty getting the rear shoe on as the lining kept hanging up on the backing plate. Any tips on this? Can you please confirm the diagram is correct, that on both sides, the longer shoe goes on the rear?
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I assume the rh brake assembly is also a mirror image to the lh side, the long shoe is on the trailing side and the upper sliders for the adjusters are each on the rear shoe top.
Thanks, Mike Moore
Both shoes should have the same amount of lining, which is not the full length of the shoe, does not extend to the end of the shoe by the moving piston.
Left side illustrated here, right side is a mirror image.
Rob,
I had great difficulty installing the rear shoe on the LF brake because the backing plate was hitting the lining as I tried to fit the shoe . I reversed and used a shoe with the absence of lining on the rear in that area (Imagine the rea shoe flipped over. Do you know why that matters? Is it very important? (I think Iām going to have to figure out how to do it like the picture!
Mike Moore
Yes, it matters, put the shoe on the right way.
It is related to the pivot point and the center of pressure of the lining.
Here is another picture of how they should be. This shows the right side.
Rob, thanks for the confirmation, When I go back next week, Iāll just have to figure out how to get the shoe on,.
Best regards, Mike Moore
Thanks to Rob and all the other great XK folks who helped me, I successfully got the front brakes properly assembled Friday. Karen Leavitt and I feel like we at least know the front brakes quite well. The mistakes I made were (1.) failed to realize LF is a mirror image of RF picture (2.) assumed someone had assembled the brakes wrong so I moved the anchors and tensioner hardware (3.) failed to realize how much force it took to get the shoes (4,) failed to understand the importance of shoe positions. We finally succeeded when I removed the hubs (is this normally necessary?) and in a fit of furious anger forced the shoes on with my angered bare hands. Thanks to all who responded with pictures, diagram, and text. Mike Moore, Morgan Hill, Ca.
Hi Mike/Karen:
Congratulations, delighted to read that you have got the front brakes sorted!
Chris.
Chris or any other 120/140 persons: Is it customary to remove the front hub when replacing the shoes? Thanks Mike Moore
Hi Mike:
I have never removed the hub when replacing the shoes.
Chris.
hi Mike, did mine again last summer without removing hubs or any great effort. it all pieces back together - you may have made it slightly more difficult by trying to preassemble too large sections? the next time you will be much more adept. anyway it is good to look at the hubs & etc every half century or so and the old seals were probably usable.
Thanks John, if it isnāt necessary to remove the hubs, then my problem was in grossly underestimating how much force it takes to expand the springs. I last did a drum brake job on my 62 Chrysler 300H, and those return springs, although pretty fierce, are not nearly as stiff as these springs are. I think desperation and some adrenaline caused me to pull like the dickens to get them into position. It did give me a chance to grease the bearings, This vehicle has had very little maintenance. I am surprised that it made the trips with us that it did not that many years ago.
Shouldnāt have required all that much force to stretch the springsā¦are you sure the springs are attached toward the āheelā end of the shoe and not the ātoeā end? After all, the friction pads must have enough grip to prevent the spring from sliding them (inward) along the serrated bar even IF the ratcheting device ( spring-steel clip) was not installed. This all needs to be verified, IMHO.
Thanks Lee, they are installed exactly as shown in the several photos, illustrations and shop manual cuts graciously sent to me by the forum members (see earlier). interesting to realize the only other drum brakes I have ever dealt with were my 62 Chrysler and my TR3 rear brakes.
I am helping a friend install relined brake shoes on his XK140 (I did the same job on mine many years ago, but with little detailed recollection of how I did it).
I am quite certain we have the correct installation geometry, e.g. consistent with image 14-11 above. However we cannot get the brake drum to clear the new shoes despite much fussing and re-positioning the shoes.
The adjuster bars are loose on their anchor pins, so they are not impeding the compression of the cylinders.
Might it be that the new shoe linings (which were bonded on the old shoes as cores) are just too thick? If so, it seems we have two possibilities: (1) ask the brake shoe rebuilder to skim the linings, as they do in āarcingā them, or (2) carefully grind off a small amount, e.g. 1/16", from each of the four shoe end plates.
Please advise, and thank you.
First, are you absolutely certain the shoe reliner actually sent you back the very same shoes you sent him as cores? Not an exchange, different heels?
If so, you can take a flat file and file off the linings a bit so they will fit. Best to do this with the drum on a bench and trial fitting so you get the right curve.
I had mine relined and the new linings came back longer in arc than the old ones. I used a metal saw to cut off a half inch.
Here is the discussion we had at the time.
Rob, It does matter per the 140 forum folks. I just did this. The part of the shoe with no lining must be the leading end of each shoe w/r to wheel rotation. Good Luck! Mike Moore
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Latest chapter in this saga: my friend and I bled the brakes, compressed the shoes with large clamps, and fussed and cussed with the still drum impossible fit.
We decided we were loath to file the shoes ourselves and he took the shoes back to the place that relined them, along with the drums.
Lo! Their reaction was āOh we see why you couldnāt fit them - the shop installed linings thicker than we askedā [3/8" rather than 1/4" if he understood correctly].
They collected them and said they would fix the lining thickness and arc them to the drums at no extra charge.
Iāll file a final report after we get them back and finish the install. Whew.
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Gary, you are fortunate to have such a place. Once upon a time, a complete brake job usually included arcing shoes and turning drums as well as rebuilding wheel cylinders. When the dangers of grinding asbestos was recognized, brake grinding equipment seemed to disappear from brake shops. I understood shoe rebuilders went to safer equipment and procedures so they retained that arcing ability.
I owned a TR3 when I lived in a small midwestern town. When I installed new rear shoes, I had the same problem youāre having (shoes too big for drums) . The opinion was that no one ground shoes anywhere any more and my only solution was to turn the drums to match the shoes, which I did reluctantly. When I recently did a brake job on my 62 Chrysler, I shipped my shoes to a man in Portland who relined them with asbestos material. The drums for that car were impossible to replace. I had a local garage with a drum lathe turn all 4 drums a minimal amount to get rid of grooving, mark the drums by locations( RF,RR. LR, LF), and the write the final drum dimension on the drum. I sent that info to the man in Portland, and he ground the shoes to suit those dimensions. It worked well because when I fitted the shoes to the correct drums, they fit perfrctly. (I was sorry to see him retire.)