The Cal-look Lounge

I was wondering if someone can provide me with DIY tips on brake shoe arcing since most places no longer offer this service?

I noticed that one of my shoe does not make 100% contact.  In fact there is a good 2 inches on the trailing side of the shoe that does not contact the drum.  I would imagine braking would be much greater if 100% of the shoes made contact with the drum.  Is it just a matter of shaving some material off the shoe maybe by using a bench sander?

Thanks

Good question.  I have been wondering the same thing.  I have a belt sander and was contemplating using that.  There was a guy locally that worked on VWs and he did mine when I put my car back together in early 1995.  They were new German drums and new brake shoes.  I still have them on the car with over 100k miles on them.  They have worn perfectly.  They are now very thin, less than 1/16 inch.  I am ready to do it again.  That is one of the best things you can do for your old drum brakes.  I know that my guy pretty much retired, but he still has all the equipment and I might be able to con him into doing it again.  He is in Phoenix, AZ.  If he agrees I will post here.

Those shoe arc machines are very rare, most shops discarded them long ago due to EPA regs here in the usa. I have one and can do it.
I like to have the drum for which the shoes are going in. I am in Northern ca.
If your interested I have another machine I would sell or trade

How much for your spare machine?  Just curious.  Don't know if I can justify it or not...

Take shoe, Slide into mateing surface of drum and hold, Take a pair of dividers and run along drum face and scribe into shoe and grind to scribe mark. Just a idea.

That's not nearly hard enough to do 

That sounds too easy. I think I will try it on my next set of shoes which should be very soon.

I hate to say this but... brake shoes should not be in 100% contact with the drum as I think you describe. The proper fit is when you can hold the center of the shoe against the drum, and with a twisting motion notice a little clearance at the heel and toe of the shoe (just enough to allow movement). The shoe will distort
into full contact under hydraulic pressure, assuming they're arced correctly.  :)   

Yes really

I thought so initially, but after having some problems with my brakes I read also what kingsburgphil mentioned, I read it on the bentley manual, If I'm not mistaking it was mentioned a clearance of 1mm on both sides of the shoe -if you keep it with your finger on the centre- maybe it has something to do with expansion of the shoes after heating up or the shoes themselves being destorted under cylinders pressure, never thought about it actually

Friendly

Dimitrios

Thanks for the info guys-I will check the manual.

I have a question though, over time doesn't the shoe wear so 100% of the shoe is in contact with the drum when you depress the brakes?

Good question,  depending on how poor the fit you could overheat, glaze or even crack the linings before they "wear in". And insufficient clearance can make adjusting new shoes difficult, resulting in a lower brake pedal and readjustment in a short period of time.

If you have any doubts or problems with your brake system please have it inspected by an experienced professional.  IMHO this is not an area where you want
to learn by trial and error.  ;)

200-300?

That sounds reasonable.  If I can't get one here in Phoenix, I may be in touch.