52 brake drum question

[laynrubber]

I was all excited this spring i bought a drum from ebay for half the price of a new one.

Now i tried to fit it tonight and find it is 1/8" too small to fit over my new brake shoes

So what gives, I thought there were 10 inch and 11 inch drums, not a 9 7/8 inch drum. The one i cracked trying to remove last summer (befre my puller) has small fins around the outside. The "new" one is smooth.

Any thoughts........advice.....

[oldmopar]

Is it a new drum are there any part#'s on the drum ? I am not sure if I ever actually measured the id of one of my drums so can't say what the id actualy is but then many have been cut over the years. If you are sure it is the correct drum and that you have the brake shoes on correctly sometimes you need to readjust the shoes then have the 1/8" cut off the drum.

[Merle Coggins]

Have you backed off all of the adjustments? Could your shoes be oversize?

[PatS....]

Can you post a pic?

[laynrubber]

It was a used drum, the shoes are backed off to min. and not over sized that i know of. I will post a picture of both drums tommorow (leaving town for the night). I'm thinking what i bought isn't a drum for a 52 Ply

I had seen on the net that there was company that could supply me with a rear brake drum but once i had bought this one i deleted the name......anyone know where i could purchase a brake drum ?

I will post plenty of pictures tomorow thanks.

[Norm's Coupe]

Sometimes its really a tight fit after changing to new shoes and wheel cylinders. If you have the shoes backed off all the way with the adjusting bolt and they still don't fit. Try opening the bleeder screw on the wheel cylinder, then hit both shoes at the same time with the palms of your hands at the top of the shoe pad. That will push the piston of the wheel cylinder further inward and should give the extra room needed to get the drum over the shoes. I had to do the same thing with my 48 on all four wheels when I first rebuilt my brakes. Don't worry if you hear a little dragging on the shoe and drum after that. Once you put the brake fluid back in and start pumping the brakes the dragging should stop, then you can adjust the shoes again with the drum on, if needed. I didn't change drums when I did mine. I think they put thicker pads on the new shoes today.

If that doesn't work, of course you may indeed have the wrong drum. If it is the wrong drum try Kanter. They sell new drums.

[Reg Evans]

I had a similar experience with a new set of shoes on an existing drum. Couldn't get the drum back over the new shoes. I ended up belt sanding the shoes evenly until the drum would go back on. It worked fine.

[laynrubber]

Well no pictures required i have an update..........

The wheel cylinder is compressed as far as it will go, no fluid or lines hooked up yet (new cyl) and the adjusters are rolled to minimum.

The top of the shoes only have to squeeze in another 64th for the drum to fit so...........

I ground the grove on the shoes where the actuating pins contact the top of the shoes. Haven't put the drum on yet but this will work

Not sure why, maybe i got the actuating pins mixed up when i sandblasted them.

[Plymouthy Adams]

to get a better grasp on what you do or do not have is to measure the drum with a brake drum caliper..it should be 10 inches as stock with the max size being 10.060 turned to it max safe use limit. The shoes over the years were offered in various thickness including over size..again, you must measure these limits..the shoe core (metal) should be the same but thicker lining could be bonded to your metal. If you have a drum that is 10 inch as new..I would not turn it to try and match an oversize lining..again the max safe bore on the drum would be 10.060

[laynrubber]

Drum is on, here is what was required........

remove some metal where the actuating pins contact the shoe and sanded .030" from each shoe. Drum spins but there is some rubbing.

Thanks all.