Date: Thu, 30 Apr 2009 18:07:49 -0400
Reply-To: Mike <mbucchino@CHARTER.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Mike <mbucchino@CHARTER.NET>
Subject: Re: Rear Brake Shoe Design Questions
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
If that's true, then most production vehicle's drum brakes must also be laughable. They practically all use this same design, not just in the rear, but in the front, too.
Oh yeah, it really works, too, and has for millions of vehicles, over millions of miles, for decades, even on Vanagons..........believe it or not!
Mike B.
----- Original Message -----
From: Don Hanson
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Sent: Thursday, April 30, 2009 2:45 PM
Subject: Re: Rear Brake Shoe Design Questions
The rear drum brakes on MY van..an '84..they are laughable. First time I
looked at them, I was amazed..."This is how it was sold?" I thought. The
brake shoe mechanisim in the rear hub reminded me of what you might see on a
stagecoach...except the stagecoach ones must have worked better with just a
single 'center'.rather than pretty much pivoting on one end and moving only
the other end.... I bet you can find vanagon rear shoes with linings that
are untouched on one end and worn to steel on the other.
They do help stop the van, I guess. Musta been a Friday when
the VW engineers sent in that design to Managment..I am not complaining
though..they work.
If I lived and worked somewhere involving a commute through the mountains
or over a pass, I guess I'd swap them for something different, a set up that
actually used the braking surface that you pay for on the shoes...
Don Hanson
On Thu, Apr 30, 2009 at 10:27 AM, neil N <musomuso@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi all.
>
> I read of details regarding spacers (Dennis Haynes) one could install
> at anchor end of the brake shoes. My understanding is that this would
> help ensure more of the shoe contacts the drum.
>
> Does adding spacers accomplish something similar to arcing the shoes?
> (not done much these days from what I've read)
>
> Were VW shoes shaped to fit the drum better than aftermarket shoes?
>
> If so, would one be wise to install these spacers when installing new
> shoes and hardware?
>
> AFAIK, my braking system is working right. But, I notice that with
> foot on brake engine running, I pull up the handbrake and feel the
> pedal drop a *little*. Is this because the lower portion of shoe is
> pushed out to contact drum?
>
> Curious minds just need to know,
>
> Neil.
>
> --
> Neil Nicholson '81 VanaJetta 2.0 "Jaco"
>
> http://tubaneil.googlepages.com/
>
>
> http://groups.google.com/group/vanagons-with-vw-inline-4-cylinder-gas-engines
>
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