Drum brake question - Why would this happen?

[pickupman]

I have been struggling with the parking brake not holding for some time and I kept thinking that the brakes weren't adjusted right. After adjusting the shoes and the cable tension, it was still a no-go. Then I found this:
Notice how the anchor pin plate (I think that is what it's called) is not in the groove between the two shoes like it should be. It came out of the groove and is on TOP of one of the metal tab of one of the shoes:

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^^^^
Notice how the anchor pin plate (I think that is what it's called) is not in the groove between the two shoes like it should be. It came out of the groove and is on TOP of one of the metal tab of one of the shoes:

This happened on both the left and right wheels. Here (in green) is pin in the groove that it should be in, the red is where it was when I found it:

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On both sides, it had slipped out of the center groove that it is supposed to be in. This made it so that the parking brake lever would not actuate the shoes when it should. It looks like the metal tabs on the shoes are made of soft metal so I don't know if this would have caused it. Any ideas? I know that even thought it's fixed now, it's only a matter of time before it happens again.

 

[laserjock]

Looks okay to me. I just put mine back together. I suspect it has more to do with either a stretched cable or the shoes themselves being out of adjustment. You can tighten the cables with the adjuster ahead of the driver rear wheel.

Hope that helps.

 

[pickupman]

Looks okay to me. I just put mine back together. I suspect it has more to do with either a stretched cable or the shoes themselves being out of adjustment. You can tighten the cables with the adjuster ahead of the driver rear wheel.

Hope that helps.

It might not be quite clear in the pics, but there is a groove that the anchor pin plate is supposed to sit in. In one pic, it is in the groove, in the other pic, it came out of the groove and was sitting on top of the metal tabs on one of the shoes. This was making it so that applying the parking brake would not actuate the shoes.

I haven't put it all back together yet, but what I realized is that with the current tension on the parking brake cable, I wouldn't be able to get the cable back in the parking brake lever notch, unless I slacken the cable a bit. When the pin was out of the groove, there was enough slack in the cable, but when it's in it's proper spot, there isn't enough slack. It seems that perhaps the cable was too tight to begin with.

 

[MTKirk]

I think you should remove the nut off the back of the Parking brake assembly, remove and wire brush all those parts. Then lightly grease all the contact surfaces with some High temp. lithium grease. Put it back together and I'd bet the shoes (clean & lube their contact points as well) will sit tighter & move easier.

Back in the day when disc brakes were rare, we used to take apart; clean and re-lubricate drum brakes about every 10,000 miles. My opinion is they still need almost that much, but get away without it 'cause our disc fronts do most of the work.

 

[pickupman]

Well, after struggling with this all day, I decided that I will just replace the shoes. It is hard to see from the pics, but the parking brake mechanism isn't actuating the shoes at all. The parking brake itself and cables are fine, it's just that the point of contact on both shoes is so worn that it doesn't fit in a groove between the two shoes like it should. I ordered new Motorcraft shoes and will be replacing them.

 

[typ4]

Those shoes are offshore webs, I have run into this countless times, you have to build up that part of the shoe with weld and make a nice flat area for the dog to hit on. You may have some damage on the bottom of the dog so better check it our. I bought new ebrake parts from ford a few years back. So they should be still available.
I am taking my nice ****** shoes from the dually and getting them relined as the new bendix ones I put on have the making of the same problem.

 

[icanfixall]

As Russ posted. We are getting some offshore shoes that are terrible in this special area of the parking brake. My most recient set also has the no parking brake issue. Russ mentioned in my post there is a need to weld up a flat to make these shoes work. Well... No welder in shp.. So will be replacing these shoes for a CORRECT set. Once again I learned buying a less expensive item pays me no respect. But I too learned a lesson and it cost me a set of shoes.

 

[pickupman]

As Russ posted. We are getting some offshore shoes that are terrible in this special area of the parking brake. My most recient set also has the no parking brake issue. Russ mentioned in my post there is a need to weld up a flat to make these shoes work. Well... No welder in shp.. So will be replacing these shoes for a CORRECT set. Once again I learned buying a less expensive item pays me no respect. But I too learned a lesson and it cost me a set of shoes.

I ordered new Motorcraft shoes for $36. I noticed on rockauto how many "economy" shoes are being sold. Given how cheap they are, I understand why people buy them. I didn't install the shoes on the truck currently so who knows where they came from