11" Drum shoes and adjusters

[bakerhillpins]

All,

I've been fighting braking issues for a long time now and it seems like I am back to square one. I have turned the drums and replaced everything but the brake lines. (Power booster/master & slave cylinders/shoes/adjusters/springs/hoses) And, sadly, I don't have the old shoes/parts. I was stupid and they ended up going to the metal recycler before I was happy with changes. 

I have a 69 RT (11 x 3 and 11 x 2.5) and besides poor braking performance I am finding that my adjusters are binding up, thus keeping the shoes from adjusting. While turning the drums the other day a friend with lots of yeas of drum brakes under his belt felt that my adjusters were dialed WAY out considering the shoes are new (didn't expect so many threads showing). So we were wondering if they were binding up because the shoes are the wrong size or for the wrong car??  I didn't dig the shoes/adjusters, I went to a local parts store that was recommended and they did the number punching and delivered the boxes. I don't recall specifically validating the parts but as it's my SOP I can't see how i didn't... <blah blah blah> ginger </blah blah blah>.

Anyway, Anyone have a pic of a set of nicely functional 69 (preferably RT front) drums with auto adjusters installed? Looking for a lot of different visual queues to see if something sparks an "ah ha" moment. (I'm tired of searching here and getting nothing  )

Thanks

[375instroke]

11" drums didn't come with automatic adjusters, so what's really in there?  The spring configuration is different with automatic adjusters, and using self adjusters with the manual springs your car should have could be the cause of your problem.

[bakerhillpins]

Yep, I am aware of that per the FSM. However, my understanding is that you simply need to add the adjusting kit to the system to make them auto adjusting.

Such as highlighted here:
http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php?topic=87138.0

This pic I pulled from forbbodiesonly shows what my basic configuration looks like on both front/rear (these are obviously rears). It looks like the exact kit and exactly how I have it connected up. However, my adjuster is wound out such that there is at least 1.24 of threads showing.

[375instroke]

That pic shows a correct lower spring for auto adjusters, but the manual spring is short, stiff, and rides against the star adjuster.  What's the part number of your kits?  I would think adjusters for 10" or 9" drums could be shorter.  Could that be the problem?

[bakerhillpins]

I don't have the receipt/packaging anymore so I can't tell you the part #s. I have the correct lower spring and I suspect a 9 or 10 inch kit would have an adjust cable that is too short to work.

I ordered new brake shoes yesterday because the consensus around here is they picked the wrong shoes when I ordered them. Pick them up on the way home but can't test until tomorrow as I am going to my son's soccer game tonight which is 1hr away. Plus the car is sitting at the shop waiting to be aligned. So I guess I'll have that data point Friday/this weekend. I'll report back.

Thanks for taking the time 375!   

[dual fours]

My old rear shoes had a round hole and not the combination rectangle/round hole as showed in this picture (not my picture or car), that some of the shoes come with now.
Marked within the yellow lines. Hope new/correct 11" shoes make the difference with the adjustment.

[bakerhillpins]

Well, the new shoes seem to be the same as the old... at least on the rear. Not going to pull the fronts today. Here is a pic of my driver rear and a measurement. Note the 3.5" separation between shoes and how far the adjuster is wound out compared to the 11 inch setup posted earlier.

They are adjusting for the time being and seem to be locking them up on our dirt road. More pavement testing later, after the alignment on Monday.

[Bronzedodge]

Rock auto lists a different adjuster for 11" brakes, # HW1520 and -1521.   I bet you have 10" adjusters on 11" brakes.   

[bakerhillpins]

Rock auto lists a different adjuster for 11" brakes, # HW1520 and -1521.   I bet you have 10" adjusters on 11" brakes.   

I've bought more adjusters already (not a complete 2nd set though) and they were not any different than the first sets.  Typically the difference in adjuster kits are because the length of the cable is different for 10/11" brakes.  Many of the rockauto listings for the screw are said to work on 10 or 11 inch brakes.

Thanks for the thought!