Brake shoes cracked

[czechsonofagun]

This year to pass the VA safety inspection I had to replace drum brake shoes. Since I had quite few miles on drums I did the whole works - hardware, drums and shoes.
That was in August and few days ago I felt there was something wrong - like on a small hill I could take my foot of the brake and it would not start rolling. When I tried to push it - CJ7 is not heavy and to move it around I usually just push it without starting the engine - the right rear wheel felt like the brake is still on. Today I took both rear wheels off and tried to spin them - the left was ok, the right one would not turn. Taking the drum off I found both shoes are cracked sideways in the middle pair of rivets. Since I still had old shoes in the pile of the scrap metal, I just put them on to keep the truck on the road. I will take those shoes back to Autozone tomorrow. Is it safe to assume it is a problem of those shoes riveting? I done brake jobs more times than I care to remember in my life and never had it happen. What do you think?

 

[AlanB]

Did you arc the shoes to your drums before installation?

I am betting bad fit, and when applied you overflexed them.

 

[czechsonofagun]

I am afraid I dont understand. Shoes came from the store with lining just to be installed. If there is a way to change the arc of them I am not aware of it.

 

[kenmac]

Heat will also cause shoes to crack

 

[ToadHill]

If I have the choice I would buy bonded shoes. The holes drilled in the linings just invite the weak spots to crack.

 

[tallyho8]

If the drums had been turned too much for the shoes to fit properly, then they could crack in the center.

I would remove the other drum and check those shoes also.

 

[czechsonofagun]

Actually drums were new too. The left side is not cracked.

Took them to Autozone today and they gave me a new pair. The guy said they had somebody else show up with the same problem, I quess it was just a bad day in the factory

 

[Egon]

All brake shoes and brake disc's are not created equally. Most places have a range of types/quality/effectiveness and asking may get some answerers. Usually you get offered the cheapest if you do not ask.

 

[jinman]

Actually drums were new too. The left side is not cracked.

Took them to Autozone today and they gave me a new pair. The guy said they had somebody else show up with the same problem, I quess it was just a bad day in the factory

I think you are onto something Prokop. The machine doing the rivets was probably misadjusted and set them too tight causing stress cracks in the pad material.

 

[tallyho8]

It may be possible that 2 of his 4 shoes were factory defects. But the shoes usually come 4 in a box, 2 front and 2 rear. This would mean that he happened to pick out the front defective shoe and the rear defective shoe and put them on the same wheel and put the 2 good shoes on the other wheel. This is possible, but I think there is more to it.