V7 Sport brake shoes

[swalker]

I bought a new set of brake shoes for my V7 Sport. The rear set fits good. The two sets for the front wheel don't. I got them from MG Cycle and was told some fitting may be required. My question is this. They need to be sanded down just to fit inside the wheel. I have one of those roloc air sanders that should make it pretty simple. Just wondering what grit of paper to start out with? the litle roloc discs should work great for this and I can control the air flow so not to take off too much. Has anyone else ever had to fit a set of shoes? Looking for what works the best.
Thanks, Steve

 

[john zibell]

Fitting brake shoes to drum brakes goes back to the beginning of drum brakes. This was common in the automotive field. You want to shape the shoes to make full contact with the drum. Had to do this when I had an Eldorado and I replaced the front shoes. Have the drum handy to frequently check the fit of the shoe and by the way, brake dust is nasty, be sure to have a mask and good eye protection. When I fitted my shoes, I used 120 grit, but I was careful to just take a little bit of material at a time, you paid good money for the shoes and you don't want to wast any material you don't have to. In my case, most of the material had to be removed from the heal and lead of the shoe, I used a marking pen on the inside of the drum and just moved the shoe back and forth a little (maybe 1/2 inch) to reveal the high spots of the shoe. Once you rub the entire line from the marker, you should be good. Also when adjusting the brake linkage getting the balance rod length is critical. You want both ends of the shoe coming out together.

 

[swalker]

Fitting brake shoes to drum brakes goes back to the beginning of drum brakes. This was common in the automotive field. You want to shape the shoes to make full contact with the drum. Had to do this when I had an Eldorado and I replaced the front shoes. Have the drum handy to frequently check the fit of the shoe and by the way, brake dust is nasty, be sure to have a mask and good eye protection. When I fitted my shoes, I used 120 grit, but I was careful to just take a little bit of material at a time, you paid good money for the shoes and you don't want to wast any material you don't have to. In my case, most of the material had to be removed from the heal and lead of the shoe, I used a marking pen on the inside of the drum and just moved the shoe back and forth a little (maybe 1/2 inch) to reveal the high spots of the shoe. Once you rub the entire line from the marker, you should be good. Also when adjusting the brake linkage getting the balance rod length is critical. You want both ends of the shoe coming out together.

Thanks John. I will get 120 grit discs and go from there. This is new to me...I was hoping they would install and work like the rear set...but they won't. With the new shoes installed, they will not fit inside the wheel. Thanks again, Steve

 

[Amboman]

I find the sandpaper method too "hit or miss" for me. I mount the shoes onto the backing plate, mount that to the axle along with enough spacers for the nut to tighten everything up and chuck the axle up in my "big" lathe.

Measure the inner diameter of the drum and turn the outer diameter of the shoes to .020" less.

Yes, this requires a lathe and a rather large caliper. But, the shoes will make better contact and "bed-in" much more quickly this way.

 

[swalker]

I find the sandpaper method too "hit or miss" for me. I mount the shoes onto the backing plate, mount that to the axle along with enough spacers for the nut to tighten everything up and chuck the axle up in my "big" lathe.

Measure the inner diameter of the drum and turn the outer diameter of the shoes to .020" less.

Yes, this requires a lathe and a rather large caliper. But, the shoes will make better contact and "bed-in" much more quickly this way.

Thank you Charlie, No doubt that would be the best way and they would be correct. But I tend to have more time than money, so mine will be hand fitted. LOL...Besides, I am thinking I won't ever have to replace these shoes again. I have learned why people have converted their V7 sports over to disc brakes.

Steve

 

[tewrecks]

I replaced my shoes with new material. A local shop did the fitting at a cost of about $ 15 per shoe. It was a tight fit but no need to sand or scrape material. The new shoes are actually on a par if not better than disks. It does take some careful adjustments to get all 4 in the front working together but once set up the performance was a 200% improvement.

 

[john zibell]

I find the sandpaper method too "hit or miss" for me. I mount the shoes onto the backing plate, mount that to the axle along with enough spacers for the nut to tighten everything up and chuck the axle up in my "big" lathe.

Measure the inner diameter of the drum and turn the outer diameter of the shoes to .020" less.

Yes, this requires a lathe and a rather large caliper. But, the shoes will make better contact and "bed-in" much more quickly this way.

Great method, unfortunately not everyone has access to a lathe, especially one larger enough to do this job.

 

[Amboman]

I find the sandpaper method too "hit or miss" for me. I mount the shoes onto the backing plate, mount that to the axle along with enough spacers for the nut to tighten everything up and chuck the axle up in my "big" lathe.

Measure the inner diameter of the drum and turn the outer diameter of the shoes to .020" less.

Yes, this requires a lathe and a rather large caliper. But, the shoes will make better contact and "bed-in" much more quickly this way.

Great method, unfortunately not everyone has access to a lathe, especially one larger enough to do this job.

Nearly every largish town has an automotive machine shop that will have the necessary measuring tools and a lathe big enough though.