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Jim, put your new brake shoe inside the new drum (out of the car). Do both arcs mate, or is one a little different from the other? In other words, are the shoes a different radius than the drum? This is common. Replacement shoes normally go on drums that are somewhat worn or turned. And .250" (1/4") sounds like a lot, but that's really only 1/8" of metal gone.
Two things come to mind:
* New brake shoes will need re-adjustment VERY soon after installation. New linings are usually rough, but they smooth out after not too long.
* In the old days, just about every auto parts store had a machine to arc brake shoes, to fit the newly cut drums (I know yours are new). You can do this yourself (with a belt sander), or you can wait until it naturally happens during regular driving. Also, make sure you get all the rust out of the star wheel ends and the top cylinder pin slots (so they aren't pushing the shoes out).
The way I read your post, the hub is different. That confuses me since you took these hubs off your car. Bearing races seat against a machined stop in the hub. It's straight forward. Drive new races all the way home. If you don't, your spindle's adjusting nut will become loose on the road.
Everyone has their own method of tightening front spindles. Some say you have to 'have a touch' and be gentle. Not me. I tighten the crap out of that nut while spinning the wheel, then I back off. If either race wants to move inside, I give it the chance right then. I have seen this happen after a 'good' mechanic installed new bearings. After some time, the front wheel was so sloppy, I could shake the front tire side-to-side and feel the slop, while the car is sitting in the drive.
One time, I was tightening the front spindle nut on my cousin's Amphicar. I was really cranking on it when all of a sudden, it stripped! OMG! This is a German (metric) spindle. NOW, look at the mess we're in...
After pulling a few pieces of steel threads out of the spindle, I realized the nut threads and the spindle threads were close, but different pitch diameter. Someone had put an SAE nut on a metric spindle. If I hadn't cranked on it, nobody would ever notice, until the front wheel comes off on the road. We got new metric nuts and everything was back to 'new', but that was really an, 'Aaa-ha' moment. Never take anything for granted and use all your senses.
BTW, I like your spindle grease. It looks to be a good grade of lithium. - Dave
Two things come to mind:
* New brake shoes will need re-adjustment VERY soon after installation. New linings are usually rough, but they smooth out after not too long.
* In the old days, just about every auto parts store had a machine to arc brake shoes, to fit the newly cut drums (I know yours are new). You can do this yourself (with a belt sander), or you can wait until it naturally happens during regular driving. Also, make sure you get all the rust out of the star wheel ends and the top cylinder pin slots (so they aren't pushing the shoes out).
The way I read your post, the hub is different. That confuses me since you took these hubs off your car. Bearing races seat against a machined stop in the hub. It's straight forward. Drive new races all the way home. If you don't, your spindle's adjusting nut will become loose on the road.
Everyone has their own method of tightening front spindles. Some say you have to 'have a touch' and be gentle. Not me. I tighten the crap out of that nut while spinning the wheel, then I back off. If either race wants to move inside, I give it the chance right then. I have seen this happen after a 'good' mechanic installed new bearings. After some time, the front wheel was so sloppy, I could shake the front tire side-to-side and feel the slop, while the car is sitting in the drive.
One time, I was tightening the front spindle nut on my cousin's Amphicar. I was really cranking on it when all of a sudden, it stripped! OMG! This is a German (metric) spindle. NOW, look at the mess we're in...
After pulling a few pieces of steel threads out of the spindle, I realized the nut threads and the spindle threads were close, but different pitch diameter. Someone had put an SAE nut on a metric spindle. If I hadn't cranked on it, nobody would ever notice, until the front wheel comes off on the road. We got new metric nuts and everything was back to 'new', but that was really an, 'Aaa-ha' moment. Never take anything for granted and use all your senses.
BTW, I like your spindle grease. It looks to be a good grade of lithium. - Dave
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