Which brake shoe goes toward front

Putting new brake shoes on a 89 Caprice. The old ones were not installed properly, (one side of the car the smaller shoe is toward the front of the car, the other side is opposite). Which shoe (smaller or larger one) is supposed to go toward the front of the car?

Reply to
robert-perry
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The shorter length shoe should be installed pointing toward the front of the car on both sides.

Reply to
None

Get a diagram of the shoe assembly setup. Should be able to find one easy enough. There's no substitute for that unless you took apart the original yourself and remembered everything, Easy to screw up. Meineke screwed mine up on my '88 Celebrity, leaving out the parking brake levers on both sides. Probably just couldn't figure out to get them back in. I was busy with work, they were fixing my exhaust, so I fell for a special they were having on brakes. My front pads were wearing too fast, and when I put a second set of pad sets on I pulled the drums and found the shoes weren't worn at all. Went to a boneyard for the levers - 50 cents each. GM wanted about

100 bucks a side because they sold them only with an assembly. Only reason I quickly figured it out was because I got a diagram. So don't waste your time.
Reply to
Vic Smith

Thanks for the help.

Reply to
robert-perry

I googled at least 6 different word groups, I found no diagrams at all. When my old Ford truck needed brake work, I found a hundred or more diagrams. But Ford is different.

Reply to
robert-perry

Yeah, I didn't find it either, until I saw somebody mention that autozone.com has repair guides. So I registered there and found the diagram for the '89 Caprice. Good blowup of all the parts for the type where the parking brake lever mounts to the primary shoe and another diagram for the type that mounts to the secondary shoe. Lots of photos too. Stay on the left side of page under repair guides, then drill down to "brake shoes." It's not the most intuitive site. Up to you if you want to register. No cost. Pretty neat service I didn't know existed until now. I always get the shop manual for my cars, but this can come in handy. There's plenty of shop manuals for your Caprice on eBay. I'm cross-posting to rec.autos.tech so they know about it.

Reply to
Vic Smith

It should be the same for all drum brakes due to the self-energizing way drum brakes work, and that puts the larger shoe towards the rear of the car.

Reply to
Brent

You're most welcome.

As anyone even semi-experienced would be well aware, a Bendix brake shoe set, as in your application, with unequal length friction material, is usually of the duo servo variety, with the front facing being the primary shoe, such as well depicted in this right rear -

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or this left rear brake.
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Reply to
None

I continue to be endlessly amused by (always the same) poseurs who respond by tantamount to parroting others remarks (in an unattributed fashion), in the same thread, as though they contribute (or could) an original idea.

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-- "Some people are like slinkies - not really much good for anything but they bring a smile to your face when you push them down the stairs" - Original Author Unknown

Reply to
None

The internet is a wonderful tool for such things. Keep in mind though, digital cameras or phones cameras can save a lot of grief by taking a photo of brakes, belts, and anything else that has a sequence to be followed.

Many years ago I replaced a water pump on a '71 Ford V-8 with power steering and AC. Three belts came off and I thought I knew how they went back. I cruised the used car lots until I found one, popped the hood and made a diagram like I should have when I started.

Reply to
Ed Pawlowski

If you'll recall, his issue though was a descrepancy in the location of the smaller shoe on each side, taking pix of how they were originally installed wouldn't have led to a resolution.

Reply to
None

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