front wedge
 

Is the front wedge suspose too have a step in it and should it be greesed ??

Re: front wedge
 

No grease and it should not have a step in it. It should move freely.

Re: front wedge
 

I assume this is what you are asking about.

Re: front wedge
 

Yes it is and I was asking about the steps in it and grease

Re: front wedge
 

I would put a little grease in the slot that fits over the bolt. I don't think it would hurt to have a little grease on the ramp parts too, although not necessary. The wheels should be greased where they roll on the pins. Don't overdo it so that grease does not get on the shoes or drum.

Re: front wedge
 

Yes it is supposed to have a step in it (-see pictures of the factory blueprint below),

-and we personally don't use grease as most will tell you that over-greasing or using incorrect grease will create a gummy mess over time due to brake dust floating inside the drum that does not have a good way to escape. The gummy mess will then cause the wedge and other parts to want to stick. In the area of the wedge, we use a dry graphite called Slip Plate #1. I hope this answers your question(s).

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Re: front wedge
 

Thanks to all replies

Re: front wedge
 

Howdy,
I am curious about the purpose of the step.
Just finishing a frt brake job w/ everything renewed and adjusted and find as I work the action prior to installing the drum the wedge will hang up when the step is encountered by the roller/s. It takes a significant increase in brake arm force (rods disconnected and actuated w/ my hand) to overcome the step.
So the purpose of the step is_____?

Re: front wedge
 

Your brakes are not adjusted correctly if your rollers are on the "step" portion of the wedge, or your drums are worn out, or your rollers are undersize.
You may need to add a "pill" to get the brake operating lever at a forward angle

Re: front wedge
 

Brent,

Do you use the slip plate on the roller pin shank that the rollers roll on too?

Re: front wedge
 

Just a follow up; my issue was mostly solved w/massaging the roller tracks that had been previously and erroneously ground/welded by a psuedo restoration house.
Also a pill will NOT achieve any orientation change to wedge/roller relationship. A pill only alters the lever clocking.
Thanks, Gary

Re: front wedge
 

Front wedge…at first I thought you were talking about something else. Replacement tracks are of high quality and the fit is excellent if you do not screw up the rivet holes in the backing plates. Use correct size rivets. Do not drive / buck the rivets as the tracks will move. Place in press, heat the tail and press the rivet tail. Why would you weld grind file when you can do the job correctly.

Re: front wedge
 

Because nobody should ever put their trust into a reproduction part. The fact of the matter is that both jobs would probably be about the same amount of labor, and retaining the original track assures that it is made correctly and will function as intended.

Re: front wedge
 

Trust in a reproduction part is only after knowing its construction.

The fact is a used wedge is not likely to have the correct angle. They are likely to be different side to side.

The current reproduction wedges are done under QC and are known to be quality replacements. I have compared them to NOS and they are dead on while I have compared NOS to used and most you can see the angle is incorrect by a little to a lot.

Keep in mind all the recommendations by the restoration articles over the years was to file the wedges some to make them flatter and reuse them. Pretty sure that changes the angles. Do that a few times and it is way off.

The reproduction houses have been doing a very good job on some parts to ensure quality replacements for critical areas and this is a part that falls in that catagory.

Re: front wedge
 

Two questions here...

I thought there was only one manufacturer of the A-2226 stud. Is there others?

Your comment about doing it correctly by pressing the head onto the stud has me a tad confused. The shank on the A-2226 Brake Shoe Retracting Spring Stud is 0.250. The corresponding holes in the A-2017 Shoe Centering Bracket calls for 0.258" - 0.263". The location specification on the Brake Housing Plate calls for this bracket to be located 4.620" - 4.623". Even the Brake Housing Plate hole has a 0.005 variance. It has been my experience that you MUST use a fixture to correctly locate the Centering Bracket. How are you correctly locating this bracket prior to pressing the head so that you know the plate replacement is in the correctly done?

Re: front wedge
 

For me "correctly" is a method that centers the shoes in the drum. (New shoes ground to match drum size)
I borrowed a pro tool that precisely displays the shoe location relative to the drum and alter the roller tracks accordingly.
If someone has success replacing the tracks so be it.
These days in the new normal I tend to trust my workmanship over repop parts.
Gary

Re: front wedge
 

In the drawings Brent posted in post #6 I can't tell how deep the hole is in the top of the wedge.
Does anyone know?

Re: front wedge
 

Looking at the right side of the first picture and doing some math I think
it is .3138" deep. It's hard to make out the one set of numbers looks like
.092-.095.

Re: front wedge
 

So if I need to put 3 pills in the wedge to get 15 degrees that fills up the hole.
My pin measures 7 1/8 so I don't think that is to bad.
What else could go wrong?

Re: front wedge
 

For the grease part of the question, I use molybond dry lube. It doesn't attract and hold dust and dirt like wet grease does.