Can't Get Hub On

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Rear Brakes. It came off with no problem. I installed Ted's Brake Floater Kit. One side goes on just fine. I switched the shoes and hubs around and the other side won't go on. I have the cotter pins facing out. It appears to be a shoe problem. The rollers are seated all the way down like they are supposed to be. The rods that go from the brake shoe and into the adjuster assy all stick out the same amount. I had a couple of the experienced club members look at it and they couldn't figure it out. The adjuster is all the way out. I know it's difficult to diagnose from afar but, any ideas?

[Sunny the Model A]

are the service and emergency brake rods fully disconnected while you are attempting to reinstall the drum? and does the drum attempt to go on about half then stop or will it refuse to cooperate to go on?

[nkaminar]

Try grinding about a mm off the ends of the adjustment arms, the rods that go from the brake shows and into the adjuster assy. Maintain the same angle and rounding at the point. Also try sanding or grinding a little of the material off the lining of the shoes. It looks like they may be rubbing at the trailing edges which can be cause by the shoes not being perfectly centered.

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nkaminar: I'll try gringing off the adjustment arms. Sunny: the rods are all disconnected. The drum goes about half way across the shoes then stops. I tried turning in the adjusters till they stopped then backed them off all the way but still too tight. I tried tightening the axel bolt all the way in. It went in all the way but very tight.

[Sunny the Model A]

Originally Posted by [email protected]

nkaminar: I'll try gringing off the adjustment arms. Sunny: the rods are all disconnected. The drum goes about half way across the shoes then stops. I tried turning in the adjusters till they stopped then backed them off all the way but still too tight. I tried tightening the axel bolt all the way in. It went in all the way but very tight.

Gotcha, if the drum went on halfway fine then stopped, that sounds like the emergency brake band hitting the drum and not going into the inner drum surface. if you can, as a test remove the band and try it again. if it goes on easy, then you found the problem.

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I removed the emergency band.

[Sunny the Model A]

if you removed the band and the issue is the same, then it's in the shoes. the shoes can either not be centered since they need to be the same distance from the axle on both sides all the way around. if you added floaters then it may have made them stick out farther than original and that can be a source of trouble. the solution in that case is to either grind off the excess lining material, grinding some metal off of the floaters or go back to stock which i highly recommend. i daily my A and it's 100% stock in the brake department and it stops better than any car i've ever ridden in. a stock A's brake system works amazingly well if it's to the factory tolerances, but if you have worn parts the floater is just a bandaid on a problem that needs to be fixed.

[Y-Blockhead]

I see you said you have FHT's Floaters. Do you have the brake shoe centering pins adjusted properly? If not your brake shoes will not be centered.

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Y-Blockhead, I screwed the adjuster all the way in, then backed them out all the way. Shouldn't that have centered the shoes?

[Y-Blockhead]

John, I was referring to the centering pins. Each of the four sides space the shoes a different distance. Not all FHT's kits have them tho.

[Synchro909]

If the axle key does not line up perfectly with the keyway in the hub, the hub will go part way on and stop. Pull the hub off till it is loose on the axle and with the aid of a light, look up inside the hub while holding it so that the end of the axle is in the middle of the hole in the hub. Now try rotating the hub a little till the key and keyway line up. It will drop into position when you've got it right. This is best all done with the key at the top of the axle. The weight of the hub will help you.

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Thanks Synchro909 but I don't have the axle key installed

[rinzana]

Can you measure from the front of the front brake shoe to the rear of the back brake shoe and compare both sides this would help determine if the brake shoes are causing the problem. Take the shoes off and see if the drum will go on.

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rinzana: with the shoes off the drum goes on easily

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I did as nkaminar suggested and ground .090 off the adjusting pins. I can now, with much difficulty, push the hub all the way on. but it is almost impossible to turn. Crazy thing is, with the hub all the way on and the adjuster all the way out, i can activate the brake lever all the way. one would think if the shoes are that tight you wouldn't be able to activate the brakes much. Also, with the hub on, I can turn the adjuster quite a ways in before it stops

[Sunny the Model A]

during that test is the emergency brake band on the car? something tells me it might not be the shoes themselves

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Sunny the Model A: the emergency band is off the car.

[nkaminar]

The shoes are off center. Either sand them where they are high or adjust the centering. You can use sidewalk chalk to tell where the high spots are.

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Another twist. I take the drum and backing plate off leaving the shoes installed. I put the drum on the ffoor and put the backing plate (with the shoes still installed) and it goes in with plenty of clearance. The drum measures 11" and outside to outside on the shoes measures 10 3/4". Now install the backing plate and the drum is very difficult to put on.

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The pictures. Does everything look right?