12ValverDave

I've done these drums before, but just wanna verify again, the thick (primary) shoes go to the rear and the thinner ones go towards the front, my service manual wording is not the best. Are they left and right side specific?

Dave

Hodge

Thick shoe goes to the back, thinner to the front. Believe me, I learned the hard way. They are not left/right specific. If you look at the metal frame, they are the same. you just have thickness difference.

nickg

I could be wrong as its been a while but there is a l and R, the upper part of the shoe has a re-enforcement piece added on and if you mix them up the pad wont sit properly on the backing plate, and the shoe walks around the wrong way, could be why some folks claim their rears lock up under certain conditions

Hodge

This could be, but on the shoes I bought, all four bodies were identical. Perhaps it depends on who manufactures the shoes...

12ValverDave

Alright fellas, Im confused now.... When i got to my shop i "reread" the section in the fsm on 13" drum brakes and it says primary shoes toward the front, since my shoes arent marked, I called Dodge and was told the primary is the longest shoe, which happens to be the thickest. They also confirmed what the manual said about it going towards the front? I put it back together as to the factory service manual... hopefully it works lol

Dave

nickg

that sounds wrong, thicker goes to the rear, these brakes are self energizing, meaning the lead shoe contacts the drum and wedges the rear shoe into the drum as the brakes are applied... the front shoe sees 1/2 the wear that the rear will see over its service use.
some info is crossed somewhere, unless your set up is different than my truck(01, 2500)

dodgeguy71

I've been an auto/diesel/equipment mechanic for a loooonnnnnnnggggggggg time and could not tell ya long or front for 100% fact. Believe the long go on the rear, more surface area since that would be the primary shoe while braking and going in a forward motion.

Why am I not 100% certain, I do one side at a time, pull everything off an lay out all the springs, shoes on a clean rag on the ground in front of me or on a cart if doing it on a lift. Then match up my new shoes with the old for that side then reinstall everything. Then I go to the other side and repeat. I got better things to remember than where did this shoe go, where did this spring go, just lay it all out on the rag like it come off. So much easier.

12ValverDave

Im just reading what im being told from the factory service manual, i didnt believe it either, thats why i called dodge..... Im waiting on a new front bearing to test drive her saturday. Believe me i dont wanna do it twice lol

Dave

Hodge

I put the long/thick ones on the front the first time, and they jammed up and stuck, almost every time. I moved the long/thick shoes to the rear, and they have worked perfect for 4 months now. This was on a 94.

12ValverDave

Test drove it and it stops great, pulled the drum and the shoes are getting full contact on the drum, stomped on it hard trying to get them to lock, and they did fine. Only locked when the fronts did too.

Dave

nickg

just so you know on a self energizing system the rear shoe will take all the wear, thats generaly the reason they are thicker, I Have an 01 and cant speak for the older trucks but I'm only guessing they are the same

opps just realized I said the same thing already (above post) maybe after putting some use on the brakes pull a drum down the road to monitor wear

grouch

Brakes are one thing I'm good at. The primary shoe has a shorter pad on it but it goes towards the front of the vehicle. The secondary goes towards the rear of the vehicle and the pad on the shoe carcass is usually longer. This is the shoe that does most of the work but it is second from the front, hence the name secondary. It makes no difference which side you put them on as long as there is one of each. Don't put primary on one side and secondary on the other. I had to find a braking problem on a car once and the owner had done this.

One little tip, do one sde at a time so you can refer to the other side if you forget how it goes. It's like NOT opening your mouth when you clean the toilet. It's just a good idea.

JoeCanuck

I just got some Monroe shoes and they are left and right specific...if you look closely enough. The shoes with the larger friction surface have guides for the brake adjusters so they can only go on the back and the proper side. The front ones have little dimples that I'm matching to the back dimples...though these might not make any difference.

JoeCanuck

Update; I just did the shoes and cylinders on my truck. It was a pain, but not more than I expected.

The shoes I took off had some life left in them but I changed in new shoes anyway. On the ones I took off, they had clearly stamped "Outside" faces so they can only go on one way.

The longer shoe goes on the back. There are dimples on the shoes so if you look carefully, you can match them...if they aren't stamped, and my Monroe shoes weren't.

seipjere

Just wanted to add another (confident, informed) voice to the discussion:

For the record:

Whenever the set of shoes rest against a single solid top cylinder and have a "floating" bottom, the majority of the stopping force, wear, and tear is transferred (by the spin of the drum) from the "primary" "energizing" front shoe down and around to the (generally larger, thicker, or heavier) "secondary" back shoe, which pushes hard against the (stationary) cylinder, and equally hard back against the drum.

It's "secondary" in terms of the split second physics involved, but generally deigned to do twice as much work.* (see 'twice as much work' note at bottom)

IMPORTANT NOTE: When If the cylinder is mounted at the bottom of the drum [which I haven't seen, but probably exists] and the top allowed to "float" -- and whenever your going in reverse -- the opposite is true. (i.e. the motion / friction of the drum determines which is the "primary" shoe, and which is the secondary shoe.)

*'Twice as Much Work' Note: Despite the secondary shoe generally doing twice as much work (in terms of force); I read that some manufactures make the "energizing" "primary" pad's friction / braking surface longer [but not fatter] in order to increase the effectiveness (friction and "energizing") of the combined assembly. (But having a thicker, fatter front pad -- the same length as the back -- is only done when they've been put on backwards.