What to do about brake drums? 960

Brad_bb

Member
I don't think I asked this yet...
My 55 Ford 960, my brake drums are the original steel, they have a lip on them from wear which made them hard to get off. I'm changing the shoes. I only have an I&T manual and it does not give a drum turning spec. Should I turn these drums and if so, what is the maximum diameter? Or should I buy new drums? Are the new ones cast or steel?
Thanks.
 
DO NOT turn your OEM steel brake drums unless you can find someone with an old brake drum GRINDER.

If you are lucky enough to find such a grinder, you will need to have the new shoes cam ground to work properly with the increased ID drums.

Finding someone equipped to do this will be equally challenging.

Aftermarket drums are cast iron and are known to be crack prone.

I would thoroughly sand your existing drums with VERY course sandpaper and replace them.

Dean
 
If you don't care to back the brake adjustment off to remove the drum, use a disc sander to remove the outer lip in the drum and while you have the grinder in hand, grind the outer edge of the brake shoes so as to conform with the wear pattern in the inside edge of the brake drum. None of this has to be perfect as the drum and the shoes ,will get acquainted.
 

I put new shoes on one of my 901s last year. There were some pretty good grooves in the drums but I was able to back the adjusters way off and get the drums off. Rather than get the Chinese drums I am intending to keep after the adjustments frequently.
 
You can turn that lip down with no issues. You can dress up the lip on the very inside if you know what you are doing. Its thin their were it turns up toward the hub face and it does not take much to make a two piece drum out if what you have :cry:

If it makes you feel real good sand the drum,,, It accomplishes nuttin.... Let say you do nuttin I would make a radius on the edges of both shoes were they contact those lips you do not like but it may not accomplish nuttin...

I would make sure all surfaces were the shoes contact the backing plate are burr free and lubed... Other than that theirs not much else you can do about what you have run it...
 
I did a complete brake job on my 850, and found drums at val-u-bilt, was like $60 in '04 shipped, the cast is deceiving, looks thicker. These were of turkish MFR. I ran these for years, I don't really use the brakes that much or for any sharp turning or anything, but a few years back I cracked one of them but good, tore the center out, got stuck near a field edge to a marsh, not too soft but side slope, one tire not loaded, so I built up a bunch of small diameter cribbing in the rut, had to work the brakes a little and it to be what did it. I put one steel one back on, had kept the OEM ones on the shelf, they were actually fine, could have reused them both, but thinking I'd get the best brakes from all new parts, dealing with hills around here, so it made sense, old one and a quick adjustment, worked like new.
 
I also purchased the Turkish shoes. I too attempted to determine if they were cast or steel. They fit nicely, were reasonably priced ($90 ea at a combo tractor/auto parts store).

My conclusion was two fold. 1. I applied moly grease to the interface and the nuts. Second was that I would be dead before they would need replacing again so it'd be someone elses problem; but the grease will solve future problems.

I mean the ones I took off were on a '63 tractor with 5000 hrs. This is '13. I'm retired. If I put a couple hundred hours a year on a piece it's a lot. Works for me.

Mark
 
I replaced the original drums with new ones from CNH at least ten years ago. They were made in India and were ridiculously expensive, but they matched the originals and I've had no problems whatsoever with them. If you're still on your original 55-year-old drums, I'd say you've gotten your money's worth from them. Replace them and it will be the last pair you'll buy in this lifetime.
 
Honestly, I think it took some abuse to break on me, I was not stuck deep or needing a tow, but somewhere along the way I fractured something and or all at once, hard to say, I think they will suffice under normal use. I actually could not believe how inexpensive these were in '04,, have to wonder what they are now from that same source which used to have a filter on the name here, you could not mention nnalert, yet I think they were the only source I could find at the time.

One of the smart things I've always done was save any useful part I take off, and knew to make sure those oem drums went on the shelf, now I need to decide, should I get another replacement or put the other oem one back on. Probably the latter, they were in nice shape, I try to go easy on anything that has brakes, car, tractor, truck what have you and it seems I get a long service life from doing that, well 'cept while near that marsh land that day, but could not leave it down there, even though the chance is very slight someone would mess with the tractor, just one rule I try to adhere to, never leave anything in the field, cost me a drum that day LOL !
 
Turning brake drums on a Ford tractor is a feel good thing.The lip on the edge is more rust than wear.Most auto rims get this lip and turning the brake adjustment down will let you get the drums off.I had to put new drums on my Ford pick up because of salt damage.The brake surface wasnt bad but salt had eroded the out side to the point that the rim area was breaking off.The Ford Shop manual says do not remove stock in excess of .050.No maximum diameter measurment given.
 

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