Wagner Rear Brake Shoes

[Joe Dz]

Hey Guys,

I'm going through all of the brakes on a 64 dart and bought some Wagner brake shoes. There is a pin on the shoes that my old shoes did not have (see picture). Do I need to punch the pin out????

 

[BillGrissom]

I recall always needing that pin, indeed it usually came separate and you had to press it in, or even re-use the pin from the old shoes. As I recall, the self-adjuster and its torsion spring fit on that pin. There is an old-style and a new-style self-adjuster, but I recall both use that pin. I switched to the new-style on my 65 Dart since easier to get the hardware kit and the over-ride spring is an improvement. Search here and you can find photos of the drum brake assembly.

Finally, a tip if your first time. The brake shoe set has 2 different length linings on the shoes. The short linings are the front shoes. The gomer who installed the new shoes in my 64 Valiant just before I bought it had all long shoes on one side and all short on the other side. Maybe they meant to circle-track race the convertible.

 

[Joe Dz]

Thanks for the info Bill! I ended up just knocking them out so that the shoes were the same as the ones originally on the car. I wonder if you don't need the cable that runs from the top of the backplate to the adjuster tab with these pins. The pin might set the tab alignment, but I don't know...

 

[SGBARRACUDA]

Those pins are part of the self adjusting mechanism. If you don't use the cable,spring,pin,the arm that goes on that pin them there is nothing to hold the adjuster from turning. The alternative is to use a spring on the bottom from shoe to shoe that puts pressure on the adjuster to keep it from turning after you manually adjust the brakes.

 

[Back in Time]

Doing some work on my Dart today.Last person to wrench on it put all new hoses/springs etc but had the shoes backwards.Can't count the number of time I've run across this.

 

[SGBARRACUDA]

Doing some work on my Dart today.Last person to wrench on it put all new hoses/springs etc but had the shoes backwards.Can't count the number of time I've run across this.

I've seen that done as many times as i have seen them correct. And that is a bunch since I'm an old fart.

 

[BillGrissom]

Sorry, my memory sucks. I just ran across some photos. You don't need that pin for the early adjusters. The 2nd photo is the 10" left rear of my 65 Dart w/ later adjusters which do need the pin. I bought the "hardware kit" at Autozone (~$12/axle), and recall they only had for 73+. If so, re-use your rear shoe pins since the width differed.

BTW, not sure why the linings on my front & rear shoes appear the same. I kind of recall that all 4 shoes in the box had the same linings. If not, maybe I later noticed and swapped shoes. I kind of recall doing that once too. Perhaps owning 7 cars confuses me sometimes.

 

[Mattax]

That's correct. The self adjusters were changed to the new style in the 1969 model year. It's mentioned in the Master Tech series and/or in the Service bulletins (see the Hamtrack Historical website for those).

In 1968, the shoes had a minor change from earlier years by using three tabs to rub against the backing plate. For 10x1.75" rear drums, the correct FMSI frame number* is 256 up to Feb 1967, 288 for '68, and 331 from 1969 up.
I've been given 151 (Ford style) shoes and 331 shoes from most parts stores. Both will work with the '68 and earlier set up (just remove the pin on the 331 as you did), although Chrysler did disapprove of techs using 'other brand' shoes frames.

*The frame or backing plate number is an accepted standard. Often its worked into the aftermarket manufacturer's part number, but not always. You'll usually find it stamped on the metal as well.