Brake shoes
Posted: Sat Jun 08, 2013 11:52 am
Hi everyone,
I have just had a salutary experience with brake shoes that, although with our 'modern' car, would apply to all cars with conventional brake shoes, which I guess covers all Jowetts?
We have a Peugeot 406 Estate, which has a rear handbrake using conventional shoes, although the drums also carry discs in a combined assembly, the handbrake only operates on the shoes inside the drums. The discs became past their sell by date and needed changing, which of course meant buying a set of parts, inculding the attached drums and new shoes.
Fitting everything new, the performance of the handbrake was poor to say the least! Wisdom suggests leaving things for a couple of weeks, to let the new shoes 'bed-in' and rub off the high spots. Did that, and if anything, the handbrake got worse! It got to the point where leaving the car in gear when parked was the only safe thing to do.
Investigated and took the car to the local MoT station. The handbrake response on the rolling road was only 11%, where a minimum pass is set at 16%! So, that's a fail then! What to do? Everything was shiny new, the cables were free and the system couldn't be simpler. Decided to remove the shoes, which had been supplied as a set that came with the new discs and pads. Replaced them with Ferodo Premium shoes, which were more expensive. Immediately, and without bedding-in time, took the car back to the MoT station. The test result had shot up to 25%, which gave a good pass. The handbrake felt really good and held on the hills around Bath.
The message here is don't buy cheap shoes! I was amazed at the difference the shoes have made, and this is when the car is normally stationary! You might say that the cheap shoes were not contacting all around the surface...but on inspection there seemed to be good contact with even rubbing around the shoe surface on the cheaper shoes. It does seem that the lining material seems to be the main contributor to brake effectiveness in this case.
I mention this as I believe the front full-hydraulic Javelin shoes are equal to those on Mk.1 Ford Consul, and can often be found at autojumbles. ( When asking, it's worth not mentioning they are for a Jowett, as the price will be set much higher! ) But it would be worth making sure you select the best quality shoes, given a choice, in view of my recent experience.
All the best,
David
I have just had a salutary experience with brake shoes that, although with our 'modern' car, would apply to all cars with conventional brake shoes, which I guess covers all Jowetts?
We have a Peugeot 406 Estate, which has a rear handbrake using conventional shoes, although the drums also carry discs in a combined assembly, the handbrake only operates on the shoes inside the drums. The discs became past their sell by date and needed changing, which of course meant buying a set of parts, inculding the attached drums and new shoes.
Fitting everything new, the performance of the handbrake was poor to say the least! Wisdom suggests leaving things for a couple of weeks, to let the new shoes 'bed-in' and rub off the high spots. Did that, and if anything, the handbrake got worse! It got to the point where leaving the car in gear when parked was the only safe thing to do.
Investigated and took the car to the local MoT station. The handbrake response on the rolling road was only 11%, where a minimum pass is set at 16%! So, that's a fail then! What to do? Everything was shiny new, the cables were free and the system couldn't be simpler. Decided to remove the shoes, which had been supplied as a set that came with the new discs and pads. Replaced them with Ferodo Premium shoes, which were more expensive. Immediately, and without bedding-in time, took the car back to the MoT station. The test result had shot up to 25%, which gave a good pass. The handbrake felt really good and held on the hills around Bath.
The message here is don't buy cheap shoes! I was amazed at the difference the shoes have made, and this is when the car is normally stationary! You might say that the cheap shoes were not contacting all around the surface...but on inspection there seemed to be good contact with even rubbing around the shoe surface on the cheaper shoes. It does seem that the lining material seems to be the main contributor to brake effectiveness in this case.
I mention this as I believe the front full-hydraulic Javelin shoes are equal to those on Mk.1 Ford Consul, and can often be found at autojumbles. ( When asking, it's worth not mentioning they are for a Jowett, as the price will be set much higher! ) But it would be worth making sure you select the best quality shoes, given a choice, in view of my recent experience.
All the best,
David