1. Husqvarna Motorcycles Made In Sweden - About 1988 and older

Drum Brake Prep

Discussion in 'Vintage/Left Kickers' started by mattskn, Feb 17, 2009.

  1. mattskn Husqvarna
    A Class

    Location:
    Bay City, Mi
    I'm putting new Shoe on my 83 XC 250 and the hubs are very contaminated, with dirt, axle grease and what every got in there the last 26 years. I'm wondering what the best method of getting them clean would be..Once i get them clean how do I get a good bedding surface.. I just want the thing to stop and not wreck the new shoes..
    mattskn, Feb 17, 2009
    #1

  2. HuskyT Moderator

    Location:
    Corona, California
    The best thing to do is send them to Woody's vintage and have him resurface the brake drum and arc the pads to match.... expensive though

    link in the vintage parts thread...

    I was lucky enough to find a local machine shop with a couple of "Vatos Locos" that were willing to turn and entire drum and wheel assembly.... you have to look hard to find someone that has a drum lathe that is big enough to hold a 21 " wheel.....

    If you go this route , make sure that your spokes are all tight and true and cut an absolute minimum from the drum surface.... if you cut to much, you will end up sending them to Woody for Resurfacing anyway!

    I've read up on arcing new brake shoes to match but honestly have no experience.That being said, I'm not afraid to try it....
    HuskyT, Feb 17, 2009
    #2
    arbortodd likes this.

  3. luvwoods Husqvarna
    AA Class

    Location:
    Zoar, Ohio
    Fully cover both wheel bearings with two layers of ducttape then clean out all the gook with WD-40 and a stiff/firm bristle toothbrush for scrubbing power. Once all that's out, wash the inside of the hub with hot water and soap. Rinse with hot water and dry immediately. Provided you don't have any corrision/pitting/galling on the break lining which should be machined out, you can clean the lining with a 3M green plastic abrasive pad - the kind you use to scrub kitchen pots and pans. Go lightly so as to not cause depressions anywhere. An alternate method but one I've never used is to re-mount the wheel without the brake plate and have someone spin the wheel for you while you hold the 3M pad on the brake lining. I've never done this because you have to remove the ducttape from the bearings. There's enough fine abrasive on those pads that comes off that it may get into the bearings and I never wanted to take that chance.

    I did this with my '84 WR brakes which were just like yours. I installed new EBC dirt grooved brake shoes and the bike stops fine, although the new shoes are still wearing-in.
    luvwoods, Feb 20, 2009
    #3