your not the first person to have the same problem with that type of brake. only thing you could do is double check everything and makesure the drum is square up with the brake shoes and center. i never really had good luck with that type of unit or any others guys.
maybe someone here has run that type of brake before and had goodluck with it.:shrug:
maybe someone here has run that type of brake before and had goodluck with it.:shrug:
Well in the olden times when you had a brake job done on your car the mechanic would clean up the brake drums and the term used they would ARC the brake shoes by sanding off the high spots in the shoe material. The lining in those days were made of asbestos bearing material and and is very harmful to your health.
So you may have brake shoes that don't make good contact with the brake drum.
Yes I am old and I did my share of brake jobs and clutches but I am still here LOL
Steve
So you may have brake shoes that don't make good contact with the brake drum.
Yes I am old and I did my share of brake jobs and clutches but I am still here LOL
Steve
Well in the olden times when you had a brake job done on your car the mechanic would clean up the brake drums and the term used they would ARC the brake shoes by sanding off the high spots in the shoe material. The lining in those days were made of asbestos bearing material and and is very harmful to your health.
So you may have brake shoes that don't make good contact with the brake drum.
Yes I am old and I did my share of brake jobs and clutches but I am still here LOL
Steve
So you may have brake shoes that don't make good contact with the brake drum.
Yes I am old and I did my share of brake jobs and clutches but I am still here LOL
Steve
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Ez, Remove the cable and allow the brake actuating lever to return to the neutral position. Then spin the wheel and see if you are still rubbing. If you are then your problem is within the brake and drum assembly. If there is no rubbing then the problem is with the cable and its hookup. If the problem is internal then remove the brake from the drum and coat the inside surface of the drum with blue chalk like the kind they use for chalklines. Carefully re-insert the brake assembly without touching any of the chalk coated surfaces; tighten everything up and try spinning the rear tire again; without the cable attached. Any high spots will show up as blue spots on the shoes upon disassembly and these can be sanded down. Use a mask of course. The new Azusa brakes aren't as good as the old ones they used to make, but with a little sweet talk and fine tuning they do pretty good. Ogy
Ogy, thanks for all that info. It kind of validates my frustration as to why this "kit" ain't so kit-like.
When I free up the cable and let the lever seek it's neutral position the brake still rubs during about 1/3 the wheel rotation. It's like the brake is not concentric with the drum. I'll try the chalk tactic and let y'all know how it goes. I'll try to take some pics of the process too.
When I free up the cable and let the lever seek it's neutral position the brake still rubs during about 1/3 the wheel rotation. It's like the brake is not concentric with the drum. I'll try the chalk tactic and let y'all know how it goes. I'll try to take some pics of the process too.
A proper squared spacer setup on the back wheel is a must with a drum brake. Also the azusa is a bit tight. I took the shoes where they pivot and deepened the crescent with a round file ever so slightly and it did the trick. I have two azusa drums and backing plates and a 5" bendix reproduction assembly on the go-powers with Bonanza drum sprocket. The spacers were out of square on those wheels and the backing plate was poorly anchored but even after I remedied that I had to stack washers in place of the conduit spacers to get the brakes to ride in the drum square. This is a common problem that I've fixed a few times. They need to be tight so alignment is crucial. It could be junk but I'd rule out everything else. I like the Azusa brakes, not everyone does.:thumbsup:
The real issue with the brake shoes rubbing intermittently is that the cast Azusa wheels wobble from side to side and do not run true on the axle. I had one of these setups on my bike and even with all the fixes listed above, I had to increase the clearance between the brake shoes and the drum to prevent intermittent rubbing. I have since replaced that setup with a custom hydraulic caliper and rotor assembly which is vastly superior.
As a side note, the side wobble also affects the the sprocket alignment. I called Azusa and asked them why they couldn't machine the face of the wheel where the sprocket/hub assembly mounts so that it would run true. I even said I would be willing to pay extra for that feature. They told me that they can't afford it because there are only a few people like me willing to pay for it. To me, it's a sad commentary on how the pursuit of the almighty dollar trumps all other considerations.
As a side note, the side wobble also affects the the sprocket alignment. I called Azusa and asked them why they couldn't machine the face of the wheel where the sprocket/hub assembly mounts so that it would run true. I even said I would be willing to pay extra for that feature. They told me that they can't afford it because there are only a few people like me willing to pay for it. To me, it's a sad commentary on how the pursuit of the almighty dollar trumps all other considerations.
Thanks bwt, I have no perceptible side-to-side wobble of the sprocket and I have a barely perceptible up-and-down movement at most 1/16-in.
You are right! Thanks delray. Upon disassembly of the brake I noticed some markings on the pads and it appeared to be the areas farthest from the axle hole, duh. Just to make sure, I thought that I would try Ogy's method.
Well, I'm fresh outta chalk so of course my wife offered up some lip gloss. I coated the inside of the drum with that stuff, yuk, and put the brake back in.
Here's what I found which was what I was expecting based on the marks on the pads. Nice trick, Ogy!
Thanks for the info steven we'll see what happens! I'll post my progress.
You are right! Thanks delray. Upon disassembly of the brake I noticed some markings on the pads and it appeared to be the areas farthest from the axle hole, duh. Just to make sure, I thought that I would try Ogy's method.
Well, I'm fresh outta chalk so of course my wife offered up some lip gloss. I coated the inside of the drum with that stuff, yuk, and put the brake back in.
Here's what I found which was what I was expecting based on the marks on the pads. Nice trick, Ogy!
Thanks for the info steven we'll see what happens! I'll post my progress.
