WORKSHOP: Old drum brakes can be refurbished by specialists to deliver braking performance that is as good, or better, than new. We visited Bremsen-Schöbel, a German company that specialises in refurbishing brakes of vehicles no longer in production.
A new set of brake shoes can be enough to restore braking power to old drum brakes, but what do you do if replacement shoes are no longer available and the drums are scored and damaged? The answer: have the shoes re-lined and the drums skimmed. Dietmar Streitmatter of Nuremberg based Bremsen-Schöbel outlined the processes his company follows to bring new stopping power to aged drum brakes, with similar work offered by specialists in the UK and Ireland.
Glued or rivetted brake linings
The main components of a drum brake are the drum, brake shoes to which the linings are attached and the actuating mechanism. Drum brakes are mainly used on trailers, with normal wear not always being the sole cause of poor braking. Leaking fluid from a slave cylinder of hydraulic brakes or failing bearing seals leading lubricant getting into the drum are common causes of poor braking power. If brakes linings are contaminated with oil or brake fluid, the only way to restore braking performance is the renew the shoes or fit them with new linings.
The drum linings of agricultural and industrial trailers are usually riveted to the shoe, making them relatively easy to remove and replace them with new, however, brake specialists may prefer bonding the liners to the shoe. With no rivet heads to worry about, a bonded liner has the potential to last longer simply because it can wear to a thinner thickness with no rivet heads to worry about.
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