How to snap in brake shoe roller

bandsaw · May 05, 2012, 08:16:07 PM

Hello, I am putting new drum brakes on a 1998 H3. The meritor manual suggests installing the shoes, connecting the return spring and then snapping in the brake shoe roller. How do you get enough force to snap in the roller? I tried hitting the roller with a brass rod and a hammer. All that did was make noise. Do I need to remove metal from the shoe?

Thanks, Bandsaw

bobofthenorth · May 06, 2012, 06:03:09 AM

Make sure the slack adjuster is backed right off and then use a prybar to stretch the springs so that the roller will pop into place.

Busted Knuckle · May 06, 2012, 06:09:04 AM

I do like BOTN suggests as far as making sure the slack adjuster is backed all the way off, then I take a large crescent wrench adjusted down to the thickness of the brake shoe (just the shoe not the pad/lining too!) and slip the wrench on the end of the shoe.
Then you can use the wrench to push or pull the shoe out and slip the roller right in.
As a matter of fact just did it less than 24 hrs ago on our '97 Dina that is out on the road making me $ right now!

BK

bandsaw · May 06, 2012, 07:53:30 AM

I stretched the spring and put the roller into the s-cam pocket. The shoe comes back against the roller. The roller is centered on gap in the pocket where it fits in the shoe. The roller does not snap into the shoe. I put a 2 inch ratched strap around the 2 shoes and pulled the shoes against the rollers. The rollers did not snap into the shoes. In your descriptions, the hard part is stretching the shoe, the roller is easily snapped into the shoe. I did not think that I would have to remove metal from the shoe to allow the roller to snap in. I checked the part numbers, the shoe and the roller are correct. Both rockwell/meritor parts.

Thanks, Milo

Busted Knuckle · May 06, 2012, 07:58:30 AM

Do you have the shoe upside down?

The roller does not "snap" into the shoe, it merely rides in the cut out for it! The retainer spring holds it in the shoe!

Wish you'd posted this yesterday I could have shot a picture of it and sent it to you while I had one apart.

BK

chev49 · May 06, 2012, 08:02:13 AM

thanks for the post, bk... i have used vice grips... will try one of the 24" crescents...

Busted Knuckle · May 06, 2012, 08:21:27 AM

Quote from: chev49 on May 06, 2012, 08:02:13 AM
thanks for the post, bk... i have used vice grips... will try one of the 24" crescents...

24" sounds like over kill I generally use 10-12" (whatever is laying close by)

BK

hargreaves · May 06, 2012, 09:26:15 AM

If the roller does not fit all the way into the roller pocket , with the return springs in place, take a medium drift and hit the built up part of the shoe where the roller sits and it will snap into place. sometimes when the shoes are new the rollers need a little help being seated. You should use never seize on the rollers where they contact the shoe. Cheers Gerry

buswarrior · May 06, 2012, 05:48:36 PM

Yes, as noted above, anti-seize goes on between the roller and the shoe.

But NOT on the roller to S-cam surface. It stays clean and dry.

happy coaching!
buswarrior

luvrbus · May 06, 2012, 05:59:24 PM

You guys brought up the never seize which is the best number to use ?, the stuff is getting like ice cream flavors I sent the grandson to buy me a can and he came back with a number 13, I hate the stuff brown in color just doesn't seem right too me

bandsaw · May 06, 2012, 07:39:56 PM

Issue resolved. I took the shoes off and used a large brass hammer to pound the rollers into the shoe. Cut it with an axe, beat to fit and paint to match. Thanks for your comments.

AndyG · May 07, 2012, 07:50:01 AM

I just finished putting brakes on the lowboy and they should be similar to your Prevost. My rollers slipped right in with no effort. The rollers even cam with a wire clip to retain them in the shoes. I love to use hammers but something about this concerns me. You should be OK as long as the rollers turn freely after they are snapped in place. I did notcie that the slots in the brake shoe were different size for the rollers end and anchor end. Make sure that you didn't install the shoes backwards.

bandsaw · May 07, 2012, 09:14:12 PM

There is no possiblity that the shoes are backwards. One end has a round hole with a 1.5 inch diameter bronze bushing and the other has a slot for the roller. Once the roller was in the proper postion, it rolled freely. The Meritor rep call me back today and said that it takes quite a bit of force to put in the roller. The design counts on the ablity of the steel to deflect with out permanent deformation. The roller is as hard as a dowel pin and it did not deform from the hammer blows. I have no concerns that the rollers will fall out. Meritor has their manuals avaliable on Literarture on Demand. The manuals are decent and free.