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Drum and shoe groove??

M

mrmuelle

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Minnesota/Michigan
Today I rotated my tires and looked at my brakes as long as I had the wheels off. The fronts were just fine, but when i pulled off the drum on the back there was a groove right in the center of the track where the shoe rubs. The shoes have a groove right in the center that goes the length of the shoe(on both shoes). I'd never seen anything like this so I searched around and every replacement shoe looked like a regular full width one. The groove in the shoes looks too perfect to have broke or worn off. I'm just curious if anyone else has seen this and if it's normal. They weren't making any noises or vibrations, so i just put it all back together. The shoes were fine otherwise. I have a 8.25 rear on a 2001 Classic if that helps anyone. Thanks!
 
likely someone before you ran the shoes till they scored the drum and just put shoes on it so the new shoes just wore into the exsisting groove, you need drums
 
kennzz05 said:
likely someone before you ran the shoes till they scored the drum and just put shoes on it so the new shoes just wore into the exsisting groove, you need drums
Click to expand...
And new shoes!
 
Well, I know that brake safety is a priority, and almost everyone is going to tell you to get new drums or have them turned and replace the shoes. I agree that at some point previously, someone drove while the shoes and drums were metal to metal and it gouged out the drum. I have replaced shoes and pads on brakes with grooves worn in them many times. As you have seen, the linings wear back in to the grooves with no loss of brake contact.

What worries me though, is that I can't tell if you have a groove in your drum and a ridge on the shoe, or a ridge on the drum and a groove in the shoe. If you have a ridge in the drum, a lot of metal has been scraped off the drum in the adjacent areas in order to leave the ridge. This probably leaves the drum too thin and could be dangerous. Also, this scraped off surface is probably too rough for good braking.

If, however, it is just a gouge in the drum, and a ridge on the shoe, it really won't hurt anything. (Everyone on this forum can now proceed to disagree.)
 
just get some used grand cherokee disk brakes and the whole thing won't be an issue again. But I agree sounds like you just need some new drums and shoes and that will resolve the issue.
 
the 8.25 that got from an 01 had a wierd set of shoes. they were higher on the edges and then had a groove or indent in the middle. the axle was 5 years old when i swapped it in, so they may or may not have been factory pads. i did not have any unusual problems with those brakes, but i was wanting to swap it out for a set that looked better. eventually i did- with ZJ disks.
 
winterbeater said:
Well, I know that brake safety is a priority, and almost everyone is going to tell you to get new drums or have them turned and replace the shoes. I agree that at some point previously, someone drove while the shoes and drums were metal to metal and it gouged out the drum. I have replaced shoes and pads on brakes with grooves worn in them many times. As you have seen, the linings wear back in to the grooves with no loss of brake contact.

What worries me though, is that I can't tell if you have a groove in your drum and a ridge on the shoe, or a ridge on the drum and a groove in the shoe. If you have a ridge in the drum, a lot of metal has been scraped off the drum in the adjacent areas in order to leave the ridge. This probably leaves the drum too thin and could be dangerous. Also, this scraped off surface is probably too rough for good braking.

If, however, it is just a gouge in the drum, and a ridge on the shoe, it really won't hurt anything. (Everyone on this forum can now proceed to disagree.)
Click to expand...


not a slam but as you know the right way would be to r/r both drums and shoes but ive done it too. to bottom line it, any loss of metal in the drum would negate passing a state inspection
 
Last edited:
mrmuelle said:
when i pulled off the drum on the back there was a groove right in the center of the track where the shoe rubs. The shoes have a groove right in the center that goes the length of the shoe(on both shoes). shoes were fine otherwise. I have a 8.25 rear on a 2001 Classic if that helps anyone. Thanks!
Click to expand...

My 2001 Sport's Factory rear brake shoes have the same groove you are seeing. I just went out and check my scrap pile to make sure.
 
Some shoes have grooves -- simple as that.

And Florida must have one helluva of an inspection process if they pull the wheels and drums and measure the drum thickness.

Can't speak for the rest of the world but Texas not even close. I think the inspectors feel they are pretty lucky if they can stop the vehicle within a few feet of the point where they normally peel the old sticker off and put the new one on. Somewhat of an exaggeration, of course, but not that far off in a lot of cases.
 
i ran out to my scrap pile and pulled my old backing plates with the shoes still on them and took a pic. they are off of an 01 xj 8.25. mrmuelle, does the below pic look like what your asking about?

1000716p.jpg


the above is normal. i dont know why they are like this but they are. after my axle swap i asked arround about this because my stock brakes did not have the indent down the middle. everyone i asked with a late model had the same answer of thats how they are and that nothing is wrong with them.
 
stewie said:
i ran out to my scrap pile and pulled my old backing plates with the shoes still on them and took a pic. they are off of an 01 xj 8.25. mrmuelle, does the below pic look like what your asking about?

1000716p.jpg


the above is normal. i dont know why they are like this but they are. after my axle swap i asked arround about this because my stock brakes did not have the indent down the middle. everyone i asked with a late model had the same answer of thats how they are and that nothing is wrong with them.
Click to expand...

Your old brakes look just like mine.
I'm going to take a guess that they did are that way to help prevent rear axle lockup.
It would be interesting to see if ABS equipped XJs rear brake linings are the same.
 
Last edited:
My 8.25 is out of a 99 & had the same type shoes on it. They were from the factory as the axle only had about 40K on it at the time. JIM.
 
Question?
Does Florida have a state vehicle inspection?
My Pa. staste inspection mechanic pulls all 4 wheels.
The minimum drum thickness is molded into the drum when cast.
They have specs for the rotor minimum thickness.
Yes, they check all friction material thickness too.
It is an expensive pain once a year, but you know your vehicle is safe when you drive home.
With the minimum emissions test it runs about $70.00 each year.
I have heard that Philadelphia and Pittsburgh areas actually have a dyno test for emissions.
Rick
 
Last edited:
mrmuelle said:
Stewie that's exactly what I was asking about. I've been looking at replacements but none I've found have that groove. I guess I now have an excuse for disks!
Click to expand...

i guess its a late model thing... that was my excuse for disks. yah, that was it. thats my story and im sticking to it. half the time i dont have excuses anymore. :sure:lol
 
That groove in the shoes is bizarre! Not on my 2000. I guess the brakes were so powerfull that they had to cut down on the lining area. (LOL). More likely, the reduced lining material saved money for the manufacturer. I'm sure it doesn't make it easier to get the drums off after they wear in a little.
 
Ricker said:
Question?
Does Florida have a state vehicle inspection?
My Pa. staste inspection mechanic pulls all 4 wheels.
The minimum drum thickness is molded into the drum when cast.
They have specs for the rotor minimum thickness.
Yes, they check all friction material thickness too.
It is an expensive pain once a year, but you know your vehicle is safe when you drive home.
With the minimum emissions test it runs about $70.00 each year.
I have heard that Philadelphia and Pittsburgh areas actually have a dyno test for emissions.
Rick
Click to expand...
no nothing in fl but used to live in md where there was but only when transfiring owenership nothing near as bad as pa.
 
winterbeater said:
That groove in the shoes is bizarre! Not on my 2000. I guess the brakes were so powerfull that they had to cut down on the lining area. (LOL). More likely, the reduced lining material saved money for the manufacturer. I'm sure it doesn't make it easier to get the drums off after they wear in a little.
Click to expand...

let me guess- your 2000 has (or had) a D35?
 
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