55 Driver Front Wheel

[vintagestg]

I've run into a problem that hopefully someone can help me with. I just replaced the front wheel bearings and brakes/hardware on my 55. The problem is that, when I put the drum and wheel/tire back on the driver's side and tighten the lug nuts the tire will spin about a half rotation and then seems to catch on something and stop. The bearings spin fine without the drum on it. The drum spins fine when the lug nuts aren't tightened. I don't think it's the brake pads as I have the adjuster screwed down about as far as it will go. I'm wondering if the drum or backing plate could be out of round and could be catching? Anyone know how to determine if this could be the case? Any other thoughts?

 

[gbhrps]

vintagestg,

You have drums, so you will have brake shoes not pads. Rotors and calipers have no adjuster. How do you spin the bearings and they don't catch, but they do when the drum is on, when the bearings are mounted in the drum?

There is a lot here that doesn't make sense from how you describe it.

The only issues that could give you the problems you're having are:
The inner bearing isn't installed correctly inside the drum or are the incorrect bearings, or you have the spindle nut tightened too much ...
The brake shoes are not centered correctly on the backing plate, and one shoe is rubbing on the drum because its off center, or the new brake shoes are rubbing on the drum and need to have some brake material scrubbed off to make them clear the drum ...

Check those areas and you should find your problem.

I have heard of brake shoes having too much pad material to be able to fit inside the drum, and of brake shoes having the incorrect arch to be able to fit inside the drum issue before on other forums. Compare your new ones with the old ones? Good Luck!

 

[paul2748]

Deleted

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[arussharris]

I'm elbow deep in some drum brake work myself. Concur on potentially the spindle nut being tightened too much. Probably not the cause but ensure that the primary shoe (or shorter one) is installed on the front, as they are easy to flip flop during re-install if you're not paying attention like I was.