I've had my Lark V-8 with manual brakes for many years and the brakes always worked surprisingly well. I bought replacement linings from a Studebaker vendor (Packard Farm) years back before I needed them, and when I noticed the linings were almost worn out, about 2 years ago, I got around to putting them on (very carefully). Immediately thereafter, the brake pedal needed much more force, the brakes faded after a couple moderate stops and I got the smell of hot linings with the first moderate stop and afterward. At that time, I double checked the installation and could find nothing wrong. I thought that they possibly needed wearing in, so I continued to drive the car for 2 years (carefully) but they have never improved much. Soooo, I took the drums off today to inspect everything and can see nothing wrong: there is no grease on the linings or drum, the lining lengths measure the correct length (primary and secondary shoes), the little wear which has occurred appears even along the length of the linings (no sign of partial contact). The linings do seem very glazed- I can see reflections on them. They also have some surface cracks. My guess is the glazing is causing the problem. The shop manual talks about the possibility of glazing and new linings, but it says that can be removed by doing some hard stops until they give out a strong odor and letting them cool. That has been done many times over the last 2 years with no improvement. Maybe the old asbestos linings acted differently.
Does anyone have any thoughts? If the glazing is the problem, what can I do about it? Were there some brake shoes sold in the past with unsuitable lining material? I tried to attach photos, but it doesn't look like they attached. Thanks in advance for any help.
Does anyone have any thoughts? If the glazing is the problem, what can I do about it? Were there some brake shoes sold in the past with unsuitable lining material? I tried to attach photos, but it doesn't look like they attached. Thanks in advance for any help.
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