Brakes: Problems with brake drum and screws

[kla]

Hi everybody,
I am a very proud owner of a Studebaker President 1955. Since the time I bought it, I was not able to solve the problem I had from the beginning....
On the front right hand side, the brake drum seems to be different in shape and also the screws to fix the wheel are shorter than on the left side. This results in rumbling noises when I drive which resolve nearby totally when I am pushing the brake softly. However, after exchanging the wheel bearings, applying new brake shoes and brake cylinder, the problem still remains.
Can anybody help me or tell me where I could eventually get an original brake drum and the respective screws to solve this annoying problem?
Best regards,

Kurt

[gordr]

It sounds like some person replaced the right front brake drum with one from another vehicle which does not fit properly. Perhaps the bore of the inner bearing does not match the spindle? I cannot see why shorter wheel studs (fixing screws) would make a noise, unless they cause the wheel to be loose.

I have a front drum from a '55 President, which should fit. But shipping from Canada will be costly. Perhaps you could post a photo of the drum, both sides, and the brake assembly? Look closely for shiny marks around the perimeter of the backing plate and drum.

[christophe]

Welcome to the forum Kurt.
The origin of some noises are sometimes very hard to locate. I think I would check the play of the wheel bearings first, then use a stethoscope (a piece of wood can do the trick) to be absolutely sure that the noise is coming from there. I assume you replace the bearings by the same you found on the car but did you check before that the reference is the right one for your car? There might be a clue there.

[Mrs K Corbin]

might be hard to use a stethoscope rolling down the road.... I think that's how I learned to Breakdance!

[GinettaG12P]

might be hard to use a stethoscope rolling down the road.... I think that's how I learned to Breakdance!

What an image!!

[kla]

Hi Gord,
Thank you for your hints. Indeed, I suspect that the brake drum has been taken from another vehicle. So the problem is that the inner bearing is not fitting closely and the screws are to short to fit into the drum. I tried first to use other nuts which have a longer centering pin but this idea failed as well.
I will send you some photos of the situation. Probably I will come back to your offer later on....
Best regards,
Kurt

[kla]

Hi Christophe,
Well, the noise is so clearly coming from the turning wheel and changes with growing speed as well. Moreover, when I am tipping to the brake (which centers the brake drum) the noise fades away. I therefore suppose the cause for the noise really lies in the brake drum centering and not at the bearing (where I used the respective part number in ordering).
Best regards,
Kurt

[christophe]

Hello Kurt,
I can only see two causes for a noise coming from a front wheel, the bearings or something scraping inside and/or outside the drum. If you are sure that it's not the bearings, I would remove the front wheel and back off the brake shoes to see if the noise disappears. An out of round drum usually gives some front end shaking and a pulsating feel at the brake pedal. It might be possible to locate a drum in France. I heard from a huge stock of parts recently.
Good luck to you and nice day to all.

[kla]

Brake problems

Hello Kurt,
I can only see two causes for a noise coming from a front wheel, the bearings or something scraping inside and/or outside the drum. If you are sure that it's not the bearings, I would remove the front wheel and back off the brake shoes to see if the noise disappears. An out of round drum usually gives some front end shaking and a pulsating feel at the brake pedal. It might be possible to locate a drum in France. I heard from a huge stock of parts recently.
Good luck to you and nice day to all.

Hi Christophe, hi all;
Thank you for all your valuable comments. I tried hard to get the problem identified, but now it is solved !!!
The problem were the 5 studs fixed at the front axle to hold the wheel. Obviously, the former owned replaced them by using the wrong studs, namely those which do not have the typical cone to fix the brake drum and wheel and hold it symmetrically. I had to mould the old ones out and to jack the new ones in, using a compression of 12 tons !
Here you might see the difference:

Both types of studs are available for my Studebaker, however, only the left hand ones are correct and fit !
No more problems since !!!

Best to all who might encounter the same problems !

Kurt

[christophe]

Hi Kurt,
Congrats for your find. This was a tough one.
As everything is in order now, will you be at the French meeting near Clermont-Ferrand next week?
Nice day to all.