Dissapointed 2yr old brake shoes :-(

Crusher · 06 April 2014, 19:13

Stripped down my trailer hubs today to find the 2 year old knott brake shoes have completely lost all their lining!! :-( and parts of the lining are in every part of the brakes inside the hub.

I replaced one axles shoes two years ago and bearings all round. My plan was to replace bearings all round again and brake shoes on the other axle, as well as a good clean up and health check. Thus the shoes would be replaced every 4 years and bearings every two.
Surely brake shoes should last longer that two years? No matter how much they get dunked??
Or am I being in realistic??
Is there anything you can do to give them a longer life??

Chris · 06 April 2014, 19:33

No chance they will last three years if
Regularly used / dunked... I would strip and grease the brakes every 6 months and bank on brake shoes lasting 1 year to 2 MAX... Bearings may last up to 5 years but could also fail after 1 normally I would hope to get 2 years out of bearings before they start to get noisey.

Peter_C · 06 April 2014, 19:47

They were probably adjusted too tight. With a little bit of use, the brake linings expand and the hotter they get the more they expand. This in turn causes the brakes to stay on continuously, which I am sure you can figure out won't last very long.

I had a freshwater boat with hydraulic surge brakes that lasted for over 6 years, and 10,000 miles before I had a problem and switched to disk brakes. Disk brakes with a reverse cut are where it is at.

Crusher · 06 April 2014, 22:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peter_C

They were probably adjusted too tight. With a little bit of use, the brake linings expand and the hotter they get the more they expand. This in turn causes the brakes to stay on continuously, which I am sure you can figure out won't last very long. I had a freshwater boat with hydraulic surge brakes that lasted for over 6 years, and 10,000 miles before I had a problem and switched to disk brakes. Disk brakes with a reverse cut are where it is at.

Don't think they were adjusted too tight... Never ran hot or smelly and on any distance I always checked upon arrival...
But I didn't know the lining could expand.... I will make sure they are backed off a little....thanks

CJL · 06 April 2014, 23:35

I've had bad shoes and good shoes over the years but in the main I would expect to get 3/4 years out of them before starting to get concerned and we do a lot of towing!

Do whatever you can to extend the life, hose em down with fresh water, wait for them to cool before launching and you should be ok.

Chris

Daibheid · 07 April 2014, 12:28

Be grateful you didn't discover the problem when the loose lining locked the brakes suddenly on one side while at speed on a wet road!

Nothing about the brakes are designed to cope with salt water and the shoes start rusting after the first dip. The rust will get under the bond between the linings and the metal shoe and the rest as they say is history. I've learned a good warning if you see fuel consumption higher than you expect it's often an early warning that there's something adrift in the brakes. An instantaneous fuel consumption indication on your car dash is helpful but the tank contents works too albeit a bit more slowly. If you then find you've a hot hub cease and desist or you could have an accident or indeed burn your boat if the brake friction ignites the tyre .......Seriously!

Flushing apparently can hep but not much IMHO. One option if the boat is say 6m or less and only repositioned to a launch area near the water for the season is to whip the brakes out between the two long trips of the year but of course you need to consider the legal implications not to mention your ability to stop as you arrive at the slip.

My experience is the shoes will last at most two seasons but you need to check them about every six months - and that's with flushing after each dip.

Never leave the handbrake on either - that'll stick 'em to the hub and I've seen the resulting efforts to free the brakes rip chunks of lining off.

wavelength · 07 April 2014, 14:36

brakes and boat trailers are a nightmare. We are lucky with the local slips in that with a bit of ingenuity we can keep the drums dry but once dunked its a one way downhill process . As said the rust gets twixt shoe and lining and prises it off.
Lucky you didn't seize a wheel up.
We had one fall apart in the storage yard and had a **** of a job to get the drum off. Wheel locked up solid with the loose lining jammed against the drum.
Auto reverse loves to seize up too once they have had the salt in there.
Welcome to the world of braked trailers!! -they are indeed the work of the devil!

Rogue Wave · 07 April 2014, 23:14

It is my understanding that that water can sometimes get in between the lining and the shoe and this then freezes ( obviously expanding ) over winter and this can partially lift the linings off the shoes and cause them to fragment/separate when next used.

There is of course no substitute for regular maintenance but sh*t does happen with trailers

wavelength · 08 April 2014, 00:08

Quote:

water can sometimes get in between the lining and the shoe and this then freezes

some merit in that theory too I think Stu. I vividly remember sitting on m'bum in the snow for ***** ages trying to get that drum off!
So it was a tad chilly.

m chappelow · 09 April 2014, 10:33

Can you still get riveted brake shoe linings rather than adhesive stuck ones .

Dry_Doc · 10 April 2014, 21:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by m chappelow

Can you still get riveted brake shoe linings rather than adhesive stuck ones .

You can still get them in classic car circles, with a bit of measuring you should be able to find a set of replacement linings that will fit trailer brake shoes. There may well be legal issues with modifying the shoes in this manner though!
I liked riveted shoes!

Pikey Dave · 12 April 2014, 00:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by m chappelow

Can you still get riveted brake shoe linings rather than adhesive stuck ones .

These people
will reline your shoes with riveted linings for a fair price if the shoes are in decent nick. I've had them done in the past. I now have the Al-Ko flushing system fitted to my drums & find that everything lasts much longer.

Mollers · 12 April 2014, 10:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pikey Dave

These people
will reline your shoes with riveted linings for a fair price if the shoes are in decent nick. I've had them done in the past. I now have the Al-Ko flushing system fitted to my drums & find that everything lasts much longer.

Made my own flush kit from Hep2o plumbing bits. Likewise, it extends life considerably.