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Front brake drum shot?


ICPete

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Last September I had my brakes inspected and worked on at a shop in Nevada. They replaced all four rear drums but said the front drums were fine. I've driven about 2000 miles since the truck left their shop.

Today I pulled a front drum in preparation to install Tru-Balance centering sleeves, as well as Centramatic balancers.

I've only pulled the front left, and due to jack stand limitations I only want to pull one front wheel at a time, but here is what the left drum looks like:

 

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The depth of wear looks like at least 1/16 inch to me; not sure what the limit would be.

But look at that crazing! I have to think that is not good! If I run my fingers across the surface, it feel severely rippled; there is a noticeable depression at each crack.

 

Any other opinions?

 

I've done quite a few brake jobs in my life, though only on passenger cars and light trucks. I've never seen a drum looking like this. False alarm, or should I definitely replace the front drums?

 

Volvo parts list calls for a Centrifuse 90174B, and that is the number printed on the OD of the drums. I think Motor Wheel makes these drums from multiple types of metal, fusing the braking surface to the rest of the drum. There may be cheaper types available that are machined from solid cast iron, but I'm not sure about that. I would guess Volvo used the Centrifuse type for a reason...

 

Pete

2007 NuWa Hitchhiker Discover America 339RSB

2000 Volvo VNL64T770 with TrailerSaver hitch, wooden flat bed, Detroit 12.7L S60, 10-sp AutoShift, still tandem

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Drums are relatively cheap. That way all the braking surfaces are now equal. Replace them.

Jeff Beyer temporarily retired from Trailer Transit
2000 Freightliner Argosy Cabover
2008 Work and Play 34FK
Homebase NW Indiana, no longer full time

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Thanks!

Yeah I just reviewed the invoice from the shop in Elko. They replaced the shoes with remans at all SIX hubs! So they definitely saw these drum faces.

And I can see that the shoe linings do indeed look brandy-new; hardly worn at all!

 

Now, I see the genuine Centrifuse drums cost around $400 each (not relatively cheap!).

There are Gunites that seem to be cross-referenced (3774X) at about half that price, but are probably solid cast iron, rather than the bimetal construction of the OEM drums.

 

One problem is that I already have the Tru-Balance sleeves (but haven't opened the package yet), and they have a different version for the Gunite 3774X drums, due to the much thicker drum material at the bolt holes (1/2" thick for the Gunite vs 1/4" thick for the CentriFuse).

 

I've got a call in to Ed Donley to get his advice about $400 drums vs $200 drums...

2007 NuWa Hitchhiker Discover America 339RSB

2000 Volvo VNL64T770 with TrailerSaver hitch, wooden flat bed, Detroit 12.7L S60, 10-sp AutoShift, still tandem

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That's some heavy heat check. But by the book it is still OK but is to be watched. Watched? Nobody's going to get to your point again in a month just to see if their cracks changed. Replace em. Centrifuse is still the original and best. Normally they are bought for their weight savings (unsprung weight savings is important to you guys as well) but a lot of guys swear by them for quality and roundness. There should be a Meritor X30 spun drum that is a good quality alternative with the thin wheel flange out there as well.

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FWIW:

I'm not sure how common my size front drums are among Volvos, but the 15 x 5 inch size is certainly turning out to be unusual as I have called around a bunch of places looking for them. The CentriFuse number is 90174B. Meritor makes a similar fused bimetallic drum that they call SteelLite X30; it's equivalent number is 53-123598-002. After calling every place from the Volvo dealer to various truck and trailer parts distributors in Tucson and Phoenix, the best I came up with is FleetPride in Tucson, who is having to truck the drums in from their California warehouse (2 days transit time). They gave me a price of $225 each. Maybe the Meritor X30 drums might be lower than that, but they are also rare as hen's teeth. Arizona Brake & Clutch in Phoenix told me they sell about one pair per year and don't carry them in stock. So I ordered them from FleetPride and should have them on Wednesday this week.

 

BTW, the new Michelin XZA3+ steer tires made a noticeable improvement in the ride smoothness over my old Firestone FS507 tires. Even though they have not been balanced and I won't have the Centramatics until tomorrow, the Michelins really ride nicely. We just did a 1000-mile weekend trip to CA and back. I'm eager to see whether adding the Tru-Balance centering sleeves and Centramatic balancers to the front wheels can possibly improve the already-smooth ride.

 

Meanwhile I'm moving on to sanding and polishing the front wheels while they are off... my truck is going to look so spiffy now!

 

Pete

2007 NuWa Hitchhiker Discover America 339RSB

2000 Volvo VNL64T770 with TrailerSaver hitch, wooden flat bed, Detroit 12.7L S60, 10-sp AutoShift, still tandem

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Pete I had to replace both front drums 2 weeks before the ECR. I chose the after marke hubs on the advice of Randy my Guardian Angle. He has 15 98 to 02 Volvos that tow containers local he in Tidewater Va. The are permited over weight to 88K. That is the only drums he puts on his trucks. So that was what I went with and no problems up and back from the ECR. 1200 round trip. I was quoted 350 at Volvo and they didn't have them in stock. Only you can make the call but get all the input you can before spending $700. Good luck. Pat

 

 

The Old Sailor

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Pete I had to replace both front drums 2 weeks before the ECR. I chose the after marke hubs on the advice of Randy my Guardian Angle. He has 15 98 to 02 Volvos that tow containers local he in Tidewater Va. The are permited over weight to 88K. That is the only drums he puts on his trucks. So that was what I went with and no problems up and back from the ECR. 1200 round trip. I was quoted 350 at Volvo and they didn't have them in stock. Only you can make the call but get all the input you can before spending $700. Good luck. Pat

 

 

The Old Sailor

Pat,

 

Which aftermarket hubs did you go with? How much?

John

Southern Nevada

2008 Volvo 780, D13, I-Shift

2017 Keystone Fuzion 420 Toyhauler 

2017 Can-Am Maverick X3-RS

 

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Wow I missed the 15x5 part. Wasn't really used in my side of things but it was the original tractor bigbrake long ago. So yea I bet they aren't the every day drum sitting in stock. Just out of curiosity, are they Q+ brakes? Meritor slacks?

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Scrap,

I'm not familiar with Q+ brakes; how would I recognize that?

The ASA do appear to be Meritor and indeed have a TDA part number in the Volvo listing for my VIN.

The ASA is listed by Volvo as TDA V1-3275R1188. The 3275 part followed by a letter and then 4 digits does look like a Meritor slack adjuster number.

However when I search Meritor listings and cross-referencing, that exact number doesn't come up. In fact I find nothing with -1188 at the end.

By appearance though it does look like a standard Meritor ASA.

2007 NuWa Hitchhiker Discover America 339RSB

2000 Volvo VNL64T770 with TrailerSaver hitch, wooden flat bed, Detroit 12.7L S60, 10-sp AutoShift, still tandem

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Scrap,

OK I learned about the Meritor Q+ drum brake system from their website. After checking the part numbers for the replacement shoes installed last fall, they are indeed the Q+ system.

The shoes for the fronts are XK2124703QP; the rears are XK2124718QP.

In their literature Meritor makes a big deal about how their Q+ drum brakes perform nearly the same as disks, and enable the latest "RSD" (Reduced Stopping Distance) performance required for new trucks manufactured in the past few years.

So that sounds great; we'll see if the new drums make a difference.

For anyone interested, here is the Meritor page on the Q-Plus brakes:

http://mpgseries.com/QPlusASA.aspx

2007 NuWa Hitchhiker Discover America 339RSB

2000 Volvo VNL64T770 with TrailerSaver hitch, wooden flat bed, Detroit 12.7L S60, 10-sp AutoShift, still tandem

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Yes, pulled the pawl out to back off the square-tipped adjuster screw.

The ASA's look just like the one in the photo on the web page I linked to.

2007 NuWa Hitchhiker Discover America 339RSB

2000 Volvo VNL64T770 with TrailerSaver hitch, wooden flat bed, Detroit 12.7L S60, 10-sp AutoShift, still tandem

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Veges Flyer The part # at Tidewater Fleet here in Chesapeake Va is 65545B Webb these drums were made in the USA and visual inspection showed good machine work and a good looking drum. Their # 757-547- 2167. Replacing the slack adjuster hardware made all the difference in the world IRT the braking in a straight line. The drums were about $156 ea. I don'd know if the P/N will be the same where you are but if not maybe you can call them and talk to them. Hope this helps. Pat

 

 

The Old Sailor

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Glenn,

I jack the truck until the tire is about an inch off the ground. Then I use two 2x4 or 2x6 planks, about 3 feet long each, as levers on the two sides to lift and maneuver the wheel off or onto the hub.

I wear gloves and take my time, being careful not to bash the lugs.

Once off I can roll the tire wherever I need to.

See my earlier post from a few weeks ago with a link to a short video showing me tipping a rear wheel up onto my homemade lazy-susan pedestal, in order to sand and polish it.

Now I just have the front wheels to polish, which are MUCH easier to do than the rears.

My new brake drums should be here today.

 

Pat,

The Webb drums you list are 15 x 4, so much easier to find that size. I'm suspicious about my slack adjusters as well. They seem to be properly adjusted now, but it's on my list to remove them one at a time and either replace or rebuild them.

 

Pete

2007 NuWa Hitchhiker Discover America 339RSB

2000 Volvo VNL64T770 with TrailerSaver hitch, wooden flat bed, Detroit 12.7L S60, 10-sp AutoShift, still tandem

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Gleen, The drums I used fit the front.They worked fine on the trip to ECR. When I take a tire off I usually jack the tire a 1/2' off the ground and take a 24" pry bar and get the tire moving and then from the top pull and the tire will usually come off the studs. But like Pete said be careful. When I install, same 1/2" I line the tire up with the wheel stud at 12 o'clock. Then I take the 24" pry bar and put it under the tire on the center and just push down a little and it will usually slip on. The pry bar has a curved end so that give me play room. Hope that helps. It just takes time finding the most comfortable way for you. Pat

 

 

The Old Sailor

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I have seen tire shops and have used it myself and it works great. That item is a shovel, easy to get under tire and easy to lift. A pointed shovel not a square front shovel. Just a thought........

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2001 610 Volvo -Volvo power 465HP/1650 -autoshift
2009 Smart Passion / cross loaded on Volvo
2014.5 Mobile Suite 41 RSSB4

VOLUNTEER CHRISTIAN BUILDERS

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