EWedge Brakes

[Retired mechanic]

Hi I was reading comments on wedge brakes & how bad they are.

I have found many owners & Mechanics dive into the brake drums looking for faults, but the wedges are behind the boosters and can wear parrallel with use over time.

All the brake shoe adjustment will do nothing if you don't have good wedges, when overhauling remove all booster & inspect wedges as well as inspecting inside the brake drums & all the adjusting mechanism .

I believe if you do this you will change your opinion on wedge brakes.

Just remember the name WEDGE BRAKE have you checked the Wedge.

Stop safely it could be your wife & children in front of you.

 

 

[theakerstwo]

I think the problem with wedge brakes was once they were ready for new shoes guys did not tear them down and replace the adjusting screw and pawl and use water proof grease with a new seal.The adjuster then seize up and then no brakes.And always replace the drum.But there is so much to go wrong with them that any one with good sense got rid of them due to the cost to keep good brakes.The good side of wedge brakes was early years trucks with small air compressors could pull doubles due to it dont take much air to apply the brakes like a S cam.

We work on them and had good luck with them but there is no reason for such brake now.I always said the shoes would last for ever because they did not tough the drum very often.