Finally some DM progress

[mowerman]

brake return spring i havent been able to find except one company but i think thier not in the US    that thing seems to be way stronger than it needs to be,,,mine is broken

[mowerman]

well just some tinkering today,,,mounting tires more painting and possibly pulling S cam apart on that side waiting on callback new jersey parts house

[mowerman]

ooooooooooolala

[mrsmackpaul]

5 hours ago, mowerman said:

brake return spring i havent been able to find except one company but i think thier not in the US    that thing seems to be way stronger than it needs to be,,,mine is broken

Don't over think the spring

Just get something a little shorter than the measured length

Every so often I'll replace a full set of shoes on a trailer or truck and everytime they look a little different but always work fine

Just measure the spring and get something closish, as long as it pulls the shoe when the s cam is fully off your good to go 

 

Paul

[mowerman]

ok thanks for that paul...seems to be alotta choices

[mowerman]

pulled S cam out a while ago bearings are very tight no play

[mrsmackpaul]

Bob I always pull the S cams fully out and clean all the old grease out and start again when I work on brakes 

Nothing worse than having to do this on the side of the road when a drums getting really hot

I also do the same with the slack adjuster 

Pump diesel into it while it's clamped in a vice and wind it around and around push all the old grease out 

It just makes things so much easier later on 

 

Paul

[mowerman]

lol yes that’s the plan I thought they were going to be frozen and dry or loose and dry but no thier really real good shape of coarse tons of crud

[mowerman]

And plenty of grease inside … I’ll clean it all up and regrease… again Paul thanks for that 

[Jack Mack]

I’m not sure but you seem to make so much more progress on your big Mack then your  the plastic model ! A true testimonial to a real trucker!….Jack 

!

[mowerman]

you have probably heard me mention ,,,,i dont have the patience for that thing,,,as i did as a teenager,,,,,i put alot of them together,,,,including that same kit...at this point ive decided when i pull it back out,,,im going to detail the interior,a bit more than i was planning,,,,,i wish these model companys would quit chroming everything,,lol bob

[mechohaulic]

On 10/23/2025 at 7:20 PM, mowerman said:

need these 3,,,,guy at fleet pride gave me numbers axle ring 315-1511,,,seal 320-2129or 392-9094

315-1511 ring /320-21-29 seal ; old school stemco. the 392-9094 stemco is same seal with the upgraded "grit guard "wear ring. ring has flange which covers seal . recommendation from here would be go with stemco =no tools needed seal.

[mechohaulic]

13 hours ago, mowerman said:

pulled S cam out a while ago bearings are very tight no play

might consider flipping the cam 180 when reinstalling. bottom side worn shoes tend to ride on drum. flip180 worn side on top .

[mechohaulic]

23 hours ago, mowerman said:

brake return spring i havent been able to find except one company but i think thier not in the US    that thing seems to be way stronger than it needs to be,,,mine is broken

return spring will be same as other kits, challenge is finding those kits. in the day real parts people knew kits parts by number.  having spring part number ; cross reference other kit parts breakdown. 

[terry]

3 hours ago, mowerman said:

And plenty of grease inside … I’ll clean it all up and regrease… again Paul thanks for that 

If your putting new seals on s cams, be sure to put the one towards the slack adjuster in backwards, so when greasing it will leak past that seal and not blow the brake shoe side seal.   terry  

[mowerman]

OK, thanks for all your help brothers and thanks Dave for clearing up the part numbers. I wasn’t sure about the  wear ring they’re calling a grit guard. I didn’t realize it was the same size and why the lip was on there. It seems like this.9094 there’s a little bit easier to find. I thought I was gonna have this thing delayed a little bit, but I might be able to run those things down real quick.

[mowerman]

Still not sure where I’m gonna locate a return spring

[mowerman]

I know the guy at Fleet pride didn’t even have anything close

[mowerman]

It’s like anything else I guess these days nobody wants the stock stuff that just sits on the shelf and doesn’t move

[Geoff Weeks]

7 minutes ago, mowerman said:

Still not sure where I’m gonna locate a return spring

 

Does this look anything like it? 6 1/8" long by 3/4" diameter.

[mowerman]

Yes that looks like it do you know anybody that’s got them?

[Geoff Weeks]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/395726843402

Meritor shows it as an active part.

Should be orderable though NAPA or any other parts house that deals with heavy truck brake parts.

do you need the "hook" that goes in the shoe also?

https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/MER1218C107

Edited 10 minutes ago by Geoff Weeks
more info