Alright so I had used shoes on the truck and decided to buy new shoes all the way around and have the drums turned. I did the rears with no problem, but when I got to the front I noticed that one shoe has more lining than the other (the new ones) they were shrink wrapped in pairs like this and I assume that they are correct, but which way do they go? Does the shoe with the smaller amount of pad go towards the front or rear or does it matter?

 

The front shoe is self-energizing, the rear shoe is not. So to balance the forces, the rear shoe has a longer friction surface.

 

Oh okay, makes sense, the smaller one grabs and pushes back on the larger one. So why are the rear ones not like this?

 

As far as I know, they are supposed to be like that too. Check your other side--you might find one wheel has two short ones and the other has two long ones.

 

Oops... Looks like i fudged that one up! Just have to change it around.. When you get to be 19 years old your mind starts slipping........

 

Pay Attention Grasshopper !!!

My close friend of nearly 40 yrs.( excellent mechanic ) son got in a hurry replacing the brake pads on the front of his 4x4 & put one on backward ( metal to metal ) . Good bye new rotor & hello to another new rotor .

 

One other thing, the wider 2" shoes go on the front wheels. The more narrow (I can't remember if they're 1 7/8" or 1 3/4" and I'm too busy to look it up) shoes go on the rear wheels.

 

I got the widths right, and the wheel cylinders are larger on the front as well. At least i caught it before i put it together. Thanks for the tip.