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Outboard drums on a M931A1

Glenngineer

Active member
I have been reading any post I could find on brake mods and upgrades and have decided there is not much wrong with the wedge brakes if you maintain them the problem I see is the inboard drums ,so I have done some measuring and fitting and I think I have found a drum that will work outboard .Looking for input on why this might be a bad idea or not .?
 

juanprado

Well-known member
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The problem for tractors is water getting in causing shoes to rust up especially on trucks that sit up for long time exposed to elements.
This is not seen on cargo and wreckers as much as the body tends to keep less water from seeping in.
 

simp5782

Feo, Fuerte y Formal
Supporting Vendor
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Remove the back plates from the brakes. This will let crap out. The marine corp trucks are not equipped with the backplates due to their water prone environment.

Brakes are fine. I have logged lots of miles on them without any issues and around 120k miles on a pair of shoes.
 

Glenngineer

Active member
One of the reasons I want to do the change is that I am converting this tractor into a dump truck and it will require an inspection every 6 months with outboard drums hubs bearing axle shafts will not need to be pulled apart to look at the brakes.
 

simp5782

Feo, Fuerte y Formal
Supporting Vendor
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Mason, TN
One of the reasons I want to do the change is that I am converting this tractor into a dump truck and it will require an inspection every 6 months with outboard drums hubs bearing axle shafts will not need to be pulled apart to look at the brakes.
You can inspect the brakes with the rear covers removed easily. Both upper and lover covers are removed with 2 bolts each
 

Glenngineer

Active member
Thanks I will talk to my inspection guy today ,everyone I have talked to has never worked on or inspected wedge brakes
Well I went ahead and figured out the best drums and the machining required to do outboard drums on my M931A1 ,Here are picks of the first one.
 

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Lukes_deuce

Active member
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Long Island, NY
Im not an air brake expert, so I would like to know the reasons for retro fitting the outboard drums? Going from memory, once the tire & rim are off the axle, the brake drum can be removed without removing anything else. What benefits to the outboard drums provide?

Truck looks great by the way, very well put together!
 

Glenngineer

Active member
Im not an air brake expert, so I would like to know the reasons for retro fitting the outboard drums? Going from memory, once the tire & rim are off the axle, the brake drum can be removed without removing anything else. What benefits to the outboard drums provide?

Truck looks great by the way, very well put together!
To do inspections or maintenance without having to remove the hubs bearings and axles ,plus with the drum inboard attached to the hub the whole assembly weighs towards 200lbs . Very hard to handle .
 
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