Help with 63-66 juice brake

[Heckler]

I picked up a 63-66 juice set up for my Shovel in a factory wishbone frame. Bought the proper axle, did all the necessary spacing and lined everything up. New shoes, master and brake line. I'm using a banjo brake switch bolt. Installed the shoes and springs following the steps in my manual (proper year for the brake). Bled the brake (good pressure, stiff pedal). The brake rod is adjusted and not interfering with the master.

Here's my problem. The fkn thing is tight. Not just a little drag but it's hard to turn the wheel while on the lift. It seems to have a tight spot. When I engage the brake it stays engaged till I move the wheel back and forward. I've adjusted the shoes and nothing. Anyone experience this and found a solution?

[shovelpan69]

Had the same problem... Do the ears on the shoes sit into the wheel cylinder? That's how mine is and I had to gring those ears down to get it to fit

[shovelpan69]

Had to grind those ears and lost the spring so I had to get a make your own spring kit and weld those holes closed so the spring would hook in and give pressure to push the cylinder back together

[Heckler]

I went to check as soon as you mentioned it. They have plenty of clearance. What I did notice is the backing plate is tight up against the old mechanical brake stay on the frame. It looks like it the cause of the tight spot. I'm going to grind it down and clear space for the backing plate. Hate to destroy my paint but whatever works. Thanks for help man. I'll let you know how that works out.

[Heckler]

So I've been running this set up for a month now and it's not working. It glazes over and I have no stopping power at all. The shoes are new, wheel cylinder is new and I've followed the manual. Here's my concern. In the manual it says the short end of the return spring goes in the front shoe elongated slot but doesn't mention the rear, This is how I've be running it. As you can see from the pic the cams are adjusted wide open but I still get a lot of drag and I seem to have a tight spot while turning the wheel. I tried moving the return spring to the hole (instead of the elongated slot) on the rear shoe. I adjusted the cams and the brake works but I have a big amount of play in my brake pedal. What the hell am I doing wrong???

Unfortunately the closest shop that deals with these things is 5 hours away.

[vnygra]

Im not an expert, but just got mine together. The spring goes in the hole on one side, not both slots. That will hold the shoes in a bit. And yes, its a pain to get it all the way to the hole.

[vnygra]

Also, I don't think those banjo brake switches work with a juice drum. There should be a residual pressure valve in your master that keeps a little pressure on the line at all times. Enough pressure to keep your brake light on all the time. I read it somewhere, didn't believe it, bought one, and it didn't work just like i'd read. Had to fit up a mechanical switch somewhere.