I first got some (semi-)metallic brake shoes about five years ago, when
I redid the brakes on my extended cab 59 truck. They were Bendix shoes,
just the standard relined ones. I noticed something was different when
I first tried to stop the truck...and almost drove into something! I
took a closer look at the shoes, and noticed little fibers of metal in
them, just like on semi-metallic disk pads.
I've gotten quite used to the extra pedal pressure, and they do seem to
stop better, and fade less, than full organic shoes. But, I've gotten
LOTS of miles out of drums with organic shoes...in fact, my other 59 had
never had the drums turned until about 10 years ago! They were worn
quite a bit, but less than .060", in 30 years. On the ext. cab, I've
put about 15k miles on the brakes since the brake job, and the drums are
now badly scored...I turned them when I put in the new shoes, but the
metallic lining really has eaten them up since then. Also, after a
rainy spell, the brakes will make a rusty grinding noise when I first
start driving the truck. This may be a problem in a wet climate...I'm
in dry Arizona.
So, you may want to stick to organic shoes if you can find them, if you
plan on driving your truck a lot. Or, plan on spending $100+ per axle
for new drums when the next brake job is due.
Jim
oletrucks is devoted to Chevy and GM trucks built between 1941 and 1959
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