TIL my brake shoe clearance check was way off until I tried a go/no-go gauge set

I've been setting elevator brake shoes by feel for about 8 years now. Never had a complaint, but last month we had a callback on a unit I'd serviced in a building near Dayton. Car was stopping rough and the brake was dragging on release. I pulled the cover, checked my clearance with a feeler gauge like always, looked fine at 0.010. But the mechanic who came before me on that route had shoved a 0.014 shim in there and the shoes were worn uneven. I grabbed a cheap go/no-go set from a tool truck, cost me $38, and it caught a 0.003 difference my feeler method missed. Now I'm wondering, how many of you guys actually use go/no-go gauges versus just trusting the feel and a standard feeler? Or do you have a better trick for checking wear on older drum brakes?

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1 Comment

faithpatel18d ago

Yo, solid find for real. But here's the thing, how do you know the go/no-go set itself is actually accurate? Did you check it against a micrometer or just trust the tool truck dude? Cause if that set is off even a couple thou, you're back to square one with less feel for it.

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