if you go down to any parts store for stock REAR brake shoes, chances are they will have only 1 part # that fits any year Festiva. so it puzzled me when i noticed on Ebay that there were Ford OEM shoes for 1988/89 Festivas (E8BZ2200A). and Ford OEM shoes for 1990-93 Festivas (F0BZ2200A). i double checked the Ford parts catalog to verify that yes, there are 2 different shoe part #s depending on the year. stranger still, there is only 1 drum part # listed for ALL years.
over the last month there were some really good prices on Ebay for both these Ford OEM shoe kits and out of curiosity i bought one of each to see why they might have different part #s.
compared side by side, there is a visible difference in the width of the lining. the 88/89 lining is as wide as the metal pad of the shoe whereas the 90/93 lining is slightly narrower. you can see a thin line of metal showing when looking at the lining straight on.
harder to tell but still noticeable by eye is the thickness of the lining. the 88/89 is slightly thicker than the 90/93. .4mm thicker or .8mm overall diameter.
using the 90/93 shoes might be a solution if your drums are too tight even with the parking levers fully retracted. if this isn't a problem, a set of 88/89 shoes should give you more wear and 2% more lining area.
it also possible that the reason for different part #s is the lining material. the 88/89 is tan color while the 90/93 is gray. the 88/89 box has an asbestos warning while the 90/93 doesn't. i don't know if they went to asbestos free material after 89
lastly, before i got done playing with the micrometer, i dug out a new Aspire shoe. i wanted to compare the surface area to the Festiva shoe so i measured the length of the linings with a radius tape. Aspire - 185.5mm. Festiva - 148.0mm and multiplied the length by width to get total area of 1 lining.
Aspire - 30.55mm. 88/89 Festiva - 24.86mm. you can do the rest of the math but the Aspire lining has a not unsubstantial 54% more surface area!
[in the pics, the larger measurements are the 88/89 shoe (tan).]
Aspire vs Festiva shoe
over the last month there were some really good prices on Ebay for both these Ford OEM shoe kits and out of curiosity i bought one of each to see why they might have different part #s.
compared side by side, there is a visible difference in the width of the lining. the 88/89 lining is as wide as the metal pad of the shoe whereas the 90/93 lining is slightly narrower. you can see a thin line of metal showing when looking at the lining straight on.
harder to tell but still noticeable by eye is the thickness of the lining. the 88/89 is slightly thicker than the 90/93. .4mm thicker or .8mm overall diameter.
using the 90/93 shoes might be a solution if your drums are too tight even with the parking levers fully retracted. if this isn't a problem, a set of 88/89 shoes should give you more wear and 2% more lining area.
it also possible that the reason for different part #s is the lining material. the 88/89 is tan color while the 90/93 is gray. the 88/89 box has an asbestos warning while the 90/93 doesn't. i don't know if they went to asbestos free material after 89
lastly, before i got done playing with the micrometer, i dug out a new Aspire shoe. i wanted to compare the surface area to the Festiva shoe so i measured the length of the linings with a radius tape. Aspire - 185.5mm. Festiva - 148.0mm and multiplied the length by width to get total area of 1 lining.
Aspire - 30.55mm. 88/89 Festiva - 24.86mm. you can do the rest of the math but the Aspire lining has a not unsubstantial 54% more surface area!
[in the pics, the larger measurements are the 88/89 shoe (tan).]
Aspire vs Festiva shoe
Comment