Anyone overhaul a 60's Bendix red band hub? How do you insure good braking? Do you lube everything inside or do you keep grease off of the brake pads? Keeping the metal brake pads clean seems logical or would this promote undue wear? Is there anything else to NOT get all greased up?

This text was from a kick-back overhaul site, I don't know if it applies:

Lubrication

All internal parts should be covered with a liberal coating of grease. Particular attention should be paid to the bearings and to the axle surface under the Low Speed Driving Screw. A liberal coating of grease on the axle and in the axle hole in the Low Speed Screw is necessary.

https://www.trfindley.com/fl_bike_pag...s/bndxcbhz.jpg

Every coaster brake hub I've serviced got grease on all surfaces including brake shoes/disks/rollers. If they're not lubed squeal, chatter and other issues will be the case.

But don't expect that the stopping power will be as great as a rim brake or disk can be. Andy.

When I was a kid, my Schwinn bikes always had Bendix hubs, and I still have one in my parts bucket. I remember that when I started to lose braking power, my dad would take the whole thing apart and lubricate it. I remember a small bottle of kerosene next to the basement wash tub. The old kerosene just went down the drain. Ah, well. He would pack some new grease into the caged bearings, pushing it into the middle with his thumb, which he said would force the old grease out the sides. The brake shoes and other internals got cleaned and greased. He had made cone wrenches by cutting notches into a piece of thick sheet metal with a hacksaw.

A thin layer of grease between the brake shoes and the hub shell is necessary for smooth braking, otherwise the metal parts grind against one another. In fact, if you ride the brakes down a long downhill, the hub will heat up and boil away the grease, then the brakes will fade. That would happen to me, many years later, when I lived in an apartment at the top of a long hill. I had to ration my brakes on the way down, not a good thing.

Agreed about the stopping power. I would recommend at least a hand brake on the front wheel.

+1 to the above. Back when I worked in a Schwinn shop (early '80's), Bendix hubs were packed with white lithium grease. You can use just about anything except bacon grease. (Don't use bacon grease- it'll heat up and squeeze out of the hub and then every dog in the neighborhood will chase you down the street.)

Thanks Gresp, Andy and Jeff. I do grease everything; it just seems like I have varied results every time I overhaul them - some work great, some not so great. i.e. those that work great I can get to skid easily. Those that don't work so great, I really gotta stand on it to get it to skid. I must be doing something inconsistently.

Yes, long downhills can be bad. Isn't that how the famous "Repack Hill" in Marin County got its name?

If they won't skid, overhaul them again, clean all the parts thoroughly, and sand the outside surface of the shoes and the inside of the hub shell with 180 grit wet-or-dry paper. Clean again really well, and then reassemble with fresh grease.

The shoes and hub shell sometimes glaze over from heat. Sanding removes the glaze.

Yup grease everything. Best thing to use IMO is thick high temp short fiber disc brake grease. Forget all the high priced runny "bike" grease.