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| How to change drum brake shoes; Replace your old worn shoes for better E-brake action! | |
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| Topic Started: Feb 26 2010, 04:23 PM (758 Views) | |
| killerofangels | Feb 26 2010, 04:23 PM Post #1 |
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I recently noticed my rear brakes made a kind of squeaking noise when I applied the E-brake (yes, while the car was in motion). This led me to think that the rear brake shoes needed replacing. For all you other drum brake illiterates, here's the steps: Park you car on a level surface with a clean place to work.  With the car still on the ground, loosen the lug nuts about 1/4 turn.  Jack up your car and remove the lug nuts. Set the wheel aside.  Support your car on jack stands or blocks. I know you've heard this before and ignored it but seriously, you will be removing the brake that keeps your car from rolling off the jack. You may want to brace another wheel just to be safe. Don't get crushed for being stupid here.  Gently pry off the axel cap using a flathead screwdriver.  You can see here that the previous owner of this car did this before and wasn't too gentle. They also didn't replace the axel nut like you're supposed to.  Unstake the axel nut but tapping it up with a chisel or flathead screwdriver you don't care about.  Remove the axel nut. You may want to remove the washer too so you don't lose it when removing the drum.  This washer shows that it was previously overtightened. Time to replace it with a new one.  Disengage the emergency brake. I hope you have your car supported properly.  If you have the proper drum removal bracket, attach it now and use a slide hammer to remove the drum. If not, just putting two of the lugs back on the drum for grip and giving a firm pull may remove your drum.  More than likely the pulling technique didn't work and you'll have to give it some more force. Place a screwdriver on the area behind the drum and lightly tap it away from the car. Rotate the drum a few degrees and tap some more. Repeat this around the drum until it is loose enough to pull off. Be careful not to hit it too hard. If you dent or warp your drum, it will need to be replaced. Do not try to push it by pushing it from the backing plate as this will warp the plate.  This is what your rear brake assembly should look like.  Notice the difference in liner thickness between the new and worn shoes.  Clean your brakes using brake cleaner. Never use compressed air as some brakes contain asbestos. The air will just blow it into the your lungs whereas brake cleaner will drip it off. Also clean the inside of the drum but be careful not to get any in the wheel bearing.  The brake cleaner usually evaporates fairly quickly but will leave a nasty mess in your driveway if your not prepared for it.  Remove both shoe retaining clips by twisting the pins 90°.   Pull the two shoes apart at the bottom enough to slide one of the shoes over the bracket.  With the first shoe off you should now have some slack to work with. Remove the other shoe by sliding that over the bottom bracket. Then do the same for both shoes on the top so you can freely pull them away from the backing plate.  Remove all of the springs holding the two shoes together. Remember which holes and which direction they go in. You can also look at the old shoes to see where the coils on each spring have worn the shoes. Remove the clearance adjustment bracket from between the two shoes. Using either the proper clip removal tool or a pair of needle-nose pliers, remove the emergency brake retaining clip.  You should now be able to remove the shoe connected to the E-brake and only be left with the E-brake in your hand connected to the brake cable. Connect the new shoe in the same spot as the old one and replace the clip. Remember the forward and rear-facing shoes are different.  Put one of the springs into the loose shoe. I started at the top but I don't believe the order is important.  Connect the spring to the other shoe.  Connect the clearance adjustment bracket between the two shoes in the same direction it came off.  Connect the spring that hold the adjustment bracket in place.  Connect the bottom spring and slide both shoes back into their proper position. You can see where they were by looking at the worn spots on the backing plate.  Push on the pin from the back of the backing plate to make it stand straight. You can the replace the shoe retaining clip by pushing it down onto the pin and twisting the pin perpendicular to it's hole in the clip. If you find it hard to get the pin turned, push the clip in harder. Don't try to use the turning force to push it though.  Do the same for the other shoe. The rear one should have a small tab that fits between the E-brake and shoe to keep it in place.  You should now be ready to install the drum over the brake assembly again. If you find it hard to get the drum on again, you may need to adjust the clearance adjuster. You can do this by gently tapping it in. You should be able to see the shoes moving closer together.  The drum should now slide right on. Do not force the drum on with a hammer as this will damage the shoes or the entire brake assembly.  Put on the washer and a new axel nut. Do not re-use the old one. You don't want it to come off when you're driving down the highway.  Use a chisel to stake the axel nut by indenting it inward where the depression is on the top area of the axel. This will ensure it can't spin off by itself.  Press on you brake pedal fairly hard a few times. This will allow the clearance adjuster to reset to the correct position.  Apply the emergency brake to keep your wheels from turning when you try to put them back on.  Install the wheel by hand tightening the lugs. Then torque on the lugs in an "X" pattern. This ensures the wheel goes on evenly. Never just go around tightening them in a circle. If you haven't rotated you wheels in a while, it is probably a good time to do it as you already have the jack out and you'll need to remove the other rear wheel anyway.  Put the car back on the ground and repeat the process on the other rear wheel. ALWAYS REPLACE YOUR BRAKES IN AXEL SETS! That's why their sold in axel pairs. Do a few braking-in stops around your neighborhood before taking your car into traffic. Make sure it is stopping smoothly as it normally would or slightly better. You may also notice you don't have to pull your E-brake as far as you did before.  You are now ready to do some crazy E-brake drifting action that of course Geos are well known for! |
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| Eve | Feb 26 2010, 04:27 PM Post #2 |
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Yes, that is quite the post. Took a while for all the pics to load for me, I'm on dial-up, but it sure is interesting.  
Edited by Eve, Feb 26 2010, 11:38 PM.
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| sfiend1 | Feb 26 2010, 04:32 PM Post #3 |
 
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good post. good point about the axle nut and washer. also to point out, while in there, push on both sides of the wheel cylender. look for a stuck wheel cylender. had a stuck one on my car. |
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| Bad Bent | Feb 26 2010, 08:17 PM Post #4 |
Facetious Educated Donkey
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Welcome to the forum, killerofangels!  For a first post you sure know how to make an impression. This is the inspiration I needed to redo The Wife's rear brakes soon, very soon, just wish it were a bit warmer.  Thank you! |
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| Jittney | Feb 26 2010, 08:42 PM Post #5 |
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Anchorage, AK 93 & 94
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Nice post. Very thorough. Much appreciated. Thanks for your contribution.
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| Johnny Mullet | Feb 26 2010, 09:25 PM Post #6 |
"Geo Whisperer"
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Welcome to the site! Very informative first post. |
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| Woodie | Feb 27 2010, 07:24 AM Post #7 |
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Very nice, KofA, welcome to the forum. That self adjuster you have your screwdriver on above is prone to failure. The tiny little serrations it uses as teeth strip and it goes full slack. I've had two of them fail on different cars, neither of which had ever had the brakes apart before. The Emergency brake suddenly comes up much higher and the pedal goes a bit mushy. |
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| bogs | Feb 27 2010, 11:17 AM Post #8 |
Duct tape heals all wounds
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That is an AWESOME first post, and this should probably be stickied in the how to section
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| billy508 | Feb 27 2010, 11:34 AM Post #9 |
billy508
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 Thank you very much for taking the time and effort to produce such a great post. Now, when members have a rear brake issue we have a reference guide to show them Great pictures, great information. Many Thanks. 
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| chads4drhatch | Feb 27 2010, 05:58 PM Post #10 |
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Very nice guide, thanks for taking the time to take pictures and writting it up. 
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| killerofangels | Feb 28 2010, 12:53 PM Post #11 |
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New Member
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Thanks for all the replies. You really know how to make a guy feel welcome. I'll post another tutorial next time I work on the car.
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| Sparky | Feb 28 2010, 08:34 PM Post #12 |
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New Member
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Good post. Thanks. The only two things that I would add is when you're resetting the auto adjusters, instead of using a tool to tap them back in, use a wide blade flat screwdriver and slip it into the slot between the two pieces and slightly pry them apart. The movable part will slip back by itself. This way you won't take a chance of damaging the small serrations. Second, Since new (rebuilt) wheel cylinders are only about 12 or 14 bucks I would suggest that you go ahead and replace them while doing the shoes. Installing new shoes will change where the piston is traveling and usually the cylinder walls are rough enough to cause the cup to leak. When that happens you're lucky enough to get to go back in and redo everything. 
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| Choppydrivesageo | Feb 28 2010, 09:25 PM Post #13 |
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Very nice first post! I would also recommend replacing the wheel studs while your at it since those aren't expensive and you might as well do it while you have the drums off. |
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5:15 PM Jul 30
