Rear Drum Brakes

ratchet · Post by **ratchet** » Mon Sep 14, 2009 4:59 pm

I have never done rear drum brakes, I have done disc not drum. How hard are these damn things really? I have the service manual, so I should be good to go, any advise? I have about 98k on my car so I was thinking about replacing my drums, good idea?

Parts I need:
rear shoes
rear drums
hardware kit (springs)
do I need the self adjusting kit for the rear drums?

Thanks,
Dave

OB · Post by OB » Mon Sep 14, 2009 5:57 pm

They're not hard by any means, but they do require a few special tools that you probably don't have. Drum brakes have a lot of moving parts, so be sure to get them back together exactly the way they came apart. Taking a good picture of the assembled spring kit seems to help a lot if you're not familiar with them. Not sure what you mean by "self adjusting kit", but I assume you're talking about the parking brake adjusters?

Post by **occasional demons** » Mon Sep 14, 2009 6:58 pm

Self adjusters are supposed to adjust the shoe to drum clearance when it is braking in reverse, or the parking brake is set. Unless they are heavily rusted, don't worry about them. Do take the star wheel apart, and coat the inside with antiseize. Remember which way it goes. Do one side at a time, so you can look at the other side foer reference.

The springs aren't too bad on these. You could prolly get away with a pair of vise grips to remove/install. The parking brake lever can be tricky, getting the cable off/on. If you can remove the retainer from the shoe part, and leave it on the cable, that is a plus.

fixitmattman · Post by **fixitmattman** » Mon Sep 14, 2009 8:19 pm

Our drums don't have self adjusters.

OB · Post by OB » Mon Sep 14, 2009 9:48 pm

fixitmattman wrote:Our drums don't have self adjusters.

Bingo

Post by **occasional demons** » Mon Sep 14, 2009 10:11 pm

Then mine must be a one off custom setup from the factory!

4238 851 1 SPRING, Brake Auto Adjuster Lever

4238 728 1 SOCKET, Brake Adjusting Screw

LEVER, Park Brake Adjusting 5014 996AA 1 Right
........................................... 5014 997AA 1 Left

OB · Post by OB » Mon Sep 14, 2009 10:42 pm

Perhaps only earlier models came with them? Either that or I'm going nuts, because I did drum brakes on my dads 03 SXT and that bad boy was manual for sure.

fixitmattman · Post by **fixitmattman** » Mon Sep 14, 2009 10:51 pm

every 2gn I've seen has been manual adjustment

MoparFreek · Post by **MoparFreek** » Mon Sep 14, 2009 10:57 pm

Be sure to take a good look at the wheel cylinders, I just did the rear brakes last week and I had one leaking so I replaced both.

Post by **occasional demons** » Mon Sep 14, 2009 11:03 pm

From the '04 FSM:

Without auto adjusters, the front brakes will never last. This is a problem with my Jeep. The damn things have never worked right from day one. Unless I crank the shoes out every other time I drive it, the brakes suck ass.

Well, at least you have the pn's to get the parts now.

fixitmattman · Post by **fixitmattman** » Tue Sep 15, 2009 12:47 pm

The typical neon rear drum

If you're expecting that "automatic adjustment lever" to take up the slack after a brake job by slamming it in reverse I've got a bridge for sale you might be interested in.

You need to manually adjust the drums after a brake job, and doing so regularily helps as well.

Post by **occasional demons** » Tue Sep 15, 2009 2:40 pm

They won't automatically adjust for that, I agree, but once set they are supposed to maintain the adjustment as they wear. I have never had to reset mine. They stay set with the "auto adjusters" just fine. If nothing else, I have to back off the adjustment to remove the drums. If they didn't work, the drums would slide right past the shoes.
Perhaps a better name would be "shoe to drum clearance maintainers."

Now my Jeep is another matter. The entire brake set up is a failure.

SOKADAO954 · Post by **SOKADAO954** » Tue Sep 15, 2009 3:37 pm

The spring is a PITA to get it back in.

sidepipe87 · Post by **sidepipe87** » Tue Sep 15, 2009 4:49 pm

SOKADAO954 wrote:The spring is a PITA to get it back in.

what he said. take off and put on... same for the rear discs.

OB, what special tools do you need?? I didn't need any special tools when I swapped mine over to disc.

ratchet · Post by **ratchet** » Tue Sep 15, 2009 7:05 pm

thanks for the input guys

so by what im reading, I need these
http://www.autozone.com/autozone/catalo ... entId=44-0

right?

OB · Post by OB » Tue Sep 15, 2009 7:24 pm

sidepipe87 wrote:
SOKADAO954 wrote:The spring is a PITA to get it back in.
what he said. take off and put on... same for the rear discs.

OB, what special tools do you need?? I didn't need any special tools when I swapped mine over to disc.

There are spring pullers that make drum work much easier. It can all be done with basic hand tools, but the specialty brake tools help a lot. Also, some drums have shoe retaining clips that require a screwdriver shaped tool that compresses the spring and sets the pin. IIRC our drums aren't that style, so that tool isn't needed.

Post by **occasional demons** » Tue Sep 15, 2009 7:40 pm

IIRC, they are slide on clips.

Ratchet, you link goes to the start page.

ratchet · Post by **ratchet** » Tue Sep 15, 2009 7:54 pm

sorry about the link

part number h2678 and h2677

http://www.autozone.com

sidepipe87 · Post by **sidepipe87** » Tue Sep 15, 2009 8:15 pm

yeah, it would've definitely helped to have that tool. I just used a set of long handle needle nose pliers, and an ice pick to get the springs back on.

ragek23 · Post by **ragek23** » Tue Sep 15, 2009 9:15 pm

wish i had this when i did my shoes last:

http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/1/ ... zmap=18876

sidepipe87 · Post by **sidepipe87** » Tue Sep 15, 2009 9:36 pm

^That's basically what I used. My dad has a set of snap-on ice picks and I used the straight, and hooked ones.

darthroush · Post by **darthroush** » Tue Sep 15, 2009 9:39 pm

ragek23 wrote:wish i had this when i did my shoes last:

http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/1/ ... zmap=18876

You know, for just about that same price, you buy an actual drum brake tool?

ragek23 · Post by **ragek23** » Tue Sep 15, 2009 10:32 pm

can u post a link? i just searched spring puller

darthroush · Post by **darthroush** » Wed Sep 16, 2009 3:27 am

Just a quick one to give you the idea: http://www.sjdiscounttools.com/kti70131.html

I bought my Performance Tool one from Napa.

ratchet · Post by **ratchet** » Fri Sep 18, 2009 8:21 pm

did the brake job today, all went well THANKS to you guys! I have rear brakes now!

now time for light modding

Pablodragon · Post by **Pablodragon** » Sun Aug 15, 2010 10:42 pm

found this post on a search... am replacing rear shoes

got the old ones off, but anyone got any specific tips on getting these back on?

I'm starting with the shoe retaining clips... how the hell?... I see the needle nose pliers in the pic above... is that a good way?... one set of pliers to push down the clip, and another to turn the rod?

don't even see how a hooked ice pic or spring puller would help put the springs back...then the adjusterr keeps falling down

what a terrible design. How could all these moving parts and springs have saved any more money than just putting a rotor, caliper and pads on the rear...

(I don't see any how to on rear drums on the how to board)