The joys of doing a brake job. A Drum Brake job that is ...

[dogtag]

I have to admit that the first time I attempted a
drum brake renewal, I learned a whole new vocabulary
whilst trying to get those powerful springs over the hub.
It was a learning on the job affair and I learned. It took
a few minutes of staring until I figured out the hub
needed to be removed.
Eureka. Then it became easy as long as I remembered
which big spring size went where. Since then I've the
task three more times (but only once on the rears).
Anyone else had this much fun ?

[Allen]

I use to do one side at a time instead of taking everything apart at once. That way I had a go-by in case I forgot what spring got hooked where.

Did you know that you can no longer rebuild brake cylinders? As simple as they are you're not "allowed" to rebuild them yourself nor can you buy the few and simple parts. You have to buy them assembled.

I've even rebuilt the large power brake vacuum boosters on the master cylinders. That's been outlawed for decades now.

[Phloating Phlasher]

Oh yes! I did a Full width Twin Leading Shoe on a Triumph Bonneville motorcycle.
The spring hook snapped after installation at 40 mph & locked up the front wheel.
I still remember the idiot trimming a hedge upside down as & flew through the air.
I still have the giant scar on my left hip to remind me I was the one upside down at the time!

[lyman]

have not done a drum brake in maybe 25 yrs,

did look at them on the back of the tundra, but they were still good,

each and every brake job I did on various cars involved my bleeding from at least one knuckle,

[Allen]

The last brake job I did was about 3 years ago on my Kodiak dump truck. This is about a 2 1/2 ton rating truck. Disc brakes all around.

One of the rear wheels had starting smoking indicating a dragging or locked up caliper. I replaced both rear calipers and all rubber lines going to the calipers along with the pads of course. Hitting the calipers once with a sledge hammer made removal super easy. The disc are huge and look complicated to remove so I left them be since they were in good shape.

One of the things I dislike about drum brake shoe replacement is having to deal with the parking brakes, at least on Fords.

This truck was super easy in that regard because the parking brake is a separate drum brake on the drive shaft, no where near the rear brakes.

[kj47]

And I thought the name meant rusted out ' that soon'

[Dan in NH]

I did a lot of drum brakes back in the day. The E-brakes on my truck are still drum brakes. Not bad to do if you have the proper brake tools

[Allen]

I did a lot of drum brakes back in the day. The E-brakes on my truck are still drum brakes. Not bad to do if you have the proper brake tools

Most cars and pickups are made like that now with the rear disc brakes being a drum brake also for the E/Parking brake.

Few people realize how much asbestos dust a brake mechanic used to breath in when pulling a drum off of a car. The dust is the airborne dangerous state of asbestos. It is mostly harmless otherwise.

Of course those days are over since shoes and pads aren't made of asbestos any longer but most all of us who pulled a drum off in the past have breathed it into our lungs.

[dogtag]

The first time I did it the drums refused to come off.
I pried, poked and levered but they wouldn't budge.
My Friend's son was a mechanic so I asked him when
we were at a swap meet. He said to hit them with a
sledge hammer - hard. I thought it would crack the
drum but he said he'd done countless brake jobs
without damage - he added "that's why we don't
allow customers to see what we're doing"
After a few timid blows, I covered the nuts and gave
it a bash - it came right off.

As for those rebuilt cylinders, the damn things come
with different threads.

[M1Tommy]

I use to do one side at a time instead of taking everything apart at once. That way I had a go-by in case I forgot what spring got hooked where. ........

I have done that more than once.

One time, in the apartment parking lot in F-ville during my college career, I did this. However, that blasted drum would NOT come off. I battered, pulled, pried, battered it more, pried more with a4 ft long bar as hard as I dared (until the not-so-massive '81 Corolla threatened to come off the jack (what's this jack-stand of what people spoke then?). After a couple HOURS of this, I was frustrated, cold and hungry (prelude to my upcoming USN days I reckon), and heeded a passing friend's rec. to take a lunch break. So, I got up and on the way inside, glanced into the car to see.......... yeah...
... the emergency brake handle pulled up!
I went on and ate a sammich, returned, let off the emerg. brake, whacked the drum with something that served as a hammer and it fell off in my lap of course.
Tommy

[PWC]

Last time I forgot which way to turn the star wheel and ended up tightening the drum first. I used to draw cartoon of shoes and springs. They used to have colors on the springs...which way does the spring with the long hook go. All my manuals have pics but some look like xerox pics of xeroxes. Vise grips become tool of choice.

[JimF]

Last time I forgot which way to turn the star wheel and ended up tightening the drum first. . . . . .

That is the way I was taught . . . . .Tighten ?til the drum could not be turned easily by hand, then back off about 8-10 ?clicks?.

With NEW shoes, listen CAREFULLY for shoe rubbing lightly . . . .YOU?RE DONE!

Driving only a few miles will wear off the high spots of NEW shoes!

[lyman]

well, not brake related, but car (well van) related,

Foad, as in Ford, decided to put the batteries on a Diesel under the chassis at the side doors,

and when I had my Foad, E350 worked on last fall, apparently the mechanics at the foad dealer did ont believe in tightening stuff

last fall I had to stop and borrow a wrench to reattach a rubber collar between the turbo and the intake . or similar,

today, the battery decided to die,
3 yr old set, so come to find out it was not the battery, but the positive terminal connection,

2 hrs with a friend in the parking lot of a gunshow (fortunately, it died whilst I was at a fast food place less than a mile from the venue) to drop the battery tray, and remove, clean and retighten the battery leads etc, and done,

hopefully it will start in the AM, (it should, since it has worked fine so far)

fortunately, my friend is my helper at this show, and has tools in his truck so it went relatively easy

[Allen]

I hope you don't have the 6.0 L diesel. Bad engine with a lotta problems. Discontinued.

My Mercedes Benz had the alternator mounted on the bottom of the engine. You had to have it on jacks or a rack to get to it. If you drove through a mud puddle it would be the first thing that shorted out.

[dryheat]

Walk away and take a break. That's always worked for me. Whether you are working on an earth-bound car or a rocket to Mars. I never learned how to change rear axle drum brakes. It involved a weird tool that I never learned to use. I never use my brakes much so it isn't an issue. If everyone drove as slow as I do we'd still be in the wagon wheel era. I remember a period when you could be arrested for driving too slow.