I’ve been at it for hours and can’t figure out how to put back togetherthese(post#3) drum brakes. My repair manual is worthless. How do I start?
Hopefully you only disassembled one side.
If this is the case look at the other side.
If you pulled both sides apart and can’t figure out how to reassemble them, with the diagram in the linked post, a tow to a good shop would be my suggestion.
Eric the Car Guy will teach you.
Video
Those look the same as my 01 TJ and they’re not that hard, but darned if I can tell you. Have you asked on Jeepforum? Someone there can surely guide you step by step.
I don’t understand what your problem is, or what I’m supposed to glean from post #3 there. What I see is postage-stamp-size illustrations (diagram and photo) which I can’t make larger and can’t really see much from. I have no clue what parts of the process are giving you trouble.
I assume you took it apart personally?
Do you have brake spring pliers? A retainer tool?
Are the left side parts separate from the right side parts, or are both sides all mixed together now?
In your link, does the photo in post #1 show the particular design used on your vehicle?
Are you installing some new parts? If so, which ones, and do you still have the old parts?
Can you elaborate or explain what you’ve tried and what exactly is stumping you?
I can’t tell if it’s possible to do, but your self-adjuster arm looks like you installed it upside down.
Deleted.
Never mind. You drum looks a lot like this Chrysler’s. But it still looks to me like your adjuster arm is sitting incorrectly.
I don’t think that’s the OP’s photo, it’s a thread from 6 months ago. I think he is pointing to post #3 which shows a drum brake diagram and photo. It shows up really small for people who aren’t jeepforum members. I think the OP has a Jeep Cherokee and found those diagram/photos. Here are the full images:
http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg839/scaled.php?server=839&filename=brakea.jpg&res=medium
http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg85/scaled.php?server=85&filename=brake2.jpg&res=medium
That makes us none the wiser because we don’t know what he is having trouble with.
Thanks for the input so far. I should have put “how do I start” in the title somewhere. I was mostly looking for a step one. Someone eventually suggested installing both hold down pins first, which I did any everything else seemed to fall into place. I was about to take a crowbar to my car so I didn’t think my OP through very well.
I have a repair manual, but it shows a set of brakes that are not the ones on my Jeep. I thought I could figure it out, since I did some drum brakes many years ago, but I couldn’t seem to figure out which step to take first. The picture I tried to link to was my exact brakes but I didn’t realize the picture was tiny for non members.
Now I think I have one more problem. Everything seems centered and tight, but when I hit the brakes the top the forward shoe pops off the anchor pin a little bit. Is this normal before I put the drum back on?
That’s not a problem, that’s normal operation. Pressing on the pedal pushes the wheel cylinder pistons out and moves the shoes into the drum. Pressing the pedal with the drums off is risky – go too far and the pistons can come out of the cylinder, making a big ol’ mess and more work to get them back in.
I finally finished both sides. Took about 16 hours to do the first and 1 hour for the second. I thought I would never see the day.
I still have the drums off. I think they are self adjusting, so do I just put the drums back on and go(My adjuster is screwed all the way in/at its shortest)? My manual says to adjust it through a slit in the drum but my drums are solid all around. I measured how extended they were before I took them off, so I can adjust them before I put the drums back on, but that would require a little hammering to get the drums back on. Any suggestions?
Thanks! That’s a relief. I thought it might be the return spring not working properly but I get it now. I did end up taking the brakes apart and reassembling them with new springs. The kit(springs, backing pins etc) they gave me at Autozone was the wrong one and I was so frustrated I just used to old ones again. I was a little more ambitious this morning so I returned it for the correct kit, thought the second one they tried to give me was wrong also. Luckily I brought my backing pins to make sure the new ones were the right length.
The adjustment wouldn’t be through a slit in the drum but through a slit in the backing plate (which may be covered with a plastic plug).
If the drums are worn (not new, and you didn’t have them turned) then you will probably need to back off the adjustment some to get them over the new shoes. You should also loosen them before pulling the drums. To adjust them use a purpose-built tool (brake adjuster) and a small screwdriver. Use the screwdriver to hold the self-adjuster lever away from adjustment wheel (away from center of car) while you turn the adjuster link wheel with the adjuster tool. Moving the accessable side of the wheel up tightens the adjustment. (adjuster link is left hand thread on one side of car) You want to set them so they just don’t quite drag…make sure the car is well chocked when doing this on the drive wheels, as you will need the transmission in neutral.
The self adjusters function only when you brake in reverse, so it is a good idea to do that occasionally. My mom never did, so my dad would make a point of doing several deliberate stops in reverse on the occasions when he swapped cars with mom.
Too late for you, OP, but a tip for those who found this thread through google. First step to working on drum brakes, is pull the drum, vacuum off as much dust as you can, then take lots of pictures. Now I can use my phone, but I used to borrow a polaroid camera for this before there were digital cameras.
Save yourself a LOT of hassle by doing a careful preliminary adjustment before installing the drums:
After everything but the drum is installed, place the drum maybe halfway on, to where part of it is surrounding part of the shoes, but you can freely move it up/down/fore/aft. If you CAN thus move it, pull it away and adjust the starwheel some. Repeat until the drum kisses the shoes all the way around (wiggle it over the shoes while guiding it over the wheel studs to center the shoes in the backing plate). If this is done right, the drums fully installed will lightly kiss the shoes when rotated.* Repeat on other side. A few firm pedal applications while reversing will take care of the remaining 3% of the adjustment.
*UNLESS there’s a ridge at the lip of the drum. In this case, adjust until you can just push the drums on, then use an adjusting spoon or screwdriver through the adjusting slot until the drums kiss the shoes. Before installing the drums, find the adjusting slot in the backing plate and practice doing this, from the inboard side (that’s your only access once the drum is installed). Note it will only go one way (to tighten) unless a second tool is stuck through the slot to push the adjuster lever away from the starwheel. To avoid having to do that, don’t overadjust – just get the shoes lightly kissing the drum. Braking while reversing will take care of it from there.
Then, when you get it all done, don’t immediately go hit the steepest, twistyest downhill road you know. Give them a thorough and safe shakedown before you risk your life, limb, and vehicle on the new brakes.
But you probably were already thinking that.
:smack:
I mean, disc brakes are a cinch-easy and starightforward! Plus, shops charge less to replace shoes than pads-it makes no sense to me.
My workweek is over and I finally had time to properly adjust my brakes I using Gary T’s method. I get about 1 1/2 rotations of my tire when I give them a good turn.
What a pain. I did a set in an old 83 Corolla almost 20 years ago so I thought I could figure these out pretty easily without a manual. Boy was I wrong. I didn’t need to change them. I did my front disc brakes for the first time and decided to change the shoes in the rear as an afterthought. Hopefully I won’t need to look at them again for a few more years.
Thanks againfor the help.