create your own

How to change drum brakes

79
rate or flag this page

By writerscramp570

Diagram of brake assembly

This is a basic assembly of drum brakes
This is a basic assembly of drum brakes

Changing drum brakes

First, jack up the car, and put jack stands under the car for safety. Remove the wheel. Then remove the drum, if the hub and drum are one piece, then you have to remove the hub by pulling out the cotter pin, and remove the nut in a counterclockwise rotation. If you have an air hose to blow off the dirt and dust, use a mask, so not to breath in the dust. Now you are ready to start the hard part. If you are still having trouble getting the drum off, back off on the adjuster through the back of the drum cover plate.

  1. Study the part arrangement and where the springs go, there are three springs. There are two running vertical on each brake shoe. And one at the bottom for the adjuster wheel.
  2. There is a cable for the self adjusters, look at the way it runs around the tension cog, and the way it goes to the top pin, write down notes and draw a diagram to help you put them back together, the hardest part is remembering the way the self adjusting cable and cog are fit to work properly. Look at the adjuster wheel and see the way it faces, the gear wheel should be facing in the direction so that the adjuster lever is in the center of the wheel.
  3. First grab the top of the spring with vice grips or channel lock pliers and slowly turn it off the pin. And do the same with the other spring. Lay the spring on the floor on the same side they came off, to make it easier to put back on.
  4. Now carefully pull apart the brake shoes at the bottom and remove the adjuster wheel assembly, make a note of which side the threaded side is on, this is important to remember.
  5. take the spring off in the same direction remember which way the hooks go, there is a long side, and a short hook on the other side.
  6. Remove the cable tensioner from the pin, and remember which side the cable tensioner came off from.
  7. Now there are two holding pins that come through the back plate through the brake shoes, and a round recessed clip that has a slot that lines up to remove, just take channel locks or brake remover tool and turn a half turn while pushing in on the clip.
  8. The brake shoe should come right off, there should not be anything left to hold them on.
  9. There is a short pad and a longer pad on the new shoes, the shoe with the longer side goes toward the front of the vehicle. When you take off the shoes, put them on the floor on the same side they came off so you remember how they came off.
  10. Now reverse the order that they came apart, when putting them back on.
  11. After you have them back together look at them move them around and getting them centered and they should slip right in place and feel snug. If everything looks like the way they came off, you are ready to put the drum back on. If you had to remove the hub, then when you put the bearings back in and tighten the nut snug by adjustable wrench then back off one cotter pin hole, and put in a new pin and bend the legs around the nut. Make sure you put plenty of grease on the bearings before you put the grease cap on.
  12. Adjust the brakes in an up motion with a brake spoon until they start to put friction on the drum while you turn it. Do not over tighten, or the brakes will heat up and wear out.
  13. Do the other wheel on the opposite side, with the same directions.
  14. Just a note: If you have to ask how to do this, it is most likely you should not do this on your own. You should have a friend mechanic check your work before you put the drum back on. If you mess something up, you could cause an accident from failed brakes.
  15. At least for the first time doing brakes, you should have some help with the workings of brakes, to be sure there safe to drive.

 

Print   —   Rate it:  up  down  flag this hub

Comments

RSS for comments on this Hub

rallove  says:
3 months ago

good answer

swantner profile image

swantner  says:
3 weeks ago

cool i am a pro drummer my name is kevin swantner

Submit a Comment

Members and Guests

Sign in or sign up and post using a hubpages account.


optional


  • No HTML is allowed in comments, but URLs will be hyperlinked
  • Comments are not for promoting your hubs or other sites

working