Drum Brakes. Never Again.

"Luken10" (luken10) 08/21/2016 at 14:51 • Filed to: None

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Way too many fiddly bits! My fingers tips are still sore the next day from all of the pressing and pinching. At least I know how to do them now.

sony1492 > Luken10 08/21/2016 at 15:08

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Why not pliers?

dogisbadob > Luken10 08/21/2016 at 15:08

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drum brakes SUCK

Echo51 > Luken10 08/21/2016 at 15:09

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My current drum brakes has been on for 3.5 years by now and not been touched since, so that’s one bright side to it atleast, doesn’t need doing as often as the front discs..

Luken10 > sony1492 08/21/2016 at 15:11

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I did! There were just a few parts where that wasn’t enough to hold things in place or get things on. Mainly where the locking pin goes through the spring.

Luken10 > Echo51 08/21/2016 at 15:13

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That’s true. Some disc setups can be a pretty large pain, too.

Luken10 > dogisbadob 08/21/2016 at 15:14

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I really hope I put everything back together correctly. I DO NOT want to have to tear back into it.

sony1492 > Luken10 08/21/2016 at 15:15

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I definitely understand, Nobody likes those pins.

Junkrat aka Rick Sanchez: Fury Road Edition > Luken10 08/21/2016 at 15:20

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Amen to that brother. I just did all four wheels on my Valiant. These are the police/taxi option brakes so everything was gigantic for such a small car. Hearing those springs creak while you stretch them in place, fearing a slip might send said spring right into your face. The constant adjustment during break in. Wheel cylinders leaking everywhere. The parts cost was about half of the full disc conversion kit.

The car still had all original, except front shoes, brakes from 1973. It didn’t really need new shoes or drums, but I had to take them off to replace wheel cylinders so I might as well put new parts on. Just getting everything disassembled and cleaned took more time than a complete brake job on a car with discs. I have to say they do work very well for being non power 4 wheel drums. Pedal feel is excellent and the oversized drums and pads really make up for the face that they are not assisted. It will probably be the last brake job I will ever do on the car though. As long as nothing leaks it should be good for 100,000 miles and that’s about 60k more that it will see in it’s lifetime.

Luken10 > Junkrat aka Rick Sanchez: Fury Road Edition 08/21/2016 at 15:30

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Luckily I only had to do one wheel. Doing all four sounds like a project I would end up putting off a very long time. Glad to hear it working out well for you, though. There is definitely a ton of satisfaction from getting these things done yourself.

merged-5876237249235911857-hrw8uc > Luken10 08/21/2016 at 15:32

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The couple of specialty drum brake tools make all the difference, and a good set of needle nose vise grips come in handy. I hope you only took apart one side at a time. I hate drum brakes, but after a few dozen brake jobs, they're no big deal.

My bird IS the word > Luken10 08/21/2016 at 15:34

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The old ones really suck. Most new designs are very straightforward.

Luken10 > merged-5876237249235911857-hrw8uc 08/21/2016 at 15:37

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The right tools always make all the difference, no doubt! I just had to make a repair, so it was only one wheel luckily. I pretty much just used a set of needle nose pliers and a flat head. I can see how it would get easier with some practice. Without those specialty tools, I think I would still be swearing underneath my breath, though ha!

Luken10 > My bird IS the word 08/21/2016 at 15:38

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This is the ebrake assembly on a 2005 Saab 9-2x Aero. It was mostly straight forward. I just wish I had an extra set of hands.

e36Jeff now drives a ZHP > Luken10 08/21/2016 at 16:49

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My old e30 318i had rear drum brakes. I hated them so much when it came time to replace the shoes I went to a junkyard and got the rear suspension off a 325i to swap it for discs rather than rebuild the shoes.

jimz > Luken10 08/21/2016 at 18:05

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I used to have to do drum brakes all of the time. yes, a set of these makes the job 10000% easier: