Drum Brakes.............

[DumbInvestment]

Hello Everyone
So today I had the day off of work and decided it was a good day to change some drum brakes. I have never done it before but I watched some youtube videos and figured I knew enough. Everything went smooth until I put the drum back on. IT WOULD NOT FIT! I made sure that the adjuster was all the way back and all the parts where seated properly. It seemed like the braking part (the actual material for the friction) on the shoe was just too much on the front shoe. The holes also did not line up it seemed like the front side was just too much forward. Any ideas on what might be wrong because I am at a loss.
I ended up putting on the old ones that are paper thin and cracked until I have more time to look at them.
I thought that they gave me the wrong shoes but apparently they didn't


Extra Info-
I was working on the rear passenger side
2001 Dodge ram 1500 Laramie 4x4
They are whearever brakes the shelf number is s723 at advance auto. ($20.00 for both sides)
Yes, The parking brake was off.

 

[muttmutt]

Make sure the front shoe is in the front position. Take a look at all four shoes. There may be two for the right side and two for the left. Sometimes the shoe itself is different lengths for the leading and following shoe.

 

[DumbInvestment]

Thanks for the reply, I assume I had them in the correct order because two shoes had the pin for the parking brake lever already pressed in so the one that I put on the rear of the drum was the only one that would work. Im just currious if it is possible that the two that did not have a pin pressed in would be different they looked to me to be identical.

 

[dudeman2009]

Thanks for the reply, I assume I had them in the correct order because two shoes had the pin for the parking brake lever already pressed in so the one that I put on the rear of the drum was the only one that would work. Im just currious if it is possible that the two that did not have a pin pressed in would be different they looked to me to be identical.

I have never actually done the drums on my truck, I hate brakes, I take it to a shop I hate them so much.
When I was still working on Semis, you had to amke sure not only that the front shoe was on the front and the back shoe was on the back, but you had to pull the slack adjuster all the way back. We don't have slack adjusters like the semis, but we do have that star nut adjuster. Make sure its backed all the way in. Then make sure the parking brake is not set. Then it can take quite a bit of force, but the shoes should have an alignment tab on them that slots into the actuator right off the hydraulic cylinder. Take a rubber mallet and tap the shoes in up and down until they seat completely. If they dont fit, its because they aren't seated properly.

Some of this may be slightly different from what your looking at, i've only done drums on passenger cars twice. I've got plenty of experience with the Semis though.

 

[clownprince]

Check to make sure that you don't have 2 front or 2 rear on the side, I ran into this when I did my 99 1500 4X4 just because this was how they were packaged.

After checking this, wrap your hands around the shoes and rock them back and forth to make sure that they are seated correctly

 

[sbarron]

I have never actually done the drums on my truck, I hate brakes, I take it to a shop I hate them so much.
When I was still working on Semis, you had to amke sure not only that the front shoe was on the front and the back shoe was on the back, but you had to pull the slack adjuster all the way back. We don't have slack adjusters like the semis, but we do have that star nut adjuster. Make sure its backed all the way in. Then make sure the parking brake is not set. Then it can take quite a bit of force, but the shoes should have an alignment tab on them that slots into the actuator right off the hydraulic cylinder. Take a rubber mallet and tap the shoes in up and down until they seat completely. If they dont fit, its because they aren't seated properly.

Some of this may be slightly different from what your looking at, i've only done drums on passenger cars twice. I've got plenty of experience with the Semis though.

^this^ shoes not seated correctly and the adjuster not all the way slackened are the most common reasons I've personally failed at brakes back in the day.

 

[Rustycowl69]

first, are the new shoes identical in size and configuration to the old shoes? They should have identically sized and position shoe webs. Second, only work on one side at a time, so if a question of how or which spring goes where, you have a sample right there. Of course, this only applies if the brakes were done properly before. Third, the long shoes always goes on the rear of the backing plate. When you are done, the shoes should 'float' around the anchor pin. You should be able to move the shoes assembly forwards and back by pushing them forwards and back about a 1/2" or so, pivoting around the anchor pin. Like the previous poster said, parking brake must be totally released.
If you post some pics, I could tell more.

 

[nomechanic]

Don't mean to hijack this thread, but what youtube videos did you watch to remove the rear brake shoes? I've been trying to find a decent one, but none of them match my '96 version. I need to change out my brakes and wheel cylinders. Trying to save some money, but I just can't find enough information to complete the task!

 

[Tryin]

Take a couple of pictures of the breaks with your phone and take a good long look at them for visual reference before disassembling. It's been awhile since I've done rear brakes, but make sure your cylinders are compressed and the brakes are properly seated before installing the drum. As for replacing the cylinders, they're typically held in with two bolts through the backing plate and there is a break line fitting. Make sure you bleed the cylinders good. This is Also a good opportunity to renew brake fluid.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[clownprince]

Also make sure your new shoes are the same width as the old ones. There are two different widths and you might have gotten one that was too big. Also the way I found mine to be packed was with one vacuum pack containing two front and the other containing two rear

*edit; just saw this thread is old whoops!