Every ten years or so, I need to rebuild a set of drum brakes. It serves a reminder of just how much I dislike them. They aren't hard, they aren't really complex, there are just so many bloody springs and finicky parts.
Good thing at that, considering the innards of the brakes were pretty much rusted solid and not really doing anything anymore.
You may notice that I'm working with a jack, and a tire under the control arm as a safety device. Don't do this, it's not safe, you will die. I haven't yet, but my tire has caught my Jeep once when my Hi-Lift fell over in an emergency situation. In any case, yeah, use jack stands.
Get the Jeep up in the air, get the tire off, and pull the drum. If you're lucky, the drum will slide right off because the brakes are shot and not working. If you're unlucky, you'll need patience, heat, choice words, and a hammer. I was lucky, my brakes were shot.
These steps are not any official steps, just the way I do drums.
Start by removing the two top springs, using a brake spring tool helps. Well worth the investment. Next remove the retainer springs. These are the round disks, just passed the halfway point down on the shoes. To remove them, put a finger on the pin behind the brakes, using pliers, push the disk in and twist to release it. Much easier than it sounds on rusty springs.
Finally, pull the shoes apart, and remove them from the backing plate.
Finally, pull the shoes apart, and remove them from the backing plate.
Start with ensuring the parking brake plate is slotted in correctly (it'll be the thing that didn't come off with the shoes, and is on a cable). Next move to the retainer springs. They will cause you to use some adult language. Once done, slide in the adjuster, and the shoe to shoe spring over it. Next, I slide in the above axle cross bar, finishing with routing the adjuster cable, and top springs. (These are not official names, just saying)
When done, slide the drum on. It should be lose. Take the drum off, and adjust the adjuster a bit and test the drum again. Keep doing that until you get a slightly snug fit. Put the tire on, and you're done.
These are meant to be some simple steps, and after following them, you too will understand why auto manufactures are moving to discs. Technically speaking, drums do provide much more stopping power. They're "self energizing", meaning that the force of the drum against the shoes, force them to grab harder (like a wedge under a door). They don't do as well with water and debris, and as you can see from reading this, a pain to work on.
These are meant to be some simple steps, and after following them, you too will understand why auto manufactures are moving to discs. Technically speaking, drums do provide much more stopping power. They're "self energizing", meaning that the force of the drum against the shoes, force them to grab harder (like a wedge under a door). They don't do as well with water and debris, and as you can see from reading this, a pain to work on.