95 Windstar Rear Brakes

Hey guys, been a while since I've over here so I thought I'd stop by for a little advice. I'm going to need to do the rear brakes on my 95 I'm fairly sure since the parking brakes won't hold it even on a slight incline. I've never had the rear drums off of it but I've been told that the self adjusters give trouble on these. They sell the kits for them, I'm just wondering if it's something I should go ahead and order when I get the shoes.

While I don't want to assume anything, are you saying the brakes haven't been done by you and the van was bought used or the drums haven't ever been off?

Brakes are one of those jobs where you can replace only shoes and springs, right up to a full overhaul, where everything is replaced. I used to try and cheap out a bit but when I'm working lately I'd rather replace more than less and know it's all good for a year or so. If that's the tact you take, I'd do the wheel cylinders, cable to the E brake, shoes, drums, spring kit, self adjusters, full bleed.

Working with new components is so much better than fiddling with old stuff that is only going to need replacement sooner than later.

fwiw my :2cents:

While I don't want to assume anything, are you saying the brakes haven't been done by you and the van was bought used or the drums haven't ever been off?

Brakes are one of those jobs where you can replace only shoes and springs, right up to a full overhaul, where everything is replaced. I used to try and cheap out a bit but when I'm working lately I'd rather replace more than less and know it's all good for a year or so. If that's the tact you take, I'd do the wheel cylinders, cable to the E brake, shoes, drums, spring kit, self adjusters, full bleed.

Working with new components is so much better than fiddling with old stuff that is only going to need replacement sooner than later.

fwiw my :2cents:
You're assumption would have been correct, I've had the car since 2006 and I've never had the drums off the rear. I would agree with you on all the replacement parts. Money is going to be a factor though. Only working 2 days a week is tough trying to raise a family. I'm thinking of just doing the shoes, hardware kit, and the self adjusters. As far as I know, the wheel cylinders aren't leaking. I'll probably take a chance on them for now. If I can find a good deal on some, I may go ahead and buy them just in case.

hey, I totally hear you on the money thing... believe me. If the wheel cylinders are good, no leaks, and both sides of the piston are moving, don't replace them. If you start to take them apart, for sure you're going to need a rigid line or 2 as they have been on so long. My best advice is to spray the bleeders with some pb blaster a few days before you want to start the job, and each day until. That'll loosen them up. The spring kit, shoes and drums aren't that much money so the job won't be crazy pricy. I've never replace my self adjusters tho I bought them the first time thinking I would need to. They seem to last quite a while. You'll need some anti-seize compound too, and some brake fluid. I'd bet the whole job could be done for $150.

hey, I totally hear you on the money thing... believe me. If the wheel cylinders are good, no leaks, and both sides of the piston are moving, don't replace them. If you start to take them apart, for sure you're going to need a rigid line or 2 as they have been on so long. My best advice is to spray the bleeders with some pb blaster a few days before you want to start the job, and each day until. That'll loosen them up. The spring kit, shoes and drums aren't that much money so the job won't be crazy pricy. I've never replace my self adjusters tho I bought them the first time thinking I would need to. They seem to last quite a while. You'll need some anti-seize compound too, and some brake fluid. I'd bet the whole job could be done for $150.
Actually, I just priced everything at rockauto.com, I could do the whole thing for about $45.00, the problem is shipping. Shoes, hardware kit, wheel cylinders and the self adjuster kits. They don't stock everything in one place, so you get multiple shipping charges. I didn't price the drums, I'll look at them when I take them off. There's no metal to metal from what I can tell. I think they've just adjusted themselves out as far as they'll go and that's it. I'll find the minimum thickness on the drum if there's a ridge at the edge measure them with a dial caliper and go from there. You say that the self adjusters don't give much trouble, that's good to hear. I guess that'll save me 12 bucks:bananasmi

The link in my signature takes you to a folder of pictures of many projects that I did on my '96 windstar.
I have a series of pictures that show the rear brake job.
I also have a couple of pictures that show the wheel cylinder replacement.
The wheel cylinder pictures are much later in the pictures because they were done years later than the rear brake job.
The hardest thing in replacing the wheel cylinder is the brake line connection to it.
The nut seems to corrode to the hard brake line....and the whole thing turns when you turn the nut.
On 1 I removed the wheel cylinder, except for the brake line....and used a wrench on the nut and turned the wheel cylinder, not the nut.
After a lot of working it that way, the nut finally worked free from the hard line.

The link in my signature takes you to a folder of pictures of many projects that I did on my '96 windstar.
I have a series of pictures that show the rear brake job.
I also have a couple of pictures that show the wheel cylinder replacement.
The wheel cylinder pictures are much later in the pictures because they were done years later than the rear brake job.
The hardest thing in replacing the wheel cylinder is the brake line connection to it.
The nut seems to corrode to the hard brake line....and the whole thing turns when you turn the nut.
On 1 I removed the wheel cylinder, except for the brake line....and used a wrench on the nut and turned the wheel cylinder, not the nut.
After a lot of working it that way, the nut finally worked free from the hard line.
Thanks Wiswind, I actually came down with another problem yesterday on it. The wife calls me from wally world and says it won't shut off. I wasn't very far from her so I went over and turned the cylinder. Nothing is what I got, I assumed it was going to be the cylinder itself. It would go into the start position, but when you'd go to turn it off, it just didn't feel like anything was moving. I put a new cylinder on it today, that's not the problem either. The only other thing I could deduce is the actual ignition switch. I just went back outside to try something, with the key in the off position, you can still move the steering wheel. So I guess what I need to know is, Does the switch lock the steering wheel. Or is it something else, if I need to make a new thread just let me know.

I would recommend a new thread for the new problem.
I have some pictures of the steering column with the covers off from when I replaced the multifunction switch (turn signal).
I don't know if it shows anything of much help to you except how to get that far.....so you can see the ignition cylinder, linkage and ignition switch.