Rear Brakes - Drums & Pads

[Andrew1941]

2001 3.8 133,000 km - I took the passenger rear brake drum off today and can see that I only have about 1/8" pad left in one spot which is below the minimum 0.154" spec by Ford. I did not have calipers to check the drum, but roughly measuring it with a ruler I can see I am around 10.875", maybe a little less, but impossible to tell with a ruler and spec is 10.90", so I am getting very close. I suspect I SHOULD buy new drums, springs & pads and replace everything on both sides. I have never done this before, but I have the Ford manual. It looks fairly straight forward, but was looking for any advice as the manual really doesn't tell you how to do anything, just the sequence. By the way, the cylinder looks dry so I think it is OK.

I guess I should clean everything with brake cleaner, grease all the new metal to metal joints with never seize. Anything else? Any other parts I should change out? Will get everything I need in a brake kit or do I need to look for each part individually? What is the easiest way to get the springs off or do they come off easy any way? What about the removal of the shoe hold down spring? I couldn't see how it comes off?

[Andrew1941]

What is the easiest way to get the springs off or do they come off easy any way? What about the removal of the shoe hold down spring? I couldn't see how it comes off?

[garync1]

You can buy a brake tool all in one tool at most parts places. A flat screw driver will work also. The spring clips that hold the shoes on can come off with pliers.. Not needle nose.. Just grab the spring head on and push and turn tell the center pin notch lines up to pop off.. Just remember to put on stands and both wheels off and do one at a time so you can use the other side to compare.. The adjuster rod will most likely drop out, so just keep in mind that you need it.. I also adjust mine after install with drum off. A lot easier than the access hole to the adjuster. I get it to where I have a little trouble putting the drum on. Not a hard time just a little trouble sliding it back on and hard to turn by hand. But with the wheel on you should only feel a light drag but will turn fairly free and stop. I hope this helps.. To be honest I lost my brake tool. So i use pliers and a screwdriver. Screw driver helps take main tension brake springs off.

[Jeckler]

I did mine last year, 2 hours after we finished packing the contents of our house into a trailer to go to Arizona from Georgia. All I used was a pair of needle nose pliers to get the hold down and the return springs off and on.
I didn't adjust mine first, just drove backwards up the street, hitting the brakes every so often. My nieghobrs loved me.

[wiswind]

Take a look through the pictures that the link in my signature takes you to.
I posted pictures of the front disk brake job and the rear drum brake job, including replacement of the drum.

I HIGHLY recommend that you get a drum brake "hardware kit", they are cheap....and give you all new springs and clips.....really make the job easier and better.

Also....I originally bought drums from NAPA for about $50....made in China.....
I ended up taking them back because one or both was seriously out of ballance or out of round......made the car shake at anything over 45mph.
I tried rotating tires.....having the tires spin ballanced.....messing with this and that...and solved the problem by putting my old drums back on.
So I returned the NAPA drums and got some Bendix drums from Advance Auto Parts.......

I have since replaced both rear wheel cylinders.....one started to leak....which required replacment.....and I did the other one later just as preventative maintenance.

The big thing that I ran into with the rear wheel cylinders was that the nut that holds the metal brake line to the wheel cylinder was rusted to the brake line....so that the whole brake line wanted to turn as I turned the nut......
I ended up spending a lot of time messing with that......removed the wheel cylinder from the backing plate and spinning it on the brake line to get it off.....and finally got the nut to come free.
Other than that.....wheel cylinder replacement was easy.

I would also bleed the brakes....flushing a lot of new, fresh brake fluid through the system.

Take note that my windstar is much older than yours.....so much more age and wear and tear.
However the pictures should match up to your job.....as long as you have rear drum brakes.

[LeSabre97mint]

Originally Posted by wiswind

The big thing that I ran into with the rear wheel cylinders was that the nut that holds the metal brake line to the wheel cylinder was rusted to the brake line....so that the whole brake line wanted to turn as I turned the nut......
I ended up spending a lot of time messing with that......removed the wheel cylinder from the backing plate and spinning it on the brake line to get it off.....and finally got the nut to come free.
Other than that.....wheel cylinder replacement was easy.

I have also removed the cylinder many times and spun it to remove the brake line. I have mainly worked on used up vehicles driven in Northern Minnesota which is in the rust belt so every thing develops a natural anti-loosen locking mechanism (rust).

A torch helps to get rusted items moving. (The Blue Tiped Wrench)

Also, it's good that you caught the brakes before the brake lining was worn down to the brake shoe. This saves on the drum.

Dan

[philkb]

Having to turn the wheel cylinder seems to be the only way you can remove them on all cars I've ever worked on. The flare nut and line rust tightly together and all manner of penetrating oils, vibration or tapping or anything seems to break them loose. I barely had enough room to twirl off my cylinder on my Eagle Premier last month.

Phil

quote=wiswind]Take a look through the pictures that the link in my signature takes you to.
I posted pictures of the front disk brake job and the rear drum brake job, including replacement of the drum.

I HIGHLY recommend that you get a drum brake "hardware kit", they are cheap....and give you all new springs and clips.....really make the job easier and better.

Also....I originally bought drums from NAPA for about $50....made in China.....
I ended up taking them back because one or both was seriously out of ballance or out of round......made the car shake at anything over 45mph.
I tried rotating tires.....having the tires spin ballanced.....messing with this and that...and solved the problem by putting my old drums back on.
So I returned the NAPA drums and got some Bendix drums from Advance Auto Parts.......

I have since replaced both rear wheel cylinders.....one started to leak....which required replacment.....and I did the other one later just as preventative maintenance.

The big thing that I ran into with the rear wheel cylinders was that the nut that holds the metal brake line to the wheel cylinder was rusted to the brake line....so that the whole brake line wanted to turn as I turned the nut......
I ended up spending a lot of time messing with that......removed the wheel cylinder from the backing plate and spinning it on the brake line to get it off.....and finally got the nut to come free.
Other than that.....wheel cylinder replacement was easy.

I would also bleed the brakes....flushing a lot of new, fresh brake fluid through the system.

Take note that my windstar is much older than yours.....so much more age and wear and tear.
However the pictures should match up to your job.....as long as you have rear drum brakes.[/quote]

[northern piper]

the only thing I'd add to this is to check if the brake cylinder can easily compress on both sides of the cylinder. On my 2000 windstar, the brakes seemed to be working ok when I did my last brake job. On closer inspection only the rear shaft of the brake cylinder was moving in and out. This means that the shoes aren't hitting the drum properly. I had no noticeable braking problem I'll add, just that I knew the shoes needed replacement. So, bottom line, while you're doing the job, take a look at the cylinders. I replaced both of mine, along with the flex lines to them. Only added about 1 hour total to the job. The flex line to cylinder connection for sure will be ruined in removing as other people have said. I found the flex line to rigid line under the body to be very easy (w some penetrating fluid) to remove. Then bleed, test...

Piper

[Andrew1941]

Thanks for all the good info. After opening the drums up, I dumped all the drap out and then reassembled. Iw ish I had of thought of testing the cylinders to see if both pistons actuate...oh well, next time I will think of it. The brakes, although only 1/8" of pad left, are working perfectly smooth. Since we heading into winter (really cold here) I will wait until spring to do the change. I was wondering if anyone could comment on the drums; i.e. if mine are worn down to 10.875" approx. shoulc I just go ahead and change them (I will verify with calipers before actually doing it) or should I just change the pads and hardware and re-use the drums and check them again in a couple of years? New drums are about $60 each.

[northern piper]

the drums would need likely to be turned to true them up. By the time that's done they'll likely be very close or over sized. I usually install new ones myself. I look at the cost of Ford doing the job vs me and the $120 (for 2 new drums) doesn't seem so bad. Right now Raybestos brake drums are $37 at RockAuto. Did you check there? $60 each seems a bit high to me.

[Andrew1941]

Thats because I am in Canada...no Rock Auto. I just get places like Lordco, Crappy Tire, WALLY World, Napa etc. The price I got was retail from Lordco. I can probably get about a 50% discount through a friend who works for a repair shop in town who buys lots from them....

[northern piper]

Ain't that ironic! I'm in Canada too and have to rely on local suppliers. I have bought stuff from RockAuto and had it delivered when I was on vacation in Florida. Their prices do rock for sure. Duty and shipping kill it for us north of the 49th though. My local auto parts store sells parts to me at the mechanic price so they're pretty reasonable. I'd ask at a local auto parts store near you is they'd do the same thing.