Doing rear drum brakes? A must read!

[06TJ35's]

I believe you are referring to this piece.
I would want to fit it into the hole. I’d move it around with a flat head and try get it into place.

 

[JC123]

The star adjuster needs to be flipped and I’m not sure what you mean by the guide not fitting in the hole?

Thanks for the star adjuster advice. Re: the cable, The guide fits into a hole in the “rib” of the shoe but comes out of that hole when I put tension on the cable

 

[Zorba]

If in doubt, get a replacement "bits kit" for the adjusters. Just be aware that unlike the shoes and the brake springs, the adjuster kit is sold by WHEEL and are peculiar to each side.

 

[WallyWest]

Thanks for the star adjuster advice. Re: the cable, The guide fits into a hole in the “rib” of the shoe but comes out of that hole when I put tension on the cable

Do you have the upper spring installed before trying to slip the cable over the guide? The spring should hold it in place.

 

[JC123]

I believe you are referring to this piece.
I would want to fit it into the hole. I’d move it around with a flat head and try get it into place.

View attachment 172547

That’s it. I’ll try the flat head. Thanks

 

[JC123]

first of all: thank you all for the help and quick responses.

Both sides are back together. Never doing that again.

@06TJ35's: you were right, I flipped it around and that did it. embarrassing mistake.

I tried the suggestion about connecting the cable last and that was easier but when I put the top spring on that side under tension it still pulled the guide out of the hole in the shoe. I tried to maneuver the guides into place but didn't get them quite right. may try again tomorrow before I bleed the brakes.

 

[Tankie]

First post here! I need to refurbish Rear 9 inch drum brakes on a 1998 Jeep Safari with an optional DANA 44 axle. There seems to be conflicting advice on kits. Because I am in Belgium it is not easy to go to an auto parts store to discuss, so I want to make sure I get the right kit first off! I have looked through this site and others but am getting more confused....

Is the 97-2000 kit suitable for the DANA 44 rear axle as sometimes I see the kit specified as DANA 35 axle only?

Does anybody know what the difference is between the 1997-2000 rear drum brakes and the 2000-2006?

If I buy a complete kit (including drum and cylinders) would it matter if it was 97-2000 or 2000-2006 if everything but the backing plate was being replaced?

Thanks in advance,

 

[glowell222]

Thanks very much for this thread, to all you who contributed. For the longest time my parking brake was weak, and I was able to address the issue and now it is much better.

 

[06TJ35's]

First post here! I need to refurbish Rear 9 inch drum brakes on a 1998 Jeep Safari with an optional DANA 44 axle. There seems to be conflicting advice on kits. Because I am in Belgium it is not easy to go to an auto parts store to discuss, so I want to make sure I get the right kit first off! I have looked through this site and others but am getting more confused....

Is the 97-2000 kit suitable for the DANA 44 rear axle as sometimes I see the kit specified as DANA 35 axle only?

Does anybody know what the difference is between the 1997-2000 rear drum brakes and the 2000-2006?

If I buy a complete kit (including drum and cylinders) would it matter if it was 97-2000 or 2000-2006 if everything but the backing plate was being replaced?

Thanks in advance,

you’ll have better luck getting a response if your start your own thread.

 

[Tankie]

you’ll have better luck getting a response if your start your own thread.

Ok thanks

 

[miketx]

I think the clip goes over the adjuster plate and holds it flat. This would solve many of the problems people are having with the adjuster plate not touching the adjuster wheel and removes a dependency on which way springs are installed. The shop manual mentions this spring washer and clip but doesn’t show a picture.

View attachment 112996

Very interesting. Old member here (but somehow my account disappeared, so created a new one). I just did my rear brakes yesterday....cylinders/shoes/all hardware. I wondered what that U shaped clip was for...it came in the Carlson hardware kit I bought, but there wasn't one on the old brakes. There was also a spring (beveled) washer in the kit, but I don't see it in your picture. Thankfully the wheels are still off, so I'll add it....still waiting for my speed bleeders to show up.

Edit: didn't work...I couldn't get the u-clip/washer onto the pin....not enough room in my setup, with the spring behind it. And with the springs all attached, my lever touches the ratchet/adjuster just fine and is very stable. I did notice that my Carlson HW kit also came with new pins to pound into the brake shoes, but my new shoes came with the pin already installed. Maybe the Carlson pin has more wiggle room to allow for the u-clip.

 

[Barkfire]

This is a great thread, thanks to everyone for their contributions. I just got to checking my rear breaks after buying this jeep a couple of months ago, I know I should have checked them sooner but I have been doing a lot of other maintenance and just got to it. When I removed the drums I noticed right away that the passenger side adjustment lever was sitting low and wondered what was going on, the other side looked right to me. Well, now I know! So when I put the new shoes on I feel very informed on what to watch for so I can do it right. Thanks, everyone!!

 

[Barkfire]

Looking at my drivers side again I see that the brake shoe guide is missing so the cable was installed first over the large section of the pin then the springs. Looked right if a person didn’t know about the guide plate, and apparently it works without it because my brakes were working fine. I will get one on there but guess what part doesn’t come in any of the kits I looked at, that’s right, for some strange reason the shoe guide is not included. But you can get one on amazon for a $1.83 and free shipping. So I will pick one up.
I changed the passenger side that was not lined up and put the cable eye behind the shoe guide and the adjustment lever lined up better but it caused the guide not to seat very well on the pen so WTH, it looked like it was better for the cable but not for the guide. They did have the lower spring installed like the OP shows is correct. Maybe with the new kit everything will line up better, if not I will probably adjust the cable length and install the shoe guide first because that is how it looks to me to be right. That disc brake conversion is looking better all the time!

 

[joerilla]

Hi all,

I just spent a good long day installing new drums, shoes, hardware, and auto adjusters. I ran into a little issue with the auto adjuster cable that everybody attempting this repair needs to know. It's not mentioned in any factory repair manual or youtube video. In fact, there's virtually no mention of it. It's very important that the little green spring and the bracket that surrounds it is installed just like in the picture, otherwise the part of the adjuster pivot that engages the star wheel will not hold enough tension and your brakes will never adjust up for wear. It took me 4 extra hours to sort this out. Many YouTube videos did it wrong and they just slapped it together none the wiser.

View attachment 36446

what direction does the adjuster go. the 2 pictures in this article are opposit

 

[DannyJ]

Hi all,

I just spent a good long day installing new drums, shoes, hardware, and auto adjusters. I ran into a little issue with the auto adjuster cable that everybody attempting this repair needs to know. It's not mentioned in any factory repair manual or youtube video. In fact, there's virtually no mention of it. It's very important that the little green spring and the bracket that surrounds it is installed just like in the picture, otherwise the part of the adjuster pivot that engages the star wheel will not hold enough tension and your brakes will never adjust up for wear. It took me 4 extra hours to sort this out. Many YouTube videos did it wrong and they just slapped it together none the wiser.

View attachment 36446

 

[davelittlewood]

I'm just about the take the wheel and drum off AGAIN.

replaced the brakes and drums (20 years on the old ones). Left rear wheel problem as described here. adjustment cable appears to long....

AND GUESS WHAAAAAAAAAT.

Just as you guys said - the saddle was not located on the shoe web correctly.

 

[inkedrose]

Hi all,

I just spent a good long day installing new drums

THANK YOU!! What a PITA. Just had to walk away from this project for a minute and this was the exact answer I needed!

 

[Gilly11277]

I was just up into 12 AM doing all of my brakes. Front pads & rotors were a breeze, drums not so much. The parts kit I got had an adjustment cable that was slightly longer than OEM. Glad I found this thread! Re-using OEM cable with the suggestion to hook it how OP did got me up and running. Solid clicks with adjustment.

Once I got the drivers side put back I was able to do the passenger side in 30 min. I would also say it helped getting the shoes mounted and attached with the spring retainers first and then doing springs and adjustment cable.


Would be nice if we just did away with drum brakes for passenger vehicles altogether IMO.

 

[Zorba]

I was just up into 12 AM doing all of my brakes. Front pads & rotors were a breeze, drums not so much. The parts kit I got had an adjustment cable that was slightly longer than OEM. Glad I found this thread! Re-using OEM cable with the suggestion to hook it how OP did got me up and running. Solid clicks with adjustment.

Once I got the drivers side put back I was able to do the passenger side in 30 min. I would also say it helped getting the shoes mounted and attached with the spring retainers first and then doing springs and adjustment cable.


Would be nice if we just did away with drum brakes for passenger vehicles altogether IMO.

I don't understand why drum brakes are still being used. They can't be much cheaper - if any - than disks. The CarCos load up vehicles with all kinds of un-necessary and expensive crap, yet still use drum brakes...

 

[Mikebee]

Lots of great advice here, here's a video that makes the whole process very simple: