18 Steps to Drum Brake Repair

Brakes are a pivotal part of your vehicle that needs routine maintenance and there are 18 steps to drum brake repair that may help you. Be prepared with the following tools and parts: wrenches, a car jack, jack stands, brake spring pliers, brake retainer tool, flat-head screwdriver, pliers, hammer, large chisel, white lithium grease, latex gloves, dust mask and new brake shoes. You might consider buying a new hardware kit, which should include springs, adjusters, and retainer clips and pins.

1. Be safe! Use eyewear and gloves to protect yourself. On brakes, use water soaked rags to minimize asbestos fibers in the air, which puts you at risk of asbestos inhalation.
2. Work on one wheel at a time, so you can use the other as a reference point if you get confused.
3. Loosen all the lug nuts on the wheels. Do not remove the lug nuts completely. Jack up one side of the car and place jack stands underneath. Repeat for the other side of the vehicle.
4. Remove the wheel. Place the transmission in neutral as you will not be able to spin the hub later in the transmission is in park or gear.
5. Remove the drum. Sometimes a brake drum may be held together with the wheel by a clip or a phillips-screw. The purpose of these is to make sure the drum does not fall off during removal of the wheel. If the drum won't budge, try using a soft-head hammer and some oil to loosen any dirt/corrosion that may be sticking.
6. If you are working on both drums at the same time, take pictures of the set-up, otherwise you might not remember how the springs, retainers and shoes fit together.
7. Remove the springs by using a screwdriver and needle-nose pliers and pop them off.
8. Depress the retainer clips with the pliers and rotate the retainer pins 90 degrees and the drum brake assembly should fall apart.
9. Inspect the drums for any sign of wear; the drum should be shiny without grooves. If wear is evident, your drum will need to be replaced or machined. If you machine or replace one, you must machine or replace the other to ensure equal braking.
10. Check the depth of the friction material on the shoes. If any of the 4 shoes are worn more than halfway, replace them all.
11. Pull the boot located on the slave cylinder and check for fluid. A little moisture is o.k., however if there is a buildup of fluid, you need to replace the cylinder and bleed the system.
12. Wipe up any dirt/corrosion with aerosol brake cleaner. Clean the friction surface of the drum with brake cleaner.
13. Use lithium grease or high-temp grease on the adjuster and the adjuster struts.
14. Run the adjuster all the way up so the new shoes will clear the drum later.
15. Now is the time you need the picture of the assembly or reference the other drum. Reassemble the shoes, adjuster, springs and retainers.
16. Hang the drum and reinstall the wheel. Remember to follow the torque specifications before tightening the wheel.
17. Make sure the drum spins freely.
18. epeat the directions for the other side of the car.

A consumer can save money by working on the drum brakes themselves. A consumer can also feel the self-satisfaction of performing routine maintenance themselves.