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Old January 8th 18, 11:28 AM posted to rec.autos.tech
dsi1[_11_]
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Posts: 331
Default Drum brakes - do you disconnect the parking brake cable?

On Sunday, January 7, 2018 at 9:02:24 PM UTC-10, Mad Roger wrote:
> I haven't done drum brakes ever but I'm faced with these drum brakes where
> I'd just like to ask a couple of questions from those of you who have done
> drum brakes before.
>
> 1. I released the parking brake from the cabin and screwed these 2-inch
> long metric 8mm x 1.25mm threads bolts to pull the drum off the shoes.
> <http://www.bild.me/bild.php?file=5687240drum_brakes_0.jpg>
>
> 2. After blowing the dust out (and not breathing it in), I could see that
> the front shoe was worn down to about a millimeter or less (after 175K
> miles), so I'm going to have to buy new shoes and replace them.
> <http://www.bild.me/bild.php?file=3478506drum_brakes_1.jpg>
>
> 3. I measured the drum to be 2mm smaller than the maximum diameter:
> <http://www.bild.me/bild.php?file=9335528drum_brakes_2.jpg>
>
> 4. Where the maximum diameter of 297mm was stamped on the drum itself:
> <http://www.bild.me/bild.php?file=9428041drum_brakes_3.jpg>
>
> 5. It was hard to get the drum back on even with the parking brake released
> from the cabin, so I had to use a mallet to bang it back on:
> <http://www.bild.me/bild.php?file=2434045drum_brakes_4.jpg>
>
> The main question is whether I'm supposed to *disconnect* the cable for the
> parking brake when working on the drums, and particularly when I put the
> new shoes on after I buy them.
>
> Also, only one shoe is worn, and it's the front shoe, and it's been on
> there for 175K miles, but I wonder if the shoes can be switched, so that
> the front shoe is in the rear and the rear shoe is in the front, since they
> wore so unevenly (sort of like rotating tires).
>
> But mainly I'm not sure what the procedure is for the parking brake cable..
> Can you advise?


It depends on the cable. Some have a spring that keeps the cable end firmly in place. Those can be tough to put back on. In that case, I'd leave the cable attached. The parking brake arm is held on with a clip so you really don't have to detach it. Just clip it on the new shoe with the cable attached.

Your photos don't show any spring attached so it could just fall off when you detach the arm from the shoe. Make sure you take a lot of pictures. I was working on some brakes a couple of weeks ago and just blanked out on where to attach a spring. Your brake looks pretty simple so that's a good thing..

It's normal to have one shoe worn more than the other - they were designed that way. Brake shoes are cheap, so replace both. A hardware kit with new clips and springs are nice if you can get it. Good luck!

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