Drum Brake Replacement

[Entropy98]

Does anyone know of a good write up for drum brake replacement/overhaul? I think that I am going to do the project this week, and have never done this before. Anything that I should watch out for or know about before starting the project? Will be replacing all the parts with the exception of the drums which I will be turning. Any advice is appreciated.

 

Thanks,

 

Tyler

[Precise1]

All you should need to replace is the brake drum it's self, the brake shoes and maybe the slave cylinder.

 

Break the lug nuts loose, jack up the rear axle (properly support it with jack stands, blocking the front tires,etc) and remove the wheels. The drums should have two threaded holes (M8 or M10, I can't remember) to put bolts in to pop the drum off. Do not breathe the dust when you do this!! Ok, now you have both drums off. Back the adjuster on the bottom off and start disassembling on one side, keeping the parts clean and laid out on a clean rag in exploded view fashion. Reassemble with new components and if you get confused on how it goes together, take a look at the other side that you haven't touched yet...

 

Oh, also go the the Garage Section here, look for Service Manual at the top, follow a functioning link and download your free Factory Service Manual.

 

B

[pathfounder]

You will need to buy a starwheel adjuster, or you can bend a flathead screwdriver that you are not fond of.

 

Also, you will need a brake drum spring compressor, it's like a $5-$10 tool, or you can fashion one with a socket that has a nut in it (experiment with sizes).

 

Wear safety goggles when disassembling and assembling. The springs are small but they pack a good punch. Don't lose an eye to a job like this.

 

Do one side at a time so that you can reference what parts go where when you reassemble.

[Zibi]

All the advice given is good. Since you need a couple tools I'd suggest just buying them if you plan on doing your breaks yourself in the future.

 

Get some break cleaner and spray them all down pretty good. Just as the others said, make sure you don't breath in the fumes.

 

Also be careful when adjusting the e-brake setting. If you're replacing the shoes you'll need to adjust it as the mechanism tightens over time.

 

Get a Haynes manual, it'll show you what you need to do and post up here with any other questions

[Entropy98]

Well the job is done and it was not as bad as I thought. One of the shoes was not attached to the backplate when I opened it up, and on the other side the cylinder was leaking like a siv. No wonder I had no stopping power. The springs came off easy, and I ran through 2 cans of brake fluid. Ended up having to buy new drums, because one was warped and once turned was out of spec. Replaced both cylinders while I was at it. I would recommend to anyone over 100k, replace your shoes if not every working part in the rear braking system.

 

Thanks for the info!

[SteeevO]

If you guys decide to switch to disks here is a writeup

 

http://crawlernews.com/2010/04/nissan-frontier-xterra-rear-disk-brake-conversion-2/

[OldSlowReliable]

Another good idea-

 

Take both drums off first, and see if one side is demolished (as in all the parts in disarray) so you can then reference the good side when reassembling.

[WOT]

Does anyone know of a good write up for drum brake replacement/overhaul?

[piste]

Well the job is done and it was not as bad as I thought. One of the shoes was not attached to the backplate when I opened it up, and on the other side the cylinder was leaking like a siv. No wonder I had no stopping power. The springs came off easy, and I ran through 2 cans of brake fluid. Ended up having to buy new drums, because one was warped and once turned was out of spec. Replaced both cylinders while I was at it. I would recommend to anyone over 100k, replace your shoes if not every working part in the rear braking system.

 

Thanks for the info!

 

Hunh. Glad everything worked out ok and sounds like yorus needed some attention. I am original owner of my 97 SE and still have original shoes on and they are at 5mm...only down slightly from new which are 6.1mm after 13 years and 150K miles. Did you measure your old shoe thickness? Further...it's my understanding that the rear drums and possibly the shoes as well ....will last the lifetime of the vehicle...or darn close to that ...at least as far as wear goes. Failure or other problems would be a different matter. So I would not universally recommend everyone doing them after 100K miles.