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Rear brake shoe installation tips?

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Luke_Healey

Luke_Healey

Jedi Trainee
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So... I'm in the garage breaking my hands trying to get my brake shoes back onto the car after changing out the wheel cylinder that was rusted frozen on one side and leaking fluid everywhere...

Getting the springs off was as simple as using a flathead screwdriver..

Getting them back on? A total mystery to me.

How do you guys do it? "Reassembly is the reverse of removal" is just not cutting it for me.. Especially when springs are involved.

Thanks for any hints or help.
 
I use one of those tools that look like funky pliers with the curved bent/hooked ends. They grab the springs and can pull them. Another thing I've done is to get a large screwdriver, snag the end of the spring on the bar, put the flathead part where you want the spring to go and pivot around the flathead. The spring will slide along the shaft into the hole(if you are lucky).

Drums are a pain in the butt! I popped my knuckles with those springs way too many times.

- Drew
 
I have brake pliers, but since the springs reside back behind the shoes, I couldn't figure out a good way to use them for this application.

However, I found that my long flathead screwdriver could be used to push the loose side of the top spring over to where it needs to go and hook on.

All is well. I plan on changing the other cylinder shortly, so I will hopefully get some photos to document the process. I like the simple setup on this car.. No spring retainers, cables, and other funky doodads.
 
Other options

Without fitting the springs that hold the shoes to the backplate - beehives on early cars, not sure on later ones...

1 put shoes in place on their own, swing them away from the back plate, put the springs on and push them back into place.

2 leave the snail cam off (early cars), fit shoes and springs then use a screwdriver to lever the shoe out far enough to get the snail cam in

3 assemble springs and shoes on the floor, carefully lift into position without letting the springs drop off, put one spring in position and use a screwdriver to lever the ends of the second shoe into place trying not to let spring escape. Usually sucessful on 14th attempt!
 
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