Front shoe replacement
 

I was wondering how much time and what is all involved in changing the front brake shoes (drum). I have worked on almost all kinds of brake systems ( and probably do this by looking at the setup) but I have never done a front drum befor and want to do it befor work tomorrow. I searched Krue's FAQ section but I didn't see anything. HELP :)

Re: Front shoe replacement
 

all of 'em are pretty much the same. just do one side at a time so you can reference the spring location etc.

Re: Front shoe replacement
 

Its real easy. Small shoe to the front and big shoe to the back. I do mine in halves. I take the big shoe off first and reinstall the new one putting it all back on with the other stuff. Then I do the little shoe and am done in 15 to twenty if not faster. If your drum doesn't want to come off then you may have to loosen the star so it backs the breaks off the drum. Good luck, I just did the whole truck in less then an hour. :)

Re: Front shoe replacement
 

[QUOTE=longhorn70gmc;2274950]If your drum doesn't want to come off then you may have to loosen the star so it backs the breaks off the drum. QUOTE]

:confused:
:wop:
:lol:

Re: Front shoe replacement
 

Does the front drums come off like a front rotor on the 80's trucks and cars or do the wheel bearings stay sealed with the drum off?

Re: Front shoe replacement
 

[QUOTE=cameeks;2274960]
use a "bfh" a big friggin' hammer.

tap moderatly hard all the way around the drum and it will almost always pop loose.

Re: Front shoe replacement
 

The front drums come off just like the disks do, remove the castle nut and pull. If the drum hangs on the brake shoes, you will need to knock out the "knockout" in the drum, a small oval near the outer edge of the drum. when the hole is at the bottom, you will see a "star" wheel, that is the adjuster. I don't remember if you turn the adjuster up or down to back the shoes off, it is fairly obvious, easier to turn when NOT pushing against the return springs. After thinking about it...I think you want to turn it down, On the rears, the auto adjuster pushes down FROM THE INSIDE OF THE STAR, which would be up from your point of view. With the rears, you need to push against the adjuster to get it away from the star, I don't believe the fronts are self-adjusting, so it should not be an issue.

Sorry, could not find a pic for you.

Re: Front shoe replacement
 

Do you have brake spring pliers? They make the job a lot easier...http://www.denlorstools.com/shop/images/KD-298.jpg

Re: Front shoe replacement
 

ok so have some grease available then?

Re: Front shoe replacement
 

got those without the part on the handle

Re: Front shoe replacement
 

I got a set of those...might as well use some broken needle-nose and a razor blade.

but yes...some disk-brake grease is good.

Re: Front shoe replacement
 

get new seals for the bearings, and clean/repack the inner and outter bearings. inspect them real close too. It's very easy, the parts are all cheap, and not doing it can be disaterouse. I almost lost a wheel due to bearing falure on a back woods tx two lane doing speed limit X 2.
Even at the speed limit, the results woulda beel just as bad.

Re: Front shoe replacement
 

Take a lot of pictures and write a FAQ for us.:D

Re: Front shoe replacement
 

I can't speak for the 1969's like yours, BUT when I went to inspect the front brake shoes on my '66, the drums were still riveted to the hub. In order to remove the drums - and avoid cutting off the rivets, I had to take off the entire assembly via the center bearing castle nut. Ya can't get more original than that! If that hadn't been the case, just removing the wheel (and maybe backing off the adjusting "star" - access hole in the backing plate) would have allowed the drums to be removed.

BTW, yes the shoes needed to be replaced. They were paper thin. BUT, the drums were as smooth as glass, didn't have a ridge worn into them that would hold the shoes inside the drum and no hot spots, so they didn't have to be turned. I was pretty surprised. Needless to say, I'll do my best to keep from ever having to cut those rivets.

Re: Front shoe replacement
 

I can write one up but can use some info like how the castle nut is supposed to be installed. I have been doing it for years and can do it by feel but cant explain the technical part of it. It is like one of those I can do it but can't explain it things :rolleyes:

Re: Front shoe replacement
 

They say a picture is a thousand words. I took before I did mine two weeks ago so I would never forget.

Driver side shown = Passenger side is just opposide of what is shown!

Just make sure you don’t swap the lower screw adjuster one side is LH thread and the other is RH thread. Otherwise your breaks will not adjust correctly!

Re: Front shoe replacement
 

I would also suggest new wheel cylinders or at least hone and kit the old ones! Not moch more money. The last time I did this I also put on new drums. The old ones did not turn true.

Re: Front shoe replacement
 

New cylinders aren't a bad idea... but I would avoid the new drums unless you need them. I found they warp REAL easy, and in all reality, it took a few hrs of labor to make a hole in them to adjust the brakes. I was very disapointed in the lack of correctness on the replacement drums. (refering to my last truck, 1/2 ton SWB GMC, not my one ton)

Re: Front shoe replacement
 

I usually clean the threads on the adjuster with a wire brush and then anti sieze them.That way they tend to keep auto adjusting better.

Re: Front shoe replacement
 

Doing the brakes, front or rear, is really easy. Just when doing the front, be sure the adjusters are working, and you get the wheel-bearings set up right. I don't know what others have found, but when I got those things right, my left/right pull completely disapeared. I can hit the brakes hard (4 wheel drum manual) and I brake nice and straight and stop fast!

Re: Front shoe replacement
 

Hey longhornman are you talking about the drums or the backing plate? You have me a bit confused? How do you make a hole in the drum for adjusting?

Re: Front shoe replacement
 

[QUOTE=Mt Man Chad;2277145]They say a picture is a thousand words. I took before I did mine two weeks ago so I would never forget.

Thanks for posting the picture for him. I still struggle with posting those. :)

Re: Front shoe replacement
 

I got it done but with 15 min left for work so the pics stop after the drum is taken off. The po got some nuts and bolts and bolted the drum to the hub oh well. I'm just trying to get it to last until I do my 4 wheel disk swap. I'm flushing the system in the morning.

Re: Front shoe replacement
 

I just finished doing this yesterday, and will be posting pictures soon.