Mine are getting low and the handbrake efficiency is pretty crap and with pretty much everywhere closed I am trying to weigh up whether it is worth an afternoon of swearing and cursing.  Obviously plenty of videos on Youtube showing how simply and easy it is with no loss of knuckle skin.  I did think about just whisking the drum off and cleaning them with brake cleaner.

 

Also, the hub nut.  I have read that it is a once-only use and a new one must be used each time?

Edited 13 April, 20206 yr by globalste

Start with seeing if the wheel comes off easily, then get a drum off and look see. A clean out is a good start. 

Leave the Hub nut well alone. You are not needing to touch that.

I did it with a friend, thought it would take an hour to an hour and a half at most, took us 5 hours and i got that annoyed i just converted it to discs to make it easier in the future.

1 hour ago, globalste said:

Mine are getting low and the handbrake efficiency is pretty crap and with pretty much everywhere closed I am trying to weigh up whether it is worth an afternoon of swearing and cursing.  Obviously plenty of videos on Youtube showing how simply and easy it is with no loss of knuckle skin.  I did think about just whisking the drum off and cleaning them with brake cleaner.

 

Also, the hub nut.  I have read that it is a once-only use and a new one must be used each time?

i have done mine and it was quite straight forward.

 

if i was you, i would buy the assembled ones:

 

https://www.mister-auto.co.uk/brake-kit-drum-brakes/trw/gsk1512/

 

all you need to do is take the whole hub out then put that assemble kit straight on, dont forget to change your glide piece too while you have took them apart.

 

Thanks for the replies.  So 1 person confirming what will probably happen to me, and 1 person gliding through it like on youtube! 

 

I will give them a clean first see if that helps, although I am certain they need replacing.  Froggy did you change the hub nut or reuse the same one?

Edited 13 April, 20206 yr by globalste

1 minute ago, globalste said:

Thanks for the replies.  So 1 person confirming what will probably happen to me, and 1 person gliding through it like on youtube! 

 

I will give them a clean first see if that helps, although I am certain they need replacing.  Froggy did you change the hub nut or reuse the same one?

the securing screw that holds the drum on?

 

i broke it because it got rounded inside and left it with out one.

 

or you talking about the big t30 nut that holds the whole hub? i just reused that.

Sorry my bad, the one you put the 30mm socket on.  Brilliant thanks.

Just now, globalste said:

Sorry my bad, the one you put the 30mm socket on.  Brilliant thanks.

come to think of it, i think it was something like 34mm, it was massive.

 

you going to try do it yourself?

 

if so, have a read on my thread, i only did it 11 months ago.

 

i tried it withoput taking the whole hub out but i couldnt fit round it so had to take it off and it was so much easier, i must have spent 5 hours doing the first one the the second one was only about an hour.

1 hour ago, froggy8 said:

i have done mine and it was quite straight forward.

 

if i was you, i would buy the assembled ones:

 

https://www.mister-auto.co.uk/brake-kit-drum-brakes/trw/gsk1512/

 

all you need to do is take the whole hub out then put that assemble kit straight on, dont forget to change your glide piece too while you have took them apart.

 

 

Do your wheel cylinders have dry break hydraulic couplings?

 

The link that you show is not an assembled kit on a backplate, Kwik-Fit etc use these as it deskills the job and gives them more parts value to mark up, IMO if someone is not competent to change brake shoes than they definitely should not be fitting an assembly that will require the brakes to be bled.

3 minutes ago, J.R. said:

 

Do your wheel cylinders have dry break hydraulic couplings?

 

The link that you show is not an assembled kit on a backplate, Kwik-Fit etc use these as it deskills the job and gives them more parts value to mark up, IMO if someone is not competent to change brake shoes than they definitely should not be fitting an assembly that will require the brakes to be bled.

sory i dont follow?

I think JR is asking if the drum kit you linked to was attached to the backing plate (If they were it would require removal of the cylinders), but its just a pre-assembled drum brake kit.

 

Just watched this video, I think I will order new hub nuts if I remove the hub to replace the shoes.  

 

16 minutes ago, froggy8 said:

come to think of it, i think it was something like 34mm, it was massive.

 

you going to try do it yourself?

 

if so, have a read on my thread, i only did it 11 months ago.

 

i tried it withoput taking the whole hub out but i couldnt fit round it so had to take it off and it was so much easier, i must have spent 5 hours doing the first one the the second one was only about an hour.

 

Great thanks I will have a look

mine was attached to the back plate. it was easy to remove that as it was held on by 2 nuts.

 

you going to order the big nut ( size 34) ?

sorry should have mentioned only the brake cylinder was attached to the back plate.

all the rest was held by 3 springs followed by nut and screw.

Froggy.

 

The illustration in the link shows shoes and springs and a seperate wheel cylinder and no backplate so more assembly (skills) would be required than simply replacing the shoes.

 

I know they exist pre-assembled on the backplate, perhaps the web page is wrong or has been changed but in any case even with a pre-assembled backplate the hydraulic line needs to be disconnected, reconnected and the brake line and ABS pump bled probably requiring VCDS.

 

You were advocating using a kit as it would be a simple (simpler) straight bolt on replacement but in fact it involves working on the hydrauilic circuit which would be beyond the competence of someone who cannot replace brake shoes on their own without using a kit and the safety implications are more significant than incorrectly fitting brake shoes or springs.

I have a feeling froggy either used a kit that didn't include wheel cylinders, or didn't change them if it did?

i have manged to do it with help on this forum.

 

yes you are right, the kit i linked is without the back plate, will need to use your existing back plate.

 

if i can do it, im sure many people can too.

 

i didnt need vcds, i bled it correctly too, starting closest to the reservoir first.

1 minute ago, Wino said:

I have a feeling froggy either used a kit that didn't include wheel cylinders, or didn't change them if it did?

hi wino,

 

the cylinder was included, that was the reason why i had to change them as one of my cylinder was leaking.

Fair enough 😃

2 minutes ago, Wino said:

Fair enough 😃

you helped me with the glide piece  

the cylinder is only held on by 2 nuts on the back plate so was easy enough to take off.

You can replace shoes with the hub in place but taking it off does make it easier, and yes the hub nut should be replaced.

 

In my experience, and this depends on mileage, then a de-dust, clean and lubrication just buys you time. The lever arm on the shoe is normally seized, the plastic or nylon bushes on the backplate are broken or missing, the brake cylinders are usually leaking and the drum itself is probably worn. This is one of the delights upon inspecting drums!

 

if you're attempting, then get yourself a shoe and spring kit. This kit is perfect for grease, etc. If mileage is around 100k and you're hanging onto the car, consider changing the cables. They stretch over time and no amount of adjustment will work. The temptation is just to keep tightening the 10mm nut at the central yolk at the handbrake.

 

Again, depending on mileage, even with the brake cables slackened, you may need to release the adjustment wedge in the drum. With a torch and a bradawl you can lever it up.

 

 

 

i also did this job 2 years ago and I did take the hub off, I bought the whole assembly so I replaced evrtyhing. All the springs inside were corroded. One thing I did wrong is I overtightened the bleader valve after bleading the brakes and snapped off. I didn't use any force. The heardest thing was to connect some springs from one shoe to another.

Some brilliant tips in here, now I'm thinking that I should be replacing the entire system including the cylinders!  It's a 2014 model and it did have a major service last year including a brake bleed, so I would hope they had a shufty inside the drums for the sake of undoing a screw - but then, who knows!

 

One thing I don't have is a big torque wrench, so it may not be worth me removing the hub and I really don't fancy messing about with changing cylinders if I'm honest.  I may just stick with giving them a clean and having a look - I will post a photo on here!

24 minutes ago, globalste said:

I would hope they had a shufty inside the drums

Pretty unlikely unless you specifically asked them to, or they said they had.

8 hours ago, globalste said:

Some brilliant tips in here, now I'm thinking that I should be replacing the entire system including the cylinders!  It's a 2014 model and it did have a major service last year including a brake bleed, so I would hope they had a shufty inside the drums for the sake of undoing a screw - but then, who knows!

 

One thing I don't have is a big torque wrench, so it may not be worth me removing the hub and I really don't fancy messing about with changing cylinders if I'm honest.  I may just stick with giving them a clean and having a look - I will post a photo on here!

With the wheel off and turning the hub by hand - you'll be able to tell if a wheel bearing is on its way out too. Again a bit of preventative maintenance. Changing the wheel cylinders is straight forward. If they're weeping - you'll have no choice as they'll fail eventually and contaminate the brake shoes. There's a couple of bolts on the back of the plate to undo. In fact the bleed nipples are more trouble-some if they are corroded, so it it was done they should shift okay. Always use a closed end ring spanner on them. I doubt the garage checked the drums. You can do a brake bleed without going anywhere near it.