Tutorial : Changing Front Brake Shoes (Drum Brakes) 1969 C10

[pbajwabb]

Pending photos...

Sorry! It will be just a moment. Also, please chime in if I am an idiot or if there is something missing

Hey guys,

I had never done any work on chevy drum brakes before prior to this so I learned A LOT from everyone before to doing it. I also had a Haynes manual which was useful. My shoes were BAD:



The first thread I made had a lot of questions answered by you guys including questions regarding jack position, whether to keep, replace, or turn the drums, etc. That thread can be found here:

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=623761

I got the Haynes at Oreilly for $30 but its cheaper on amazon and ebay, I just didnt want to wait a week. This is the one I have:

Chevrolet & GMC Pick-ups, 1967 Thru 1987...
Anyways if you read the above you now should have the car on a jack and the tire off.

You will see the drum and 6 threads coming out of it. It should slide off with a little pull but if it doesn't, chances are that the brake shoes need to be brought in. There is a little slot in the drum which you can put a flathead through to move the adjusters which looks like an cog. Spin the drum until that slot it in the 5ish or 7ish Oclock position (depending on side) and peer though with a light, you should see it.

Here is the slot in the drum followed by the cog adjuster you are looking for:





If you imagine your in the drivers seat, turning this cog clockwise (I believe for drivers, counter for passenger) will loosen and bring the pads IN so the drum will come off. You may have to experiment, I dont remember exactly which way to move it, you should be able to look at it and see if the piece your moving is EXTENDING or COMPRESSING. You want this to COMPRESS to release tension on the shoes.

Okay so now the drum is off and youre looking at this asking how the hell youre going to remember how this goes back together...

TAKE PHOTOS NOW

Alright so now you have photos for reference.

I did one side in about an hour or so because I just started taking everything apart and twisting and pulling and forcing things apart which worked but it was a pain and I don't recommend it.

The second side took about 20 minutes from start to finish once I figured everything out.

So lets begin.

Youre going to see 2 compressed springs, I think Haynes calls them the "retention" springs or something. Anyways there is a pin that goes from the back of the backing plate, through the brake mechanism, through the spring, and through a plate attached to the spring. In order to get these off you need to compress the spring and turn the pin so it slides through the slot in the end of the spring (closest to you). It is about a half a turn but a giant pain in the ass.

The retention springs are at about 4 and 7 oclock

The leftmost in this photo:





What i did was get the ass end of a hammer, push the whole thing down completely and then turn the pin from the back of the backing plate until it slid out. Before this method it was taking forever! I think there is a special tool for this but I dont have the time or money to deal with more crap.

So both of the retention springs are off, now remove the spring behind adjuster on the bottom and then shimmy the adjuster out.

Now you should have 1 spring left on one side and a complicated mess on the other. Remove the one spring on the side that, well, has only one spring. Now you should be able to remove both shoes at this point. You may have to shimmy and shake but they should only be attached at the top and with the bottom spring removed, if you're careful you can slide both sides over the lip.

At this point I was able to slip both shoes over the lip up top





Now with them both off and most of the crap still attached to one shoe, simply get your replacements and move the components from one to the other. Make sure you note the length of the padding on the shoes as 1 will have less (lengthwise).



Before you begin I would make that adjuster as COMPRESSED as possible (I used a rag to hold the cog and the back of my knife to loosen the slotted end before hand turning) and then install everything just as you took it off saving the bottom spring and adjuster for last.

Once everything is over the lip on top and the retention springs are back in (pain in the ass to install) you can move to the bottom. Make sure the two pieces coming out of the master cylinder are attached to the shoe. The have slots in the top and bottom.

I used a wood clamp to hold the shoes on while I put the retention springs back in:



I put the spring on first and then the adjuster. Since the adjuster is fully compressed it is probably too short so make is as long as you need for a tight fit and then once on you can extend it outwards to make the shoes go outwards by turning the cog with a flat head screwdriver.

At this point your basically done. I just expanded the shoes until my drum wouldnt fit over them and then backed up a couple turns so it slid over.

Bolt the tire back and youre stylin'

The second half of this will continue here SO guys, what's the best way to break in new brakes? Also, what is the proper way to make sure the shoes are extended or compressed enough?

[geezer#99]

Not much!!
Your attachments don't work!

[pbajwabb]

Originally Posted by geezer#99

Not much!!
Your attachments don't work!

I think the mods removed them because they were so large, one moment

[Artikgrau325is]

Great writeup, this will come in handy in a couple of weeks once I tackle the rear drums.

[pbajwabb]

Originally Posted by Artikgrau325is

Great writeup, this will come in handy in a couple of weeks once I tackle the rear drums.

Thank you, I hope it helps.

I am new here so i will be doing a lot of things as a first timer so I am going to try to share with everyone

[geezer#99]

You forgot the grease!!
You should put a small smear of grease on the raised tabs the shoes sit on, on the backing plate.
Lets the shoes move easier.

[GASoline71]

Not a bad write up... but...

I would add...

The drums should be checked for any hairline cracks, and they need to be measured to make sure they are still serviceable (meaning they need to still be a certain thickness to reuse). This should also include having the drums turned by a shop to have a new surface put on the drum for the new brake linings on the shoes to wear into.

Gary

[pbajwabb]

Originally Posted by GASoline71

Not a bad write up... but...

I would add...

The drums should be checked for any hairline cracks, and they need to be measured to make sure they are still serviceable (meaning they need to still be a certain thickness to reuse). This should also include having the drums turned by a shop to have a new surface put on the drum for the new brake linings on the shoes to wear into.

Gary

If you view the link in the tutorial a lot of guys chimed in about turning the drums, personally I didnt feel the need to service mine at all but if my shoes wear really fast I will just get new drums.

Originally Posted by geezer#99

You forgot the grease!!
You should put a small smear of grease on the raised tabs the shoes sit on, on the backing plate.
Lets the shoes move easier.

BAH! Dangit I forgot, I will need to update this but so far the brakes are working great.

[Cape Codder]

If you are going to own and service a vehicle with drum brakes go buy a couple of basic and inexpensive tools to make it easy. First get the tool that puts the springs on and off the top pin. You put the end of the tool over the pin and turn and it slips the springs off. To install the other end hooks over the pin and you pull the spring back on. Second you want the tool that you push the retainer cup in and turn 1/4 turn while holding your finger behind the pin. Reverse to reinstall. These two tools will be worth the cost if doing drum brakes more than once. Get a decent brake adjusting tool also as some brakes are adjusted from the rear through the backing plate and a screwdriver will not work.

[SS Tim]

Not sure what to say.
A few days ago you didn't have a clue and now you are writing a tutorial.

From what I just read and saw in the pictures you did a simple brake shoe replacement and an incomplete job at that.

From your earlier posts the master was very low and dark. Did you somehow determine that the shoes were a root cause problem to you braking problem?
If you need to replace a leaking cylinder or one with a frozen bleeder it all comes apart again.

It seems to be you neither cleaned nor really inspected anything.
Did you check under the wheel cylinder rubbers for leakage?
Did you disassemble clean and lubricate the adjusters?
The rubbing points on the backing plates need lubrication as well.
How did you determine the drums were serviceable, did you measure them? Did you deglaze the drums at all or flush out the backing plate and hardware(with brake clean) to prevent embedding old trash in your new shoes.

The shoe anchor pins and retention springs are easy to service with the right tool as I have stated before. The hand driver socket tool makes quick work of the spring retainers on the pins. Brake spoons make adjusting shoes easier than a screw driver too.

Final adjustment is done by the automatic adjusters, once you have them close and even. However you need to have a correctly functioning hydraulic system to be able to test and adjust the brakes then confirm functionality.

Again as before this is all in the factory service manuals I advised you to download and read up on brakes in section 5.

[pbajwabb]

Originally Posted by SS Tim

Not sure what to say.
A few days ago you didn't have a clue and now you are writing a tutorial.

From what I just read and saw in the pictures you did a simple brake shoe replacement and an incomplete job at that.

From your earlier posts the master was very low and dark. Did you somehow determine that the shoes were a root cause problem to you braking problem?
If you need to replace a leaking cylinder or one with a frozen bleeder it all comes apart again.

It seems to be you neither cleaned nor really inspected anything.
Did you check under the wheel cylinder rubbers for leakage?
Did you disassemble clean and lubricate the adjusters?
The rubbing points on the backing plates need lubrication as well.
How did you determine the drums were serviceable, did you measure them? Did you deglaze the drums at all or flush out the backing plate and hardware(with brake clean) to prevent embedding old trash in your new shoes.

The shoe anchor pins and retention springs are easy to service with the right tool as I have stated before. The hand driver socket tool makes quick work of the spring retainers on the pins. Brake spoons make adjusting shoes easier than a screw driver too.

Final adjustment is done by the automatic adjusters, once you have them close and even. However you need to have a correctly functioning hydraulic system to be able to test and adjust the brakes then confirm functionality.

Again as before this is all in the factory service manuals I advised you to download and read up on brakes in section 5.

You are right, a few days ago I didn't know what I was doing so I took initiative and went to work to figure out what was going on. This is by no means an expert guide but if it helps just one person with something like a stuck drum then it has done its job - I don't understand why you seem to dislike this thread.

I took your advice and bought a manual as stated in the beginning of the post.

Yes It did have dark fluid but I inspected everything and found no leaks, I flushed the system, replaced the fluid and bled all the lines. I took the drum off and noticed I had basically no shoes left and it was adjusted really far in so nothing was touching the drum anymore. I replaced the shoes and the truck stops just fine.

The masters were fine, and when I had my ol lady press the brake the shoes went our and came back in just fine.

No I didnt take the drums into the shop. I took the advice of some of the guys on the forum and didn't notice anything egregious so I re used the drum.

The truck is stopping 100 times better than it was before this so I am going to say what I did fixed the issue.

[pbajwabb]

Originally Posted by Cape Codder

If you are going to own and service a vehicle with drum brakes go buy a couple of basic and inexpensive tools to make it easy. First get the tool that puts the springs on and off the top pin. You put the end of the tool over the pin and turn and it slips the springs off. To install the other end hooks over the pin and you pull the spring back on. Second you want the tool that you push the retainer cup in and turn 1/4 turn while holding your finger behind the pin. Reverse to reinstall. These two tools will be worth the cost if doing drum brakes more than once. Get a decent brake adjusting tool also as some brakes are adjusted from the rear through the backing plate and a screwdriver will not work.

I completely agree, I only had a small gap in my weekend to do this job and the nearest parts place is a bit of a drive for me but you can bet I will have them next time.

Vice grips and a tough fingers can only go so far.

[airdale94]

Not to add any more insult but it appears to me, from your pictures, that you took off a perfectly good set of quality riveted shoes and put on a cheap, junk set of O'Reilly's bonded (glued) shoes. Sorry! Just saying.

[swamp rat]

Not gonna knock your thread, not everyone adds all the details in every thread.

But per the shoes, the riveted type can be sent in for relining at most Napa stores, i'd hang on to them.

[A.Bursell]

I will just add a couple comments, it sounds like others covered quite a few of the missing items which should at least make someone think if they look here. BTW- factory manual is not the same as a Haynes manual.

* If the brakes have never been done before, the little inspection window you used to turn down the adjuster will not be open. It will need to be knocked out and sometimes you have to be creative to get the drum off in that case.

* Also if the brakes have never been done before, the drum will be riveted to the hub and need to be taken off as a complete assembly. This would of course mean inspecting and repacking the bearings which you would traditionally do at the time of brakes anyway.

Good that you got some work done and you are stopping better, but brakes are too important to me to skimp on. I'd recommend going back in ...

[primoflav]

THANKS for this well informed post including pics.i am gettin ready to do my breaks and have only done drum brakes once and didnt go well.i had to pay someone to clean up the mess i made of them.one question i still have is how do you change the wheel cylinder is it hard..................

[GRX]

Originally Posted by primoflav

THANKS for this well informed post including pics.i am gettin ready to do my breaks and have only done drum brakes once and didnt go well.i had to pay someone to clean up the mess i made of them.one question i still have is how do you change the wheel cylinder is it hard..................

Usually the hardest part is breaking the line loose from the cylinder. Do that first, then remove the wheel cylinder anchor bolt which holds the cylinder on. Will likely need a deep well socket, heat, and penetrating oil for that.

[Cape Codder]

Before trying to disconnect the brake line soak it with penetrating oil. When you crack it loose loosen it slowly moving the wrench back and forth till you are sure only the nut is moving and not twisting the brake line. When reconnecting the line get the treads started into the wheel cylinder before starting the cylinder mount bolts. It is easier to start the line if the cylinder can move a little. The trick to drum brakes is to invest in the tools to deal with the springs and the retainers. They are cheap and will save a lot of aggrevation

[primoflav]

Thanks both of you.had a horrible experience the one time i tried.i am doing it tomorrow and my friend who is a mechanic is going to supervise lol.basicly going to be my oh shoot what did i do wrong guidance guy.i want everything that gets done on this truck to be done by my own hands.I AM SO GREATFUL TO HAVE FOUND THIS SITE I HAVE FOUND SO MUCH INFO AND KNOWLEDGE ON HERE THUS FAR.

[LockDoc]

-
On the drum brakes, one thing I found on mine is when you put everything back together and adjust the brake shoes you can’t just adjust them out until they start rubbing and quit. You have to adjust them out as far as they will go and you cannot turn the wheel or drum at all. This centers the whole assembly in the drum. (I even tap around the drum as I tighten them to help them center themselves) Then you back them off until the wheel/drum just turns, and stop. If you only adjust them out until they start rubbing and quit, the first time you press on the brake pedal the brake shoe assemblies will center themselves and you will have too much clearance between the shoes and the brake drum. I also put three lug nuts on backwards to hold the drum tight against the axle on the rear when adjusting them.

I know it is a pain in the butt to try and hold the self adjusters off of the adjuster wheel while you back them off, but this is the only way I could get my drum brake shoes adjusted correctly.

LockDoc

[primoflav]

My lug nuts arent open on the back side but i do tires for a living so i should have some at the shop that are right thread pitch to do that with.i was told that driving a bit in reverse will help adjust them too.can anyone verify that.

[primoflav]

So mu friend and i were talking he was saying u shouldnt have to do anything to the drums.but i felt would be best to atleast clean them at the very least.he has also only done drum breaks once and is not te friend that will be helping me.what should i be on the look out for.and how thick should they be.my truck is a 69 c10 and honestly could be the original shoes still.for simple fact that i have had to replace all the hose bexause were original old school ribbed hoses with the coil spring looking thing in em and i know for a fact still has original belts lol every paid day i have been spending a portion of my check updating stuff that is still working but older than me and i am 40 lol

[primoflav]

Also i have only done disc breaks are there different types of shoes like with pads like ceramic and what not i plan on putting a camper on it for summer camping trips and am trying to not cheap out so been buying the best parts because on day i plan on passing the truck on to my daughter who just turned 15 �� �� when the time comes and i want it to be safe reliable and as beautiful as her

[LockDoc]

Originally Posted by primoflav

My lug nuts arent open on the back side but i do tires for a living so i should have some at the shop that are right thread pitch to do that with.i was told that driving a bit in reverse will help adjust them too.can anyone verify that.

Putting the vehicle in reverse and backing up while pumping the brakes will cause the automatic adjusters to activate with each pump of the pedal. The problem is if the shoes are not adjusted out as much as possible to start with it, will take a lot of backing and pumping to get them adjusted all the way out.

Originally Posted by primoflav

So mu friend and i were talking he was saying u shouldnt have to do anything to the drums.but i felt would be best to atleast clean them at the very least.he has also only done drum breaks once and is not te friend that will be helping me.what should i be on the look out for.and how thick should they be.my truck is a 69 c10 and honestly could be the original shoes still.for simple fact that i have had to replace all the hose bexause were original old school ribbed hoses with the coil spring looking thing in em and i know for a fact still has original belts lol every paid day i have been spending a portion of my check updating stuff that is still working but older than me and i am 40 lol

It is not the thickness of the drum you are concerned with it is the inside diameter of the drum where the shoes contact it. If you look close, the maximum inside diameter should be cast into the outside edge of the brake drum. It will be different for each size of drum.

Originally Posted by primoflav

Also i have only done disc breaks are there different types of shoes like with pads like ceramic and what not i plan on putting a camper on it for summer camping trips and am trying to not cheap out so been buying the best parts because on day i plan on passing the truck on to my daughter who just turned 15 �� �� when the time comes and i want it to be safe reliable and as beautiful as her

I have never paid any attention to the different types of brake shoes because I always just buy the premium ones, so I myself, don't know the answer to this. Maybe someone else will chime in on the subject.

LockDoc

[LockDoc]

-
Here is a pic of the Minimum designation on one of my drums. It says "DISCARD AT 11.090" It may not be present on replacement drums....