OP
OP
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Technical 500 brakes
- Thread starter Baglady1990
- Start date
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Technical 500 brakes
Seller is good
Brakes international
They have their own website maybe check prices direct?
I don't think you will need new shoes until around 80,000 miles
So maybe just get a fitting kit in case any of it gets damaged pulling the drum off.
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https://www.screwfix.com/p/hilka-pro-craft-dent-puller-kit-9-piece-set/62730
Something like this made removing the original drums from a 10 year old Renault with 105,000miles on the clock surprisingly painless)
How d'ya like my two "pals" here? I've put a half inch drive ratchet handle alongside for size comparison.
Both made from old pipe fittings. The larger one I made probably about 45 years ago and the smaller a few years later. I mainly used the bigger one to pull hubs and half shafts but the smaller has been used for many purposes including pulling a stuck injector, a blind bearing in an alternator casing, etc. I realize now I haven't used the big one for many years.
I do like very much
I like them too. Just be careful of any bearings (especially ball bearings) when using them as it's all too easy to damage bearings when using any kind of impact tools.
For the 500 rear drums, there's no need for any of this shenanigans as the drums are tapped for easy extraction using suitable general purpose bolts - no specialist tools are needed. Just screw them into the holes left behind after you've taken out the wheel locating pins.
For the 500 rear drums, there's no need for any of this shenanigans as the drums are tapped for easy extraction using suitable general purpose bolts - no specialist tools are needed. Just screw them into the holes left behind after you've taken out the wheel locating pins.
Even with these if they've never been off it can be extremely difficult to remove, as I found.
Completely agree John. I'm no stranger to fighting with stubborn drums but Becky's fought me for a good half hour on each side!
Indeed they can, though it begs the question why they've never been off.
A first class garage would remove both drums at every service to check the condition of the brake shoes; unless this is done, it's easy to miss a seized brake shoe. I must confess to once making exactly this mistake myself, on the Panda - I just removed one, there was plently left on the shoes, but one of the shoes on the other side had seized onto the backplate and it went unnoticed for what I will euphemistically describe as too long.
There's a couple of potential seizure points where the sides of the shoes make rubbing contact with the backplate; ideally these points need to be located and protected with copperease or similar when the brakes are stripped down.
The usual corrosion point is between the drum and hub flange, so a liberal application of your favourite releasing compound (acetone + ATF works well) the night before may help matters. I've also had to deal with one where a brake shoe had delaminated and wedged firmly between the drum and shoe frame; that was nasty, not helped by the lady owner driving the car home with the rear wheel locked solid; she actually didn't notice the tyre had also gone flat (it had almost completely shredded) until she couldn't get the car to move off the drive next morning.
I'd not recommend using heat to aid removal, as this could damage the brake cylinder and wheel bearing seals.
I find if I remove the drums annually, and keep the relevant bits lubricated, they can easily be removed by hand without needing extractor bolts.
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OP
OP
I totally forgot to ask .. before I replace my rear drums do I have to slacken my handbrake cable? Or is that just done when doing the shoes!
Not doing it just yet just collecting all the info first! So I can plan ahead [emoji106]
Not doing it just yet just collecting all the info first! So I can plan ahead [emoji106]
No, no point the auto adjusters keep the shoes out, thats the problem, otbet cars have the facility to turn the adjuster back to make it easy to remove
Eh up,
Jack up car take 10mm nut of rear tunnel trim , under rear cup holder, lift up from rear and ease off o expose handbrake adjuster.
There’s as little plastic trim piece to the front of the handbrake it just lifts out but don’t loose it,
Back off adjuster as it will assist in retracting the springs on the shoes - least that what I do as I find it works for me
Remember to reset after
Cheers
Jack up car take 10mm nut of rear tunnel trim , under rear cup holder, lift up from rear and ease off o expose handbrake adjuster.
There’s as little plastic trim piece to the front of the handbrake it just lifts out but don’t loose it,
Back off adjuster as it will assist in retracting the springs on the shoes - least that what I do as I find it works for me
Remember to reset after
Cheers
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Hi,
No ,pleasenot touch your hand brake cable at all if it is currently working as it should.
Cheers
Jack
Reason being if your hand brake feels correct at the moment it has not had the cable "over adjusted "
Most problems I see with rear drums are made far worse by people adjusting the hand brake cable .
If your hand brake cable is correctly adjusted at the moment then when it is released it is not holding the shoes out at all , ie shoes are fully retracted and loosening the cable can't retract them any more.
Cheers Jack
Most problems I see with rear drums are made far worse by people adjusting the hand brake cable .
If your hand brake cable is correctly adjusted at the moment then when it is released it is not holding the shoes out at all , ie shoes are fully retracted and loosening the cable can't retract them any more.
Cheers Jack
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OP
OP
If you're just removing the drums for a look inside, leave it alone. As others have said, if everything is working as it should be, slackening the cable won't help you get the drums off. Just be sure you've got the handbrake fully off; attempting to pull the drums with the handbrake on is definitely not recommended (but I'll wager many of us here have done it at least once!).
If you're replacing the shoes, it can be done without, but I'd recommend you slacken it off. Two good reasons for this. Firstly, it makes it much easier to release the handbrake cable from the actuating arm attached to the shoe, and secondly, manufacturing tolerances in the shoes mean the cable adjustment may need to be reset after fitting replacements, particularly if using aftermarket parts of a different brand to those currently fitted.
Rear shoe replacement is not inherently difficult, but there is a technique to it and sometimes it can seem like one of those impossible metal puzzles! It should require neither tools nor excessive force; if you can't assemble the shoes to the backplate by hand, you're doing something wrong, so take a break and try using a slightly different approach.
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