1. Home
  2. Automotive Technologies
  3. Brake Shoes Expand too much causing Wheel Cylinder to come apart

Brake Shoes Expand too much causing Wheel Cylinder to come apart

99 Neon replaced rear brake lines, wheel cylinder and shoes. while driving lost pressure in pedal. noticed brake fluid loss from rear passenger tire. Took off drum and saw that the wheel cylinder had come apart causing the fluid leak.

I cant figure out why the shoes are expanding too much.

If the drum needs to be replaced why didnt it happen before? New shoes would mean less space between drum and shoe, right? is there a way to tell if the adjuster lever is correctly installed?

when pumping brake, with the drum off, the shoes expand and the wheel cylinder will come apart-- because the drum is not on right? or did I mess up the adjuster level position?

I'll go get the drums measured and see if there is the problem. Thanks.

-Matt

Reply to
Stinger
Loading thread data ...

furthermore does it matter if the adjuster lever is above or below the star?

Reply to
Stinger

You bet it does.

You could hardly wear a drum enough to cause the cylinder to fall apart. Cylinders can leak due to corrosion, but if you have a drum at all, the cylinder will not normally pump out far enough to give you a problem.

I believe you got something together incorrectly.

Reply to
<HLS

well I went and got the manual and what I didnt do was adjust the shoes after assembly.

It said to use a screw driver and adjust the shoes so the drum does not move --then back off the shoes so it does. I did it on both sides and it seems allright. thanks.

Reply to
Stinger

Reply to
Shep

Adjust the shoes UNTIL YOU CANNOT MOVE THE STAR WHEEL ANY MORE and then back off until there's a faint drag. Not completely centering the shoes can cause the brakes to be under-adjusted.

If you had wheel cylinders come apart, I hope that you THOROUGHLY soaked the shoes in brakleen to get all brake fluid residue off, otherwise you will have sticky, grabby brakes.

good luck,

nate

Reply to
Nate Nagel

Sounds like they aren't put back together right from here. The adjuster should be adjusted to the point that the rear brakes drag and then backed off just enough to stop the drag.

Steve B.

Reply to
Steve B.

If they don't hold and you notice the pedal dropping quickly, you could have the star wheels on the wrong sides. There is a right and a left adjuster.

Mike

86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00 88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's

St>

Reply to
Mike Romain

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.