New shoes, now can't refit brake drum

Here's a picture!

Here's a picture

In article , Mark There is no adjuster to wind in and let the shoes contract,

If there is no manual adjuster there will be a self adjuster? Have you re-set this to zero?

Those are new shoes?

There's a ratchet adjuster, if that's working then the handbrake cables too tight, if it's seized then somebodys probably tightened the cable to compensate.

the flat bar underneath the wheel cylinder is part of the auto-adjust mechanism you need to wind that back to fit new shoes.

an outher mark!

flick open the ratchet bit on the left hand shoe ( as you look at that picture) to allow the auto adjuster to collapse. If the handbrake cable has been adjusted incorrectly then you may need to slacken that too.

Another possibility is that you have not fitted a pair of shoes, but have fitted two left or two right on the side that seems ok.

If you have removed more than the smallest amount of friction material, throw the shoes away and get new ones.

There's no way that shoes butchered in this manner will bed in quickly; in the meantime you will have one rear brake working significantly below its design specification.

Chris

They're the old ones, that's a "before" pic, there was no "after" :)

You sure? Here's a better picture, (not mine) that bar isn't an adjuster.

I'm positive it's a L and R shoe, I did the other side with no issues. The self adjuster is at the minimum and still no joy!

Thanks

sometimes the bar can be fitted the wrong way around or not engaged on the ratchet part which may cause it to effectively be longer on the bits that engage.

Have you loosened off the handbrake ajustment to be sure that is not holding the shoes open?

In article , Mark I'm positive it's a L and R shoe, I did the other side with no issues.

Disconnect the handbrake on that side and try again.

Check that the handbrake cable is releasing fully. When they seize, they stop the lever going all the way back, and I'm sure the lever should go back more than in your pic.

Steve

That's my next course of action then. I'm doing this on a block paved driveway so access under the car isn't great, but I'll find a way to get under there and slacken it off.

THanks!

What you'll need to do is, when you've got the old shoes off, and the handbrake lever in the off position, get a pair of pliers on the nipple at the end of the cable and see if you can pull it out a bit further than the spring had pushed it. If you can, then the cable is starting to seize, and you may be able to free it off a bit, but the only real cure will be a new cable.

Steve

I would like to point out that in my newsreader this thread is shown as:

Re: New shoes, now can't refit bra...

That's is all.

Heh, that's something only my wife can see, and then only on Thursdays

I agree with the others in checking and releasing the ratchet adjustment, If you have made any adjustments to the handbrake make sure it is slackened off. Ensure that the pattern of the shoes match.

One other point is to ensure that the wheel cylinder pistons have retracted fully. Also just pull open the boots and check if they are not damp or leaking. Wheel cylinders are the renowned to ingest the largest amount of water within the system.

Wheel cylinders corrode and rust lumps build up inside, these will not allow the pistons to retract fully.

Looking at your image it would seem that the wheel cylinders are in need of a service or replacement.

As for the handbrake, it does not need adjustment once its been correctly adjusted when the brakes are in new condition.

People only adjust the hand brake to compensate for the worn linings. The first adjustment should always be to ensure the linings are in contact with the drum hence, eliminating HB adjustments.

Water will wash and clean out the drum and mechanism if you don't have any specialist cleaning fluid.