Today i got a new pair of AIMCO brake drums and i was trying to replace them. After setting the adjuster to lowest limit (so that its not pushing the brake shoes too far) i was able to put the passenger side drum with slight difficulty (rear wheels). But on the driver side rear wheel, Drum just refused to get in even after fully adjusting the adjuster.
Looks like it is able to slide upto halfway and after that i have to really push it hard to slide it fully. But in this position i am just unable to move the drum (looks like shoes are tightly locked with drums).
1) Why drum is able to slide halfway on the shoes but not further? Is it a issue with the drum or the brake shoe? and how do i identify what is causing the problem?
2) Recently i did changed the brake shoes also and i assume that there is no difference between brake shoes, i mean there is nothing like which one will be leading shoe and which one will be trailing shoe. Am i correct?|||check the emergency brake cable on it ,and if necessary back it off, some someone may have adjusted it up for the brake to work better,but this has to be backed off for new shoes and drums,that%26#039;s probably the problem with it,the drum would fit on it either way you had the shoes on,but the little shoe goes to the front,good luck.|||Shoe with least amount of material should be on the front side. As for the drum, check that your emergency cable is not binding and keeping the top portion of the shoes slightly apart. You may have to back off the emergency cable.|||There is a difference between the Leading (front) and trailing (rear) shoe.
There have been times when I took new drums to the lathe to do a cleaning cut to get them to fit the shoes.
Another problem I have seen is that sometimes the shoes are not on the right part of the top anchor.
Too late now, but this is one reason that I only take one side apart at a time (or use a camera) and/or have the manual for the car I am working on.|||depending on the type car you are working on and the type brake system it has; you may have a long and short shoe, or all the same. most older cars used %26quot;self energizing %26quot; brakes which used the different lengths. most imports and newer vehicles use non self energizing systems which use equal length shoes. they are easily identified by looking at the bottom where they hook up. self energizers use the adjuster assembly to %26quot;float%26quot; the shoe set and non self energizing usually butt against a solid spacer on the bottom. if the shoes look like what was on it before, new ones should fit and accept drums easily when adjusted to the lowest setting. sounds like you have a parking brake cable that has been adjusted too tightly and is holding the shoes apart, or a frozen park brake cable or acuator that will do the same thing. check this part of the system closely and repair it as necessary and i%26#039;m betting the prob is solved. there is also the chance a wheel cylinder has stuck and is not allowing the shoes to return to full rest position, if thats the case, replace those as well to cure the fit and make a safe brake job. good luck to you and hope i%26#039;ve helped.
gary|||need to know what kind of car sounds like a dodge stratus to me they are known for the brake hoses going bad and holding pressure on the wheel cylinder so the shoes don%26#039;t go in all the way.. this can also burn off the shoes in less than 3000 miles..
on some braking systems there is a short shoe and a long shoe the one with the less lining (short shoe) goes toward the front of the car..|||Did you turn the new drums? New drums have a protective glaze and need a %26quot;Finish Cut%26quot; befor they are installed.
