Drum break issue

I’m going off what each parts store provided. Can I post pictures or videos here?

Sure. Post what you want.







Ok just figured it out this is before i took the original pad off

This is what i did i can get more pictures tomorrow




It’s hard to tell from the angle of those pictures, but it does look like it’s possible that the shoes are sagging a little. See @Nevada_545’s post above. The whole assembly floats around on the backing plate, and you often have to fudge with it to get it centered. Try tilting the drum in at the bottom a bit to see if you can “scoop” the bottom of the shoes into it, and then lift and jiggle… It often takes some finagling, unlike something like installing a rotor.

The shoes appear to be off-center. The wheel cylinder will allow movement left/right, try to center the shoes in this direction.

Also, check that the height of the shoes are even, the angle of the lower spring makes the shoes appear uneven.

Why are you replacing good brake shoes? The GM shoes appear to have 80% material remaining.

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+1

If centering the shoes don’t work, and I agree they look off centered, might try rotating the right side of the star adjuster 180*, I can’t tell if the stepped notch is correct, at least double check with the other side the step notch is hitting the shoe and e-brake lever correctly…

The OP doesnt have self-servo brakes.His shoes are fixed at the bottom.

Because when I got the car, it had 15,000 miles. It’s going on 60,000 miles, and I just wanted to change them because eventually I would. I don’t see a big deal.

At least one of the brake shoes appears to be off center. I say that for two reasons:

  1. The hold down spring and pin appear to be tilted toward the shoe. See the rectangle in the pic. It could just be the angle of the picture, but the spring and pin should be straight out and not leaning toward the side.

  2. The parking brake hold down, highlighted in the oval, doesn’t appear to be fully seated.

My daughters car has a little over 100,000 miles with the OEM front and rear brakes, at this rate she will get about 150,000 miles out of the fronts and probably well over 200,000 out of the rear drum brakes… maybe more…

No body is busting your a** for changing them, just informing you that they are nowhere needed yet… A lot of rear drum brakes last 150,00-200,000 miles or more unless driving with the e-brake applied somewhat…

If a pro shop was to try and sell you rear shoes (brakes) that looked that good, they would be ripping you off…

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I just wanted to change them; you guys are right. I probably should have let them, but I didn’t. I’m just trying to fix my mess-up.

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You could try putting the old shoes back on. If they fit, there was either something wrong with your new ones or the installation. Check how they match before putting the old ones back on.

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They match up pretty well. I just called the parts store, and they are insisting that they gave me the right shoes. The hookup looks good, but it’s hard to tell.

Well i just put the original ones on no problem went right on so now my question is how do i find the right ones i need for next time

Dealer probably…

Rear drum brakes last a long time , you will probably trade the vehicle before they need replacing . And if they do just let a shop do it.

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I plan on keeping this vehicle till it doesn’t work no more

Yeah, I called them; it’s very expensive, but at least I know where to find them. For what I paid at AutoZone for the fronts and backs, I’ll pretty much pay that at the dealership for just the drums and shoes. But hey, at least I know how to do them now.

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Throw a $1.00 a week in a jar for the rear shoes, something tells me you will have more than enough by the time they need replacing… Might even have enough to pay the dealer to do the brake job also… :wink:

There’s your 1st problem, stay away from AZ parts, the ONLY thing they carry, that is any good (parts wise) is the Continental drive belts (prior covid anyway)…