Rear Drum Brakes or BREAK

[88AMCOMANCHE]

So..I started removing 1st my wheel, then the drum, then started removing all the pieces in the drum brake assembly. That was yesterday evening. Went slow & careful till last night when the rest just Fell out onto the ground. No big deal,so I get up today & carefully put my new shoes on & then start putting the pieces back where they go in teh correct sequence. Once everything was in,I pressed the pedal & saw my cylender was leaking,Off to buy a new one......Try to put it in without taking everything back off & no luck. Had to dissymble several things to get the new cylinder in. Got that done,everything put back in Finally ......Bump from both side to make sure drums are compressed in all the way. And the drum will Not go on. 1 hour straight of trying everything I can to get the drum on & it is still fighting me to stay Off! ....Id say im about 16th of an inch from the drum sliding into place. ....I got pist off & had to walk away from it .....all the while thinking ......Either this truck is jinxed....or I just suck at working on a vehicle plain & simple. I would ask what can i try next to get the drum on, but....i cant think of anything I havent tried. But if anyone wants to throw any ideas this way,feel free. Anythings better than nothing. which is where im at right now.

[rguignard]

you have a long shoe and a short shoe make sure both long ones are not on the same side

[4x4Dalton]

Yeah what he said

[xj4life2]

At the bottom of the brake assembly is the adjuster, turn in in and the shoes will go with it allowing you to get the drum on. Its the same piece used to adjust the brakes from the back side. Also the shoes short to the front,long to the rear

[88AMCOMANCHE]

I did. But since i posted that,I went out & "tapped" well,sorta tapped lol on the shoes themselves as i was trying to fit the drum over them & FINALLY it started going on. even now with it seated fully, it has a slight rub sound. Not much but when i put the tire on & take it out of gear & Spin the wheel you can hear a slight faint rub .....the wheel only makes like 2 fully turns maybe.

[xj4life2]

I did. But since i posted that,I went out & "tapped" well,sorta tapped lol on the shoes themselves as i was trying to fit the drum over them & FINALLY it started going on. even now with it seated fully, it has a slight rub sound. Not much but when i put the tire on & take it out of gear & Spin the wheel you can hear a slight faint rub .....the wheel only makes like 2 fully turns maybe.

Thats actually the way you want it to start , that being said you should be ok did you check the position of the shoes ?? Very important they are correct and the same on both sides, have you done the other side yet ? Its always good to use it as a referance.

[xj4life2]

This is direct from All Data :

REMOVE



Raise and support vehicle.
Remove wheel and tire assemblies, then the brake drums.
Remove U-clip and washer (1) from parking brake lever pivot pin, and discard clip.
Using suitable tool, remove primary and secondary return springs (2).
Remove spring retainers, hold-down springs, and retaining pins (8).
Install suitable clamps over ends of wheel cylinders.
Remove adjuster lever, adjuster screw, and spring (4) from brake shoes (5).
Remove brake shoes.
INSTALLATION



Using suitable lubricant, lubricate support plate ledges, anchor pins, adjuster cable guides, adjuster screw and pivot, and parking brake lever and lever pivot pin.
Attach parking brake lever (6) to secondary brake shoe and secure with washer and new U-clip.
Remove clamps from wheel cylinders.
Install brake shoes and secure with hold-down springs, pins, and retainers.
Install parking brake lever strut and spring (7).
Install guide plate and adjuster cable (8) on anchor pin (9).
Install primary and secondary return springs with cable guide.
Install adjuster screw, spring, and lever, then connect adjuster cable at adjuster lever.
If any hydraulic lines were opened, bleed brake system.
Install drums.
Install wheel and tire assemblies, and lower vehicle.
Check master cylinder fluid level, filling as necessary.
Check brake pedal for proper feel and return, then road test vehicle.

[88AMCOMANCHE]

Ok.....After my last response to what You said .......I went out & double checked and compared the 2 remaining shoes for size ........and they look to be exactly the same :confused:

[88AMCOMANCHE]

Thank u very much for the info. even though i think i have the hang of it now,its still good for refernce. ......Although i dont see what the Adjuster lever does. It sits freely beside the adjusting cam thing at the bottom,only supended by the cable & doesnt seem to really do anything. I know it hooks inside the shoe too,but I just dont see what purpose the thing serves because it doesnt sit close enough to the sprocket adjuster thing to do anything. right? or wrong?

[88AMCOMANCHE]

both my old shoes are the same size. although i did compare them both old side by side on thier backs and they are the same size.....the NEW shoes have 1/2 more length then my old pair. - which means.....id love to break something right now because they gave me the wrong set. So- guess i will b doing the entire job all over again from the beginning,wow. Oh the sheer dread lol dread dread dread!

[88AMCOMANCHE]

Update****************
I jacked it up,removed the wheel & AGAIN disasymbled the brakes.I realized that...even though one shoe is shorter than the other .....the actual metal that the shoe is on is just the opposite, meaning ......Shorter shoe is attached to a longer metal piece .....Longer shoe is on a shorter metal piece. Thats what messed me up is not realizing that. So...even though i THOUGHT i was installing a short shoe .....it actual measure 1/2" longer than the "long" shoe. Make sense? anyho I just learned that the hard way lol. first brake drum job ive done since late 80s,so its been a while~

[Mudderoy]

Update****************
I jacked it up,removed the wheel & AGAIN disasymbled the brakes.I realized that...even though one shoe is shorter than the other .....the actual metal that the shoe is on is just the opposite, meaning ......Shorter shoe is attached to a longer metal piece .....Longer shoe is on a shorter metal piece. Thats what messed me up is not realizing that. So...even though i THOUGHT i was installing a short shoe .....it actual measure 1/2" longer than the "long" shoe. Make sense? anyho I just learned that the hard way lol. first brake drum job ive done since late 80s,so its been a while~

I think the first drum brake job I did was remove all the old stuff first. LOL learned the hard way to do them one at a time. Actually now I'll take pictures with my camera phone just to have two sets of "notes" :wink:

[XJ Rat]

Working on drum brakes has never been fun for me. What I have done for the last 10 years is take the drum off, then take a few digital pictures. Take one side completely apart. Before I put it all together, I go to my PC, print out a picture or two and bring them in the garage for reference. I learned the hard way. Do one complete side first, use the other side for reference. The other side + the pictures really helps.

Hate drum brakes so much that my XJ has rear discs off a TJ unlimited. Direct bolt on, no machining or enlarging of holes required.

[hookedonxjs]

I fully agree with everything everyone said. I know they are not cheap anymore but a chiltons book on cherokees covers almost everything you would tackle yourself. I myself only do brakes on mine every few years and I forget exactly how they go back so I do what mudder sez take a picture and one side at a time. After that you think that was easy how could I have forgotten, but still do everytime.

[88AMCOMANCHE]

I really dont mind drums really. for the back atleast. Because they dont do much of the stopping really. So they dont require changing very often. But if i had the choice Id prefer they were disc yeh. ......I really,really need to hold off on spending $ on the jeep...and invest in a New Camera!!! lol mine died a few months back. Managed to get 2 pictures out of it a few weeks ago,but that was its last leg. So...keeping an eye out for a camera.one i can afford.

[88AMCOMANCHE]

I have a question about the drum brakes. ok....Without the drum on there , looking at all the springs and parts ....there are 2 springs at the top coming from each side ....there are 2 smaller retaining springs coming thru the shoes about halfway down....and ONE spring hooking the bottom together. (sorry no pics,still dont have a working camera) ......My question is about that spring across teh bottom. My Shoes each have a "big" hole and a "little" hole at the bottom, yet when i hook it into the little hole,the spring is way too loose .....when i move up a half inche & attach it to the big hole the spring is super tight. WHICH hole does the spring hook into? Anyone know? tyvm in advance. everyone who has responded have been a tremendous help. really

[LizardRunner]

here's a handy reference pic. http://www.xjtalk.com/picture.php?pictureid=2342&albumid=232&dl=1303612881

[88AMCOMANCHE]

yeah, I see that the spring that runs across teh bottom, hooks in at the Adjuster thingy. Mine is hooked directly to the shoe on the right connecting the two shoes. OOPS. Looks like i will be pulling the wheel & hub again to correct that. Ty for posting. Good shot. Almost identicle to mine,but ....cleaner~

[88AMCOMANCHE]

Just looked at my OTHER brakes on the other side of the truck .......They had the lower Spring.....Hooked into the hole on the left shoe,like your pic shows , But then had it hooked Into the little hook on bracket self adjuster flat piece that the skinny cable hooks to.? Weird.
Your pic shows that spring going straight across into the other shoe. wonder if the previos owner had the spring hooked in the wrong place maybe.

[88AMCOMANCHE]

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[88AMCOMANCHE]

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[88AMCOMANCHE]

well.......for some reason i cant get the youtube video to show up on here so im just posting the actual link if anyone wants to see my brakes.

http://youtu.be/oGJEw6Haof8