mattbatson

Ok, so I pulled the drivers side rear axle to get the oil seal and bearing replaced.
I took the axle into a mechanic who I have used in the past, and had him press off the old bearing and press on the new one.

when I went to pick it up, I was told that he had to pull the brake shoe assembly and then reinstall it when he did the bearing.
I get home and as I assemble everything back together, I do a check on the brake assembly to see if they put it back together correctly....but I only did a cursory check.

Anyways, I got the drum back on and went for a drive. I immediately noticed that the brake wasnt releasing completely, but thought maybe it would "settle in"


so, after a bit of a drive, I notice brake smell and that it is still not releasing completely. I pull up and down on the E brake, but doesnt do anything.

So, I jack it back up and try to remove the drum to see what is going on in there and the drum is stuck.
There are two threaded holes on the drum to put bolts through to get a sticky drum off and I put two bolts in, it moved it a bit before the threads stripped out

So, now I'm stuck. I tried putting it all together and driving to try and loosen it up, but that didnt work.

My choices seem to be to either drive it back to that mechanic and hope that he will fix it for free...if it was his fault for some faulty reassembly of the brake shoe components...

Or, I can take it to the dealer and pay them an arm and a leg to fix it.

thoughts?

rworegon

Rear brake removal FSM, see step 4:

http://www.ncttora.com/fsm/1996/SIL/...r/rdb/remo.pdf

DRCOFFEE

Just back off the star wheel from the backside of the drum. Pop the rubber plug and spin the wheel in the direction it won't want to go. You may have to use a second smaller screwdriver to push the stop off the Star wheel. Once you give the shoes some room the drum will slide off. Then i would get the drums turned on the lathe to make sure they are true.

What happens is over time the shoes wear into the drum. It creates a ridge at the edge so The drum can't slide off. No big deal, just close the shoes and it will come off. FYI. You won't break anything if you force the wheel in the wrong direction. It will give.

bjlambert

A starwheel adjuster is a great tool to have on hand too, I got one at canadian tire for like eight dollars. How old are the wheel cylinders, is it possible it's stuck

mattbatson

thanks a lot guys, I knew it would be something simple that I was missing.
I havent adjusted star wheels on drums since I owned my 71 volks superbeetle 15 yrs ago
I totally forgot about this....

guys are lifesavers!

edit...however, I had to leave town on business after we discovered the problem, so I am on the phone trying to coach the wife on the fix.
She was an aircraft mech in the navy many years ago...
but, she is saying the starwheel wont move and that she cannot see the lever arm stop. She has two screwdrivers in there and is trying to lever up the stop, but is fishing the dark and not having any luck.
she may have to just take it into the dealer as I will be gone for a week, lol.
Ah well, that is the breaks, ha ha

thanks again for all the help guys

mattbatson

ok, talked to the dealer from out of state and apparently the machine shop guy did reinstall the drum brake components incorrectly and that is what caused the problem.

they also said that he installed the bearing incorrectly...
When I pressed them for information, they said that the outer dust seal was turning WITH the bearing, and that it wasnt supposed to.
they obviously wanted to replace everything, but I told them to reassemble the rear brake drum components correctly and nothing else, and I will take care of it when I get back into town

so, the service manager checks and says it will be ONE HOUR labor at 100 dollars and hour, to re do the rear pads

holy crap, I would have to be a ˟˟˟˟ty mechanic for it to take me a whole hour to do that...

f'ing stealership's....