Rear Drum 1993 Festiva

[bryonb]

This is what happened to me today. I was getting ready to go home and while backing up I forgot to take the emergency brake off. I rolled back 5-10 feet and I heard this sound coming from the back like I ran over something. Anyway the rear passenger brake is locked up. So I need to take the drum off to see what happened but I cant figure out how to take it off. I tried taking the dust cap off but that thing is on there. Is there an easier way to take the drum off?

Thanks

[Pu241]

Chock the wheels and put the car in gear!

Now crawl under the car and find the steel cable coming out of the back of the passenger side backing plate.

where the cable connects to a solid piece of metal, push the solid piece forward/toward the outside of the car.

This should break it free.

Report back if this works.

Because you still have some work ahead of you if you don't want this to happen again.

[TominMO]

Take off dust cap; take off cotter pin; take off nut castle cover; take off nut underneath it. REMEMBER that the pass. side nut is reverse-thread! Righty loosey, lefty tighty.

EDIT: do what John/Pu241 said first.

[georgeb]

You are fortunate that some of the Festy PB mechanism is outside of the drum in case of a frozen cable or other PB issue.

[David88]

I had the lining come off the brake shoes. It was rolling around in there and then it got wedged in there. That might be what happened, but yes, you have to take the dust cap off to get to the spindle bolt.

[WmWatt]

Clean the seam on the dust cap with a (wire) brush while applying penetrating oil. Then tap a cold chisel or screwdriver along the seam to get it started. Once its started the tire rion that came with the car is good for prying the seam open, or wedge the chisel or screwdriver in the seam and pry against the lug nuts in turn. Keep aplying penetrating oil, or regular oil if you don't have penetrating. A good way to make penetrating oil is to mix regular oil and paint thinner half-and-half.