New rear brakes drums wont go on.

[Cory_Thurmond]

Put my brakes and shoes together on my 88 festiva now I cant get the drum to free spin. When i get it onto the spindle the brakes are just locked up basically.

Im sure im missing something here thats simple but my haynes manual is very vague on adjustments.

Ive adjusted the e brake out as well


New shoes
New springs
Old wheel cylinders
New bearings

I bought new cylinders to see of this is the problem.

Any tips ?

Sent from my LG-H631 using Tapatalk

[mikemounlio]

New brake shoes and drums should fit very very tight. Almost to tight. I just replaced mine a couple weeks ago. I have done many many drum brakes and they all fit tight like that.

[nonamekid]

They should still free spin even though they are brand new. The hinge on the emergency brake lever tends to stick or rust in place and you have to beat it free. Make sure that your new wheel cylinders are fully compressed.

[Cory_Thurmond]

My e brake isnt rusty and wheel cylinders match all the ones i have on my other parts cars....

Wont go on at all....



Sent from my LG-H631 using Tapatalk

[ryanprins13]

I had issues before like that on my car. My bad solution was to only replace one component at a time. Not pads and drums at the same time. I bought a new cylinder but it made things way worse so i had to leave the old one on until the pads wore down...
Dont know why this is an issue though.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[sketchman]

Same issue when I put on my converted studded new drums on. If you work with it enough it will go, but it's a tough deal. I honestly don't even remember what finally made mine work, but I know they were so tight there was no way it wasn't dragging non-stop till it wore in a bit.

They are both fine now, though.

[Cory_Thurmond]

Alright ill slap them together in the morning and see what happens

Sent from my LG-H631 using Tapatalk

[mikemounlio]

They need to set them self in place a bit. I have always been told drum brakes need to go on very tight because they need to set themself to really have a good bite later on. They break in fast dont worry.

[ryanprins13]

New rear brakes drums wont go on.

I dont think they should go on tight. When i was having issues and mine went on tight i drove 2 miles down a gravel road and the drums were way too hot to touch. Thats not good for anything back there. Drums when installed new should just drag by a hair when adjusted properly. Then they wear down a bit and you check the adjustment again. But having everything back there at 300f for a week is no good for bearings, grease, springs, clips.... Just glazes your new pads and overheats the drums


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[WmWatt]

I'd give it a little tap with a hammer at the bottom to make sure they're seated right.

[Eaglefreek]

I had the same issue with my 91 Festiva a couple years ago. The shoes had too much material on them. I pulled them off and ran them on my belt sander to take off some material.

[sketchman]

IDK. There was no way it was getting any more loose on my install. Could be like Eagle said. But I had optimal situation. No rust anywhere and brand new everything, and I had it on a lift. I just was not getting any more clearance. No way no how.

[Cory_Thurmond]

Imma slap it together in the morning and put 20 miles on the car before work

Sent from my LG-H631 using Tapatalk

[jawja jim]

Make sure the self adjusting mechanism and wheel cylinders are collapsed to the max and the grease seal is seated fully flush.

[Cory_Thurmond]

Well this post is to ask how to adjust brakes....so.

Instead of telling me to make sure they are adjusted which is obvious(and clearly stated) how about explain how to adjust them......

Sent from my LG-H631 using Tapatalk