Rear drum overhaul kit

**mmerlina** · 04-26-2008, 07:26 PM

Hey everyone, been having problems with my brakes lately and I think it's about time I pay some attention to them. The front rotors I can take care of easily.. it's the back drums I'm concerned with.

The PO's have never really maintained anything on the vehicle, so I'm not going to be shocked when I take off the back drums to find a rusted mess. Has anyone ever used the overhaul kit from quadratec? Everything work out and line up correctly?

I'm going to also have to find a diagram or something to help me put all those springs and things in the right places.. I'm not a fan of working on drum brakes.

NHwheelin · 04-26-2008, 08:02 PM

I havent used the overhaul kit but it looks pretty good. I have done drums many of times and the first time I did them was the worst. As long as you pay attention to what goes where you will be good to go. its gonna be a pain to get them back together. make sure you have the adjuster all the way closed. That way when you go to slide the drum back on it goes nice and smooth. And when you have the drum on and are adjusting the slack out of it draw a arrow on the drum so you know what way to turn the slack adjuster in the future. One side adjusts one way and the other is the opposite. I also found it easier to get the top spring in then put the top of the pads in the holder then the retaining shaft and springs. so many little tricks to make the job easier. Good luck

SuB8HaVeN · 04-26-2008, 08:06 PM

In my opinion, that kit is expensive. I was going to go with that, but ended up getting parts from Auto Zone for much less than half the price of that kit. The hardware kit at AZ comes with all those springs and stuff. The easiest way to do this is to take pictures before and just pay attention when taking them apart so you know how they go back together. Drum brakes are real simple.

You can also get your drums honed probably at Napa. That would be cheaper than replacing them. It's OK if those are rusty. If you get new ones they will be rusty soon as well, so it don't matter. You will also want to look into getting a cylinder rebuild kit while you're in there. I don't think the kit from Quadratec has that, but you can get them at AZ.

thich · 04-26-2008, 08:40 PM

when you rebuild the drums, jack up the rear end, remove both wheels and build one side at a time. that way you can look at the other side for reference.

it may look confusing at first, but when its all over you will be able to replace any part with ease.

i also got my kit at the local parts store. its all the same stuff really.

**mmerlina** · 04-26-2008, 08:44 PM

Yeah I just did drums on my wife's eclipse a few months back.. the first side took me a bit, the second side I did in no time.. then by the time I was really good at them, there were no more to do.

SuB8HaVeN · 04-26-2008, 09:31 PM

That's usually how it works. The first time I do anything new on my CJ it takes me a while, especially with all those stuck bolts that haven't been touched in 22 years.

What year Eclipse does your wife have? I used to be heavy duty into building and modifying the later 4G6x and 6G7x motors.

CJhollic · 04-26-2008, 11:05 PM

I used the kit. Not sure if I did something wrong or what, but one side kept making noise . I went down to the local parts store and replaced the shoes and it was fine.

http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f8/rear-brakes-510045/

**mmerlina** · 04-26-2008, 11:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SuB8HaVeN

What year Eclipse does your wife have? I used to be heavy duty into building and modifying the later 4G6x and 6G7x motors.

It's a stock 2003 4-cyl. It was a compromise cause she wanted something sporty and I wanted her to be in something reliable.. I would hate having to think she's stranded somewhere.

It's coming up on 80k and I take pretty good care of it so we're both happy.

starfire340 · 04-27-2008, 07:17 AM

One more tip, I am in the middle of doing the rears on my 83 cj7, I was going to rebuild the rear brake cylinders on mine. My local parts store had the kits in stock for about 5 bucks, then he mentioned complete rear cylinders (new) were only 10...so needless to say that is the route I went. I'm not bothering replacing or turning my drums at this time. If I get some brake chatter or pulsing pedal I will look at doing it then.
BTW...your paint job is cool!

79BlackPearl · 04-27-2008, 08:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mmerlina

Hey everyone, been having problems with my brakes lately and I think it's about time I pay some attention to them. The front rotors I can take care of easily.. it's the back drums I'm concerned with.

The PO's have never really maintained anything on the vehicle, so I'm not going to be shocked when I take off the back drums to find a rusted mess. Has anyone ever used the overhaul kit from quadratec? Everything work out and line up correctly?

I'm going to also have to find a diagram or something to help me put all those springs and things in the right places.. I'm not a fan of working on drum brakes.

I just rebuilt the rear brakes on my 79 CJ7 using the kit without the hubs and they worked like a charm. The springs were nice and strong to hold everything in place.

Bard · 04-27-2008, 08:31 AM

Mike, go to Napa and get the kit. It will cost you half the amount tha q-trac. I would also check your wheel cylinders, the are only like $17 each side.
It is pretty simple to do, just make sure you have some good needle nose pliers and clean up any parts that you will need to reuse. A note of caution is the shoes are only suppose to go one one way, but they do fit backwards. The drum will not seat correctly if you do this. ask how I know.

Jack up the rear end and do one side at a time. I might have a .pdf I will post on the brake set up. I will see what I have.

Edit - here is a pretty good diagram. I highlighted in red boxes what you will need to keep.
[IMG]

[/IMG]

**mmerlina** · 04-27-2008, 09:36 AM

Hey thanks everyone for all the advice! I'm probably going to try and tackle this mid next week.. I will let you know how things turn out! I appreciate all the help.

**JeepHammer** · 04-27-2008, 10:25 AM

NO PAST MAINTIANCE?

Don't 'Repair', REBUILD!
Strip off all the old, ignored, mistreated stuff and just replace it with new, properly installed stuff.

Only do one side at a time, so you can go to the other side for reference if you need to.

Replace the wheel cylinders while you are there.
For about $10 each side, it's a 'No Brainer'!
Noting like doing a complete brake job, and a month later the wheel cylinder takes a crap on you!

Don't forget to smear the shoe adjusters (Star wheel things that screw together) with 'NEVER-SEIZE' or you get to do this again about a month after the first time you get the drums underwater!

Break that emergency brake cable loose in it's housing, and spray it with motorcycle chain lube or white lithium grease...
Chain lube works the best, stays in the caseing longer.
Work it in there until the INSIDE of that cable is a sloppy mess!
No such thing as too much lube INSIDE that casing!

Don't buy 'Discount Store Brand' parts, ask for the 'Premium' version...
You life (and more importantly, maybe MY LIFE!) depends on this stuff, so get the best you can find!

**jeepwhore** · 04-27-2008, 10:41 AM

One last thing, make sure that you puit the correct adjuster on the correct side. One is a reverse thread and if they are installed on the wrong sides they will actually loosen your brakes off everytime you back up! So match the thread direction with the one you take off to the new one if you are replacing them.

SuB8HaVeN · 04-27-2008, 11:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mmerlina

It's a stock 2003 4-cyl. It was a compromise cause she wanted something sporty and I wanted her to be in something reliable.. I would hate having to think she's stranded somewhere.

It's coming up on 80k and I take pretty good care of it so we're both happy.

If you ever want to make 300fwhp with it, let me know.