Whenever you press on the brake, the components called the brake shoes tend to get worn. As time passes, the brake shoes will get thin and you will get weaker response when you press on the brakes. This is why it is important that you replace the brake shoes every now and then or when the friction material is two-thirds worn.
In most cases, people will hire a mechanic to get their car's brake shoes replaced. This can be expensive. Brake shoes are quite cheap but the labor or the mechanic's fee can be very painful on your pocket. If you want to cheaply replace your car's brake shoes, then you might want to do it yourself.
You have to consider that replacing the brake shoes is very easy to do. All you need are the proper tools, such as a pair of pliers, a screwdriver, a length of thin copper wire, a jack, tire wrench and also some high-melting point grease.
You will also need a new set of brake shoes that is compatible with the type of vehicle you are driving.
The first step is to jack up your car and remove the wheel. You need to remember that you should always use the axle stands for safety. Then, you need to block the front wheels of the vehicle.
The next step is to wrap a thick absorbent cloth around the brake fluid reservoir. This will absorb any brake fluid that may be forced out when you replace the brake shoes.
The next step is to check the handbrake mechanism. On some vehicles, the handbrake mechanism is easier to disconnect at this point while other vehicles will have handbrakes that come off with the brake shoes.
Next, you will need to remove the drum cover. After removing the drum cover, you need to mark the position of the brake shoes with chalk. After that, you will then need to lever off the brake shoes one at a time by using a heavy duty screwdriver. Or, you can also use a special tool called the shoe-horn tool. At this stage, you need to remember that you should take care not to damage the dust covers on the wheel cylinders.
The next step is to wrap a thin length of copper wire around the wheel cylinder. What this will do is that it will prevent the pistons from falling out. Then, you need to clean out the slots that are located at the ends of the pistons. After doing this, smear them with high-melting point grease.
Then, you will need to connect the new brake shoes and pull off springs on the ground. You will need to replace damaged springs. As you install the new springs, you need to remember that it is properly positioned on the shoes and also place one end of each shoe in the slot.
Before you put the drum back on, try checking for score marks. If you see score marks that are deeper than 0.4mm, this is a sign of damage and should be left for the brake specialist to repair. If there are none, you can now replace the drum and tighten it with the adjusting screw. Then, with a ring spanner, unscrew it until the drum revolves.
After that, you need to fit the wheel. Pump the brake pedal a few times until you feel pressure in order to center the shoes. Then, you have to remove the cloth you wrapped around the reservoir earlier and check the amount of brake fluid. Top off the reservoir with clean brake fluid if necessary and replace the cap.
As you can see, replacing brake shoes is quite easy to do. Always remember that you need to replace brake shoes in pairs. Do not just replace one brake shoe at a time as this will result in uneven braking which can be dangerous and cause accidents.
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