Hey everyone, I haven't driven a car with rear drums in awhile, and I'm not very familiar with them in the first place. All I know is that they're like the opposite of a caliper/rotor setup, where a shoe pushes outward to apply braking pressure.

The car has been making a grinding noise, and I thought that one of the front rotors was very warped or a pad was totally worn, but it turns out that my suspicion was wrong. I was on the way to detail a client's car today, and as I got into the car I felt little pedal pressure. I pulled out, and drove down the street and tried to apply the brakes at a stop sign and the car wouldn't stop, I almost ran into a wall, but I quickly applied gas and turned anyway, and drove back to my driveway (using the brakes AND e-brake) and barely got it to stop where I needed it to.

I check brake fluid, and it's just under the minimum line, so I looked around the car and found brake fluid leaking from the driver's side rear wheel. I checked the brake line from the underbody to the drum and it's intact; the leak is actually coming from the bottom of the drum onto the wheel and then into the driveway.

I called my friend, and we're going to try to repair it tomorrow evening, but neither of us have worked on a drum setup before. He's busy tonight, so I'm going to jack up the car and pull the wheel off, and try to figure stuff out as best as I can.

First question: How the hell do I take a drum off? I thought it would be bolted but my friend thought you had to beat it off with a hammer. lol... I'm not kidding.

2nd: What should I look for inside? I haven't driven a drum setup since the late 90s, and I've never had drum brake issues before or even seen the inside of a drum. What would have caused this leak - a gasket? Improper sealing of the drum? Brake line leak inside?

Thanks for your help! I need some transportation until my turbo install is finished and I don't know of anyone else with a spare car!

 

Your wheel cylinder is leaking. At a mininum, you'll need a new wheel cylinder, new brake shoes, and a can of brake cleaner. And, of course, a BFH

 

Read and be educated:
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/drum-brake1.htm

 

Both very helpful, thank you! I think I get it... the cylinder in which the piston resides (where the brake lines supply fluid - has a leak/crack whatever, and is causing the fluid to leak. The squeeling/rubbing sound that I've been hearing while braking (which sounds like a worn down caliper pad rubbing into a rotor has been the worn out shoes pushing out on the drum, correct? So when I open them up, I'll need to clean it all out (hence the brake cleaner that VAD mentioned), replace the cylinder and shoes, and hopefully the damage to the drum isn't too bad. My friend and I will be doing this ourselves so I don't think either one of us will know how to resurface the inside of the drum so hopefully replacing the parts will be good enough.

The car is an old CRX (auto, 182K miles). Does anyone know what tools we will need to get everything apart, including how to take off the drum and open it? Does anyone know if the CRX is equipped with an automatic adjuster?

Thanks for the help once again!

 

I have an idea of what B and F stand for, what's the H?

 

H is for Hammer.

You can have the drums turned at a shop if they are not worn past the minimum thickness (max inner diameter). You can get a new drum (probably even a cheap Chinese one at the auto parts store) resurface the old (if not too far gone) or get one from a bone yard.

 

Fortunately, wheel cylinders are relatively small and inexpensive compared to disc brake calipers. Unfortunately, you probably damaged your drum and it is unlikely that you can turn it enough to get rid of the damage.

I'm not familiar with the setup on the CRX, however most rear drums have an access hole on the back side of the housing, and you can usually remove a rubber cap that covers it. With the cap off, you can see the adjusting wheel and with a screwdriver, you can turn it enough to increase the gap between the drum and pads.

But since your wheel cylinder is ground beef, you should be able to just beat it off like your friend suggested. You probably have a mess inside, and you're going to have to clean it pretty well. You will likely need to replace the springs and retainer clips. Those are usually sold as kits, and they're pretty easy to figure out.

You could buy a drum brake tool to make the job easier, but I've done numerous drum brake jobs with just screwdrivers, channelock pliers and a lot of brute force.

Drum brake jobs are a PITA compared to doing disc brakes. Be prepared for a healthy dose of frustration and expect it to take quite a bit of time getting it back together. The hardest part of the job will likely be getting the drum off (that always has been the hardest part for me). Be sure you adjust the adjusting mechanism after you put everything back together. If you don't, your brakes will be very spongy until you've backed up enough times to have them self-adjust. This could take a year.

 

This might help:

DIY Drum Brakes

 

excellent! I see why i need a BFH now I have a rubber mallet because... with every car task I do, I seem to need one. Looks like it'll come in handy. I'm pretty versed in drums now after reading those links, however it looks like a complete PITA as well - especially knowing that the drum is probably damaged. I'm going to call some junkyards and just see if I can locate a new drum. My friend is paying for it either way (it's his car) but since I was borrowing it and driving it for the past few days, I have to help him at least solve the problem

Thank you once again everyone, and if anything comes up (it always does) I will let you all know (and I always get great help )

 

I wouldn't bother going to a junk yard for a brake drum. They're such a PITA to remove, and they're going to be all rusty and half worn anyway. You're better off getting one from an auto parts store. Auto Zone sells Beck Arnley drums for $18.99, and Duralast drums for $21.99 for the CRX. That's pretty cheap compared to spending half of a day trying to beat one off a junked car.