[chrisanthony14]

Hi guys

I have a 96 lx

I'm planning to replace my brake shoes, but not sure how to get the drums off. I heard there should be 2 star point screws holding it down, but i dont see anything like that. Can anyone help?



Thanks,

Chris

 

[white-lightning]

Should just be two philips head screws holding it on. They may be hard to get out. If you have an impact driver use it, so you don't damage the head and, have to drill them out.

 

[chrisanthony14]

hmm maybe the previous owners forgot to put the screws back. I'm going to check the other side today to see if its the same thing. Hopefully there is not issues when taking the drums off without the screws..

 

[HyBrad]

If the screws are missing, usually you can pop the drums off by smacking it a few times with a BFH (Big Hammer)... just be careful not to hit the wheel studs.

 

[chrisanthony14]

ic..since i dont have the screws..would anything happen when i put everything back together?

 

[chrisanthony14]

ic..since i dont have the screws..would anything happen when i put everything back together?

 

[HyBrad]

Nope... the lug nuts will hold the drum in place...

Most cars don't even have any kind of screw... and I've reinstalled many without the screws with no problems whatsoever...

 

[chrisanthony14]

thanks guys..i'm gonna try and get the drums off tomorrow..hopefully it would come off with less hassle as possible lol

 

[chrisanthony14]

hey guys...i just came in and having problems with the front brakes.

I took off the caliber via the 2 mounting bolts. Slide out the old pads. I decompressed the piston and the piston brake pad slid in fine but the outside pad facing the wheel seems to thick to even fit in the caliber. It seems there is no room for the new pad. I'm i doing something wrong?. is there a way to get that pad to fit?

 

[chrisanthony14]

Hey guys it took me 4 hours to change the brakes..but i was successful..You actually have to hammer down the rubber still metal that the mounting bolts go through.
The hardest part was getting the piston and the rubber metal to decompress.

 

[chrisanthony14]

Hey guys..after driving around with my new front brake pads..the car is feeling a little slow and stiff, i have to give it a little more gas when driving, also it doesn't role as much in neutral as it usually did..is this normal after installing new pads?

 

[dave8338]

No, it is not normal. It sounds like things are dragging. Once you have the front pads in and the piston compressed...there should be no drag on the front rotors. In fact, you'll have to depress the brake pedal a few times to even get the pads to engage the rotor for the first time.

As for the rear drums, when the shoes are set correctly, there should be enough drag so that when the wheel is spun by hand, it only rotates maybe 1 to 1 1/2 times before it comes to a stop.

If this is not the case...things are too tight.

 

[chrisanthony14]

No, it is not normal. It sounds like things are dragging. Once you have the front pads in and the piston compressed...there should be no drag on the front rotors. In fact, you'll have to depress the brake pedal a few times to even get the pads to engage the rotor for the first time.

As for the rear drums, when the shoes are set correctly, there should be enough drag so that when the wheel is spun by hand, it only rotates maybe 1 to 1 1/2 times before it comes to a stop.

If this is not the case...things are too tight.

yea after finishing putting in the front pads I depressed the brake pedal 5 times to get the piston pressed again. Should i wait a week and see how things goes?..what do you suggest i do?

The shoes are fine i didn't change those yet because they have more then half the pads left..

 

[FordMan59]

Did you bleed the brakes after replacing the shoes and pads? I've had problem in the past with the brakes not completely releasing on my '88 Pony after changing the shoes and pads if I didn't bleed the system. This happens on it even if I don't loosen any of the lines. I've never understood how it manages to get air in the system when I don't open the system, but it does everytime I change the brakes on it.