I am doing the rear drum brakes in my 88 f250 4x4. where can I find a website with step by step intsructions? My chiltons manual is very confusing and I have never done rear brakes before!

 

I just do one side at a time, keep checking the side you haven't done for referance, works for me

 

Drum's are tougher.
I try to take both shoes off together and set them on the ground, to move the springs over.
It would help if you do a sketch to show where your springs go.

generally, have two shoes, the piston in the middle pushes the shoes out to squeeze the drum. One spring holds each shoe to the top center. There's a star wheel, adjuster on the bottom, to take up the slack as the shoes wear.

Right in middle you have to little rivet/bobby pins, to hold the shoes to the brake backing plate, and a straight bar across the middle for the e-brake to push on. Then you'll have one more spring to hold down the adjuster lever, that spins the adjuster when you set the brake (or is it back-up), and holds the bottom together. The adjuster holds the shoes apart at the bottom. The cable, is for the e-brake.

They make a special spring removal tool, most of them are crap though. There is a nifty tool for putting on the split nut, retaining nut, but a pair of pliers works just as good.

For assembly, I put on the hold downs first. Then the top springs and the adjuster last, turned all the way in. Then adjust it out once the springs on, until the drum starts to drag when you put it on, and back it off a couple clicks.

The haynes has about 8 -10 pics. I have both, I think they do it the way on purpose.

 

Chilton is better on some things, Haynes on others as clstrfbc stated. I also have both. I remedied the brake issue by only taking one side off, mirror image, remember, and using it for reference. A long time ago on a dusty road far away one of the jobs I held as a teenager was a mechanic (well apprentice if you want to be accurate) I ended up doing most of the brake jobs that came through Bill's shop as they were fairly easy, dirty, and good to dump on the kid. Take your time and take a digital picture if you have a digital camera. Then you have instant reference.

 

Make sure the adjusting cable is properly in the cable guide. It's easy to get it wrong and it's a small item so it's easy to overlook. But it causes a big problem, the barkes don't release/adjust.

 

The question *I* have is . . ..

1) What is the best way to compress this piston while doing the brakes?

2) Does this piston need to be removed at all - or just release the pressure within the springs and the shoes can be replaced.

Thanks in Advance,

JustLearnin88

 

On drum brakes the piston is always compressed. The "adjustment" is handled by the star wheel adjuster screw at the bottom of the drum. Piston does not have to be moved at all. Correct, just release the springs.

 

Yes. When you do drum brakes. take the star wheel and put it all the way fully closed. I oiled mine first.

Rmemeber drum brakes are self adjusting. You do this by going in reverse and useing your breaks. Just go back wards and keep pumping them down till you almost stop. Eventually they will auto set to the correct setting.


clstrfbc explained it the way i do it. I take it apart and transfer everything over except the main tension spring. I dont have break tools so i use needle nose pliars and a nice screwdriver. The pliars i use to grip the spring and the screwdriver to give me my prying power to pop it onto the stud.

Once you get one side done the other side should be super simple. Just remember its backwards!

 

I have had trouble in the past on my 95 250 getting the torque correct on the rear axle nuts any one know the procedure to get it right.

 

You can't adjust rear brakes this way. The auto-adjusting mechanism is just a hack. It has no way of sensing when the shoes are adjusted correctly. It just adjusts the shoes out a click when you happen to catch it right.

You have to jack the wheel off the ground, and adjust the shoes outward through the slot in the backing plate with a screwdriver until the shoes lightly drag all the way around. It's the only way to do it. You'll have scary brakes if you don't do it this way.

 

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I guess I should have been a little more specific. I need to replace the brakes, where I have had trouble is with the nuts which hold the drums in place on my 92 F250.