REAR DRUM BRAKE ADJUSTMENT

[BillWilliams]

The 2002 has the W spring and the e-21s have those spring deals with the clips on them.

2002

e-21

[gorms70]

It sounds like the shoe is not sitting against the eccentric correctly. I would take both shoes/springs out, clean things off down to the backing plate and then reinstall. It sounds like whoever last put the shoes/springs in didn't quite get them centered/aligned.

I guess that's my next step. I am the one who put it all back together after cleaning and replacing most of the parts. Maybe I did something wrong??

Well I took it apart and made sure there was nothing catching or installed incorrectly and still have the same problem. The drum just fits back on with the shoes completely backed off. With the wheel back on I can just turn the wheel.

Wil this get better after I drive it or will it cause too much heat and do damage?

[M3M3]

if all other parts of brake system are confirmed correct, sand off some pad material on leading and trailing edges of the shoes and try fitting again. repeat as needed. i had to do this with the race compound shoes i put on my car.

pics here

http://www.bmw2002faq.com/component/option,com_forum/Itemid,50/page,viewtopic/t,345762/postdays,0/postorder,asc/topic_view,/start,540/

[gorms70]

if all other parts of brake system are confirmed correct, sand off some pad material on leading and trailing edges of the shoes and try fitting again. repeat as needed. i had to do this with the race compound shoes i put on my car.

pics here

http://www.bmw2002faq.com/component/option,com_forum/Itemid,50/page,viewtopic/t,345762/postdays,0/postorder,asc/topic_view,/start,540/

Thanks Marshall. I'll do that in the morning and then I can properly adjust the brakes.

[gorms70]

Spent the morning sanding the brake shoes to fit. Sanded a little, put the drum back on and spin it a little, then took the drum back off and looked for high spots on the face of the shoe. Repeated this about 15 times on each side until I could just freely turn the drum after it had been tightened down to the hub.

Got it so good I did not have to use the adjusters. I'll post more details and pictures later.

[BillWilliams]

If you have or can get one of those IR heat sensing guns, some are around $30, it is fun to take the car for a spin then measure the heat of the drums when you get back and see how close they are.

I found an overly tightened brake on a car that way.

[gorms70]

If you have or can get one of those IR heat sensing guns, some are around $30, it is fun to take the car for a spin then measure the heat of the drums when you get back and see how close they are.

I found an overly tightened brake on a car that way.

I did just that and found the tight drum on the driver's side was 100 F hotter than the passenger side. Now that I have them adjusted correctly I need to redo my heat test and see what it. This might be a good way to tell if the brakes are even.

[gorms70]

If you have or can get one of those IR heat sensing guns, some are around $30, it is fun to take the car for a spin then measure the heat of the drums when you get back and see how close they are.

I found an overly tightened brake on a car that way.

I did just that and found the tight drum on the driver's side was 100 F hotter than the passenger side. Now that I have them adjusted correctly I need to redo my heat test and see what it is. This might be a good way to tell if the brakes are even.

[dcmackintosh]

Good tips here, I'll have to try borrowing an IR heat gun after this job to check my adjustment.

 

I've got a leaking right rear wheel cylinder on my new-to-me '71 and have two new 19mm cylinders (as were installed in 230mm drums by a previous owner to match the IE front brake upgrade), four shoes, and two parking brake cables from IE to install.  My drums appear to be in good shape.  I've done a fair amount of work on disk brakes, but not drums. I've got the blue binder 2002 manual for reference and a MityVac for bleeding. Do I need any special tools to adjust the parking brake or the shoes with the bolt on the backing plates?  Something I can pick up at the local NAPA?  Any other tips?  Thanks.

[jgerock]

Good tips here, I'll have to try borrowing an IR heat gun after this job to check my adjustment.

 

I've got a leaking right rear wheel cylinder on my new-to-me '71 and have two new 19mm cylinders (as were installed in 230mm drums by a previous owner to match the IE front brake upgrade), four shoes, and two parking brake cables from IE to install.  My drums appear to be in good shape.  I've done a fair amount of work on disk brakes, but not drums. I've got the blue binder 2002 manual for reference and a MityVac for bleeding. Do I need any special tools to adjust the parking brake or the shoes with the bolt on the backing plates?  Something I can pick up at the local NAPA?  Any other tips?  Thanks.

Must be something with the RR wheel cylinders leaking - same as my car.  Do yourself a favor an get a pressure bleeder device like sold by BavAuto and many other companies.  I tried the MityVac and it takes forever and tends to draw air at the bleeder.  Also put some Saran Wrap under the reservoir cap before opening up the brake lines to limit the leakage.

 

[dcmackintosh]

Good tips, thanks. The MityVac has worked well on my motorcycles, but I'll see if I can at least borrow a pressure bleeder.

[bmwfan]

If your flex brake lines have not been replaced in recent memory, you may save yourself some anguish, if you replace them while changing the wheel cylinders. I had bleed my brakes before with good results, but when I replaced my rear wheel cylinders , I could not get good flow while bleeding, so after reading up on similar post, I decided to replace the flex lines. Fronts are simple but rears take some thinking to get the wrench angles to remove the flare nuts. Best advice is to cut the rubber hose, use a. Deep well socket and flare nut wrench to remove them. Obviously can not use the deep well socket to tighten the new hose. You will have to alternate using a standard open end wrench . Use flare to initially loosen and for the final tighting of the flare nuts. Then open end wrench for turning nut after loose. This is because there is limited room to turn either of the wrenches. Also, helpfull is to, on the install, hold the input solid line nut with wrench and hane turn the rubber hose onto the nut then wrench tighten the nut. Another tip I found to be great is to remove the brake Resevior cap , place some thin plastic wrap over opening, and tighten the cap over this. Prevents excess fluid from flowing out everywhere . Also use wire brush to clean the gunk off the metal line behind the flare nut so the nut is free to be pulled back. I sprayed PB blaster on all the nuts the night before. Get some brake cleaner spray to wash off the unavoidable leaked fluid on your painted surfaces.

I thought my brakes worked well before, but was shocked how blocked my flex lines we're when I cut them. Fluid flowed freely after install using Motive pressure bleeder. Don't forget to remove the plastic from the brake Resevior .

The black holes in the center oh hose is suppose to be the opening. The pics do not show that they are almost completely closed. It would be hard to get a toothpick into the opening.

Edited April 18, 2014 by bmwfan

[goodkarmech]

Don't know if anyone mentioned this, but in case not here's a scenario I sometimes found when doing rear brake jobs.

The parking brake cables may be adjusted too tight keeping the lever moved slightly on, thus spreading the shoes a bit even with the handbrake lever all the way down (off). 

Many people don't know how to properly adjust the rear shoes with the hexes on the backing plate, so they just lift up the handbrake boot and tighten the cables. This happens on cars with worn brake drums a lot. The old drums are a larger diameter and with worn shoes, sometimes the regular shoe adjustment won't be adequate so they tighten the handbrake cables.

Then when new shoes & drums are fitted, sometimes you can not even get the drum on at all. 

Check that the lever on each trailing shoe is all the way back as far as it will go. if not the cable is too tight.

also with the drums off, have a helper pull the handbrake lever up and down & make sure the levers go all the way back when the handbrake is released. If it sticks, replace the cable(s)

With the cables loose enough, adjust the shoes with the hexes on the backing plates & then adjust the cables as needed for 3-4 clicks.

It is time consuming and takes practice to get each shoe adjusted correctly and each cable. If the car seems to pull down on one side or the other with the handbrake applied and trying to drive the car forward a bit, then one brake is working better than the other.

It should pull down evenly.

[phano]

Hi all,

I'm currently in the process of changing both the drums and the shoes on my 2002. At this very moment I can't seem to get the drum back on. The E brake isn't engaged and everything appears to be in order (I'll admit this is my first time). So, im getting ready to sand the shoes a bit to see it that helps. How much sanding should I do? If it still won't go on, what's my next step?

[Hans]

Did you try tweaking the shoes up/down a bit in case they are not centred vertically?