87 mustang drum Rebuild

[50Mustang]

anyone have any info on how to or what parts are needed to rebuild the drums? i am doing a 5 lug swap and want to do ahead and rebuild the drums while i am in there. i have looked on advance suto parts .com and there are bout 4 different kits and 4 different wheel cylinders. if you have done this before and know what i need i would really appreciate your insight thanks. pm here or post.

[Zman]

most 5 lug swaps are discs in back, what truck or car are you pulling stuff off? unless your talking about ranger back brakes?

[50Mustang]

ranger rear brakes.

[Zman]

some guys will just reuse the 4 lug stuff and just get the 5 lug drums and axles. Are you saying you have nothing at all for the back?

[SVT1996Cobra]

He's wanting to replace the worn factory parts while he has it all apart. I'm guessing.....

[50Mustang]

yup while i got it all apart replacing the axles i wanna replace the 30 yr old parts. anyone which parts i need?

[Zman]

not sure what year you have, I would take it in to match up. shoes, wheel cylinders, spring kit and you should be good. A little grease on all the contact points. where the shoes rub the backing plates and the wheel cylinders where they touch the shoes.

[50Mustang]

sounds good man thanks for the info

[Hurstmeister]

With ranger drums and axles (This is all I replaced when I did mine,.. well I did aftermarket axles with ranger drums) the main thing that goes bad back there is the wheel cylinder and sometimes the hard line can develop a leak, usually up on the axle where the main brake line comes in. The shoes wear out like pads do up front. But stock shoes will work perfectly fine with the ranger drums.

If the wheel cylinder is leaking its an easy and cheap fix. The springs I would just clean up and reuse. Maybe hit them with a wire wheel, parts cleaner and some rustolium if they arent in bad shape.
The wheel cylinder is the equivalent to the caliper up front. It pushes on the shoes to stop the drum. The springs pull them back. Drum brakes are self adjusting each time the car is backed up and brakes are applied. Though from time to time the drums may need manual adjustment. A brake spoon or flat screw driver is all thats needed. There is a clicker at the bottom that adjusts the shoes. You dont want them too tight dragging on the drum. But you dont want them too loose where they dont engage properly either.


Here not sure if you need this or not. But hopefully this will help.


To take apart you first remove the clips off the retainer springs. Gingerly because they are usually pretty fragile after 20 yrs. Parts store will have replacement clips. They sell these in kits along with the springs and everything else. With needle nose plyers or vise grips remove the springs. You will see what I call the d*ck from each shoe that goes into the wheel cylinder. Pull the shoes apart and everything will slide out toward you. If you are unfamiliar,.. take some pics so you can see how they go back together.

The adjustment clicker is used with the drums on and preferably with wheels on as well. You reach it from behind the drum. You adjust by opening it up until the wheel drags when rotating. Then back off a hair. There will be some slight contact. This is normal.
The wheel cylinder will have a brake line attached to it from the back side. This is also where you bleed the brakes at. If the brake line is frozen to the wheel cylinder (Very common with 20+ yr old cars) you can see if it will come apart from the splitter (Follow the lines to the middle of the axle) and this is usually an easier location to put a line wrench on. I usually use PB Blaster liberally here and let it soak before I attempt to undo the lines. Then replace the entire brake line with the wheel cylinder. Parts store will have new brake lines for you. They are not expensive. Sometimes you have no other choice when you cant get the brake line apart from the wheel cylinders.

Here is mine with new ranger drums.


Hurst

[50Mustang]

thanks that is exactly what i was looking for