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Do yourself a favor and buy the couple drum brake tools. I hated screwing with all those springs to until I got the right tools. Too many scraped knuckles and springs shooting off at my face trying to use pliers and screwdrivers. Right tools make the job a breeze. Also a neat trick is to put masking tape on the shoes, until you are ready to put the drum back on. It keeps the dirt and grease off the shoes while you are getting everything back together.
I should get the special tools but I was frustrated one time thinking their must be a better way then I thought why not try locking pliers on the springs.
You know what that works great just make sure the pliers snap on good and tight makes removing the springs so much easier didn't leave any marks on the springs also. I always keep a number of different locking pliers in my tool chest.
I purchased one of those everything kits a few years ago so everything is getting replaced this time.
For anyone that's never replaced their shoes take a few pictures of the shoe setup before you start removing the springs and other things.
I should get the special tools but I was frustrated one time thinking their must be a better way then I thought why not try locking pliers on the springs.
You know what that works great just make sure the pliers snap on good and tight makes removing the springs so much easier didn't leave any marks on the springs also. I always keep a number of different locking pliers in my tool chest.
An old mechanic buddy of mine showed me how to deal with the springs. Basically, you hook the spring onto the shaft of a long skinny screwdriver, near the handle. You then stick the end of the screwdriver into the hole where the spring's hook will go and leverage the spring into the hole with one deft movement. The spring slides down the screwdriver shaft and lands in the hole. So simple, I literally laughed. He'd seen me struggling with pliers and he did it with one hand.
Last edited by Dodgevity; Jun 17, 2015 at 10:13 AM.
[SIZE=3]Anyone have any experience with Hawk brand or Akebono I have read a few reviews on both kind of mixed some are more specialized regarding best use or how they preform
When I lifted my old '04 Ram and went to 35" tires I went to Powerslot rotors and Hawk pads as I was still fishing bass tournaments all over the southeast back then and wanted superior stopping power. Was very pleased with that setup...
Aug 5, 2015, 01:01 PM
