I have a 2005 Dakota Quad Cab Laramie. Original brakes shoes are in need of replacement (yep, original!)

I ordered replacement brake shoes. Parts that arrived are slightly different from was on the car. It seems like Dodge changed from a single upper return spring to a double during the 2005/2006 model years and I have one of the earlier cars with the obsolete single-spring setup. Now these two-spring kits are supposed to be retrofit on the older cars, and I have no direction to do this. I'm completely stumped and I'm surprised that I can't find references. Please help.

Some questions:

1. How do I install/remove the spring *behind* the brake shoes? Can hardly see the anchor points it let alone get tools on it.
2. I really can't find anything and I might just be looking in the wrong places: can you point me to good directions? Manuals? Pictures? A vehicle-specific Video?

Thanks!

 

Google is your friend.....That being said....Pics of the your old setup and pics of what you received might be helpful. Is it possible you received wrong parts ? (I'm not up on the "retrofit" of the rear shoes).

 

The spring on the back is a real SOB, I put it on the pins before I put the shoes on. And that's not easy either.

 

I did search, search engine and here on this forum. It seems like one of those things that I can usually find a video instruction that someone was able to make.

Best photos I can find as far as what should be on there is on a general Q/A board. If I may externally link: This is exactly what the NEW brake shoes look like, what I am support to use in place of the discontinued single-spring setup my truck came with: https://www.justanswer.com/dodge/9gp...ake-shoes.html

I tried to put the back/inboard spring on the shoes first, it appears to hook directly onto a notch/hole on each shoe's web best I can tell from the above pictures. I'll try and take a better picture later of my own new parts in a well-lit tabletop setting.

While I was trying to get the back spring into place, I found the brake adjuster was fighting me. I was close, but not enough to get the hook onto the brake shoe's web. Maybe I need to try harder, but is there a shop tool arrangement that might help?

 

Brake spring pliers. Your local parts store should have them on the shelf. Wonderful tool. Makes drum brakes much easier.

 

I have the which worked well for removing the single-spring setup (easy to do with everything being visible and accessible).

I can't see how I would get these on the spring behind the shoe web, but I'll take another swing at it.

 

I don't have any special tools - in fact no brake tools at all - I just use needle-nose and line-men's pliers. And a lot of cursing and swearing. I would not have touched them, but the parking brake actuator broke. I don't think I got it right, because the they don't adjust up properly. Opening things up again as soon as the temperature us above freeze-your-fingers-off-then-your-nuts.

 

Hey guys,

I am having the same issue, I did search this forum and found this picture:
https://dodgeforum.com/forum/attachm...ket_34926_.jpg

As far as I can tell, on the right side, both springs connect, but on to the left shoe, is it possible that the springs connect to different spots? They are just about the same length, I would guess they connect to the same location.

Thanks in advance (pictures or anything would be awesome, I can't find anything)

 

How did you end up doing this? I am currently in the middle of doing mine and cannot seem to fire this out. When I took mine off they had the springs in the same hole but not that far out. They both hooked behind the tensioner.

 

There are probably others, but this might get you started.


Also, download the service manual in the stickies.