I did the rear brakes this afternoon on the Jeep.

Man, what a bugger.

It’s a pretty straightforward process that is hard because you have to put all these springs back in the right order….some keepers that are spring-loaded and that have to be twisted under pressure so that they hold the shoes on….and get everything seated correctly so that it all goes back together “right”.

It’s important that you’re “right” when you’re talking about bringing a heavy vehicle to a stop.

Some of the stuff that the “real mechanics” did was kind of goofy, though….so I think that I did a pretty good job.

The drums were really hard to get on though….even with the brake cylinders depressed and the self-adjuster backed off all the way.

It was tough.

When I called the parts store, the guy who’s helped me before told me that he’d had troubles with drum brakes, too….and suggested sanding down the shoes a little and maybe the drum would go on.

Of course, all the time I was doing the sanding, I was trying not to breath. I thought that I might be giving myself cancer….and being cheap is a crappy way to get cancer.

I found out later that the shoes didn’t contain any asbestos.

(I read the Spanish on the wrong side of the box and didn’t understand what “sin asbestos” meant.)

I’m glad that I didn’t give myself cancer from this part of my life.

I guess that the tight shoes will loosen up as they wear?

A 75 mile rural route is a great place to see if it’s going to work out.

Right?

 

“bad brakes” Cat Stevens