Hand brake very slack.........

Simple tips - i may be teaching grandma to suck eggs but only dismantle one side at a time in case you need to check back for reference when re-assembling. Use a bolt in the holes to "drive" the drum off. Take care with the bleed nipple, i've snapped a few off being ham fisted(spray some wd40 on for a couple of days in case), finally good luck - for whats quite simple technology they're a real pain to get right and to put back together - especially the big spring!

ps: another one in case you're as slow as me in the mornings - take the hand brake off before trying to remove the drum!! You won't believe the times i've tried to take the drum off and i've not remembered to release the handbrake!!! duuuurrrghhh

More tips the better - thank you. I've had to stick a post it note on the steering wheel to remind me it's in gear, that's the sort of tips I need!! The amount of times I tried to ride off on my motor bike with my disk lock on is frankly embarrassing ( shouldn't have mentioned that bit).

It's been a while since I stripped a drum brake so will defo keep your tips in mind.

I find taking a quick picture on the digital camera once the drum is off but before you take anything apart a good idea. Proves very useful if you can't quite remember which way round things go and saves you stripping down the other side if you are in a rush...

I hate working on drum brakes :sick:

Another top tip, thank you, I'll take some snaps pre-dissmantling.

Sounds like we should both look at darthloachies drum/disk conversion - the last time I worked on a drum brake was about 17 years ago on a Fiat 126! Things can't have changed that much :woohoo:

Good news is I didn't forget to find neutral before starting (last couple of days I have just opened the door and lent in to start it up and then scrapped the ice while it warmed up), it would have been really funny if the car leapt forward with me standing there as it took out wifies back lights, NOT! The insurance claim form would have made good reading.

goatboy wrote: I find taking a quick picture on the digital camera once the drum is off but before you take anything apart a good idea. Proves very useful if you can't quite remember which way round things go and saves you stripping down the other side if you are in a rush...

I hate working on drum brakes :sick:

Another good idea, i did this before and it saved me. I took a load of close ups on my phone and had them to refer to when putting it all back together. I'd put one end of the adjuster the wrong way around.
The technology hasn't advanced in terms of drums so it should all look familiar. The common mistake is to put the adjuster the wrong way around - as i did. The handbrake doesn't operate properly if its wrong, the way it looks like it should go is wrong if that makes sense!

The disc conversion is a worthwhile mod if you off road your truck a lot, it makes removing the rear shafts easier and saves the need to keep bleeding the brakes.

Whoever invented drum brakes wants shot in the face with a really big gun!

I hate them... done mine recently.

Still need to go back and sort the drivers side as it appears the cylinder isnt working!