rear brake drums, wheel cylinder??

[mk2singh]

recently when i brake i could hear a scraping kind of noise coming from the rear left of the car, so thought it might have been the brake shoes worn out. so today i opened up the brake drum to check what was wrong, but the brake shoes had nothing wrong with them and still had some pad on the shoes. so i checked everything else like the handbrake etc and then tested the brake by pressing the pedal which was all fine so i went to put the front of the drum back on but it would go back on because the shoes had extended. soo i thought if i press the brake pedal again it would extend and pull them back into normal position but it didnt and then i tried again but then this time one off the springs came off the shoes, so again i pressed the pedal and put the spring back on but this time one side of the brake wheel cylinder was stuck and didnt move back in so i pressed the brake pedal again lol and this time brake fluid started to come out the rubber bits on the end.
does this mean i need a new brake wheel cyliner because both sides started to leak when u press the pedal. and if so is it straight forward to do?? could any1 guide me thru changing the cylinder plz?? thx

[VWDino]

To remove a wheel cylinder you'll have to
* remove the brake shoes
* remove the top off the fluid res and cover with polythene bag and tie wrap (to create a vacuum and reduce fluid loss
* remove the brake union pipe from the back of the cylinder (may be rusted on)
* remove 2 screws and withdraw cylinder

* refitting is reverse of removal
* bleed brakes

You might get away with the one you've got tho. Try equalising the pistons and make sure that rubber boots are properly in position.

By the way, to get a drum back on you don't need to press the brake pedal, if anything that makes matters worse because the shoes will over extend if you know what I mean. There is a little wedge at the top of the shoe assembly, push it up and the shoes should retract so you can get the drum past them.

[Jay]

I have a similar problem, although mine started when I was replacing a snapped handbrake cable.
For some reason my father in law decided to press the foot brake and when he did this the shoes expanded and loads of brake fluid came out from under one of the rubber boots... the light was getting poor at this point so we decided to carry and get it all back together and see what happened, but we couldn't because the shoes had expanded too far....

After ages of fiddling about we managed to get the shoes retracted enough to get the drum back on, but now the car make a weird noise from the rear left wheel (where we were working) kind of like "shook shook shook" everytime the wheel goes past a certain point. Unfortunately I was at my in-laws and had decided too drive home 5 miles or spend the night there.... anyway  got home and could smell something really odd and had a look at the wheel and could see brake fluid had been leaking still...

So what I really want to know is, are there any mechanics that would be willing to help me fix this before Christmas ?

[Jay]

Or even how much a mechanic would charge to fix this? with parts and labor.

[Village Idiots]

The moral of this is never operate the brake pedal when you've taken the drum off. The shoes will keep moving out as there is no drum to stop them, they will not return as the self adjustment mechanism kicks in thinking the drum is incredibly worn and tries to leave the shoes close to the drum! If you keep on doing this you will push the pistons clean out of the cylinder, this then allows the brake fluid to drain out, applying the brakes then will force out more fluid. You should be able to re-assemble everything, making sure the rubber seal on the piston is located correctly and undamaged. If not located or damaged it will continue to leak fluid which will contaminate the brake shoes making them unusable.

[Jay]

Cool, thanks. I've got my neighbour having a look soon he's pretty good with cars, I'm hoping he can sort it out for me because finding a mechanic this close to xmas is gonna be hard... If it doesn't get fixed.. I don't have to drive up to Birmingham on boxing day 

[Jay]

Well for fook sake! Turned out that the hand brake cable was not clipped in under neath...
Although the drum won't come off without a puller and it feels as if the shoes are a bit extended...