View Full Version : Changing rear brake shoes
Guys,
How easy is it to change a set of rear brake shoes on a Mk2 1.4 ?!?
Managed to get some off Ebay, and just in time, 'cause I think I may be down to the metal !! Oops.
And hints/tips much appreciated.
Cheers,
danny842003
13-01-2004, 22:12
to be honest im an aprentice mechanic and have never done a set (guess thats the fact not many audis have them). but if you are down to the metal u may need drums as well?
Cheers for the info Danny.
I only noticed it on Monday when I happened to be driving without the stereo on for a change, and as I braked at the end of my road, there was a quiet griding noise coming from the rear passengers side.
I knew what it was straight away.
Going to do it first thing on Saturday, so I've got the weekend to sort it out if I c0ck it up !!! ;)
danny842003
14-01-2004, 17:31
probably an idea to get some1 like flapper to find out what shares drums with the mk2 now. then if they are ****ed you should be able to get some right away. as some places dont list seat listings.
hopkinsgm
14-01-2004, 17:54
From memory, there's only two sizes of drums used on water cooled VAG group cars - small ones for non-ABS cars and bigger ones for ABS cars.
Changing shoes... it's a bit of a ballache tbh, drum has to come off, be careful not to damage the wheel cylinder, i.e. don't push the piston at one end 'cos chances are you'll pop the piston out of the other end. You might as well replace the wheel cylinders whilst it's all apart - they're only cheap (about 3 or 4 quid) from GS&F/ECP. And replace the bolts that hold the cylinder to the backing plate - they're almost guaranteed to be rotten by now.
Having got the old shoes out, take care you don't muddle the springs up - it's easily done. When reassembling, pack the bearings with moly grease and don't over-tighten the hub nuts. It'll probably take you a couple of attempts to get it right, either too tight so the wheel doesn't spin freely or too slack in which case the wheel will wobble on the stub axle. Trial and error, i'm afraid...
Changing pads is sooooo much easier:D
Cheers for the advice G, very much appreciated.
Will get the wheel cyclinders from GSF on Friday, only £4.25 Ea.
Stu, thanks for that !!! :p
If I've got time, I'll get round to doing my discs and pads to. just need to remove the damn retaining screw. Now wheres that feck off big hammer I've got..... ;)
hopkinsgm
15-01-2004, 07:27
Forgot to mention yesterday - use a new split pin in the castleated (sp?) nut on reassembly...
I'll be amazed if you've worn them out
My Ibiza @ 117,000 was still on it's original rears when I sold it. I think they still are as well.
Absolute bugger of a job as it's so fiddley
Mark
Mark,
I had a set replaced @ about 35k for an MOT fail and I'm now on 68k so looks about right.
It's defo the rear drums that are causing the grinding.
hopkinsgm
15-01-2004, 11:29
Possibly a stupid question but are you sure the handbrake is releasing properly?
Not sure actually G.
Will check tonight. What's going to be the easiest way to check?
hopkinsgm
15-01-2004, 12:18
Jack up rear end, release handbrake, spin rear wheels and listen for any "binding" noises.
It's not an ideal way of checking though as the axle moves relative to the bodywork as you jack the car up. Any slack in the handbrake cable (because the shoes haven't sprung back to the correct "rest" position) will tend to disappear as this happens because the cable will start to bear some of the weight of the axle as it drops tending to pull the brake shoes together to the correct "rest" position.
Managed to get the day off work on Friday, so I got down to the task of changing my rear brake shoes!!
After consulting the Haynes manual I started...
Managed to change the drivers side ones no probs. I was by myself and didn't feel confident enough to bleed the brakes, so didn't bother changing the wheel cyclinders. Got a few cut knuckles in the process though!
Looking at the old shoes, there appeared to be plenty of wear on them, so I couldn't figure out where the grinding was coming from... that's until I tried to do the passengers side...
Something inside the drum appeared to be seized, meaning that I couldn't extract the drum off the axle. Out came the hammer, and a few gentle 'taps' later, it was free.
Couldn't see anything wrong, but because I'd already changed the drivers side shoes, I had to do the passengers side ones anyway.
Took me about an hour and a half in total to do both sides.
Quite chuffed, as it was the first bit of mechanical stuff I've really done !! ;)
Went on to change my discs and pads when Tom came down and gave me a helping hand. Pagid FR pads, and ATE Power discs (239x20 vented).
So I've now got a full set of new spongey brakes until they bed in properly !!! ;)
hopkinsgm
09-02-2004, 08:16
Good work sir.
Of minor concern is that you mention something inside the n/s drum appearing to be seized. Do you mean you couldn't pull the drum from the stub axle or that you could not turn the drum on the stub axle? If it wouldn't turn, then chances are that the brake is not releasing. Tell-tale signs would be that the shoes on that side would be more worn than the o/s which you say came apart fine, also glazing of the pad...
G,
I could turn the drum Ok (I think!! I've been on the beers since then !! ;) )
But the drum would not slide off the stub axle, almost as if it was catching on something inside. Will have a look at the shoes when I get back tonight, so if there's any uneven wear etc.
What's the best way of bedding in brakes?!?
hopkinsgm
09-02-2004, 12:21
Wierd. If you've released the handbrake, removed split pin, castleated nut, nut, thrust washer and outer bearing, I don't really see that there's a lot else to hold the drum in place. The only other thing I can think of is that the stub axle may be bent as it exists the drum. It's an unlikely place for it to bend though - normally if they're going to get bent, they do it further inboard than that... Anyone else got any bright ideas?
It was almost as if the shoes were locked out, but the drum could still spin... I think!
A couple of taps withthe hammer managed to free it up, and slid straight off. Maybe a stone or something got in behind there some how?
Ah, just had a brainwave... when I fitted my spacers, I used the longer bolts that m0rk gave me. But the bolts were for 20mm spacers, and mine are only 15mm. So they engaged an extra 5mm into the drum. Only drove 10yrds with them on, 'cause I thought they might cause a problem and only doing 3mph there was a noise coming from the rear, so I stopped and took them off. Could they have dislodged something inside the drum?
Originally posted by m0rk
I'll be amazed if you've worn them out
My Ibiza @ 117,000 was still on it's original rears when I sold it. I think they still are as well.
Absolute bugger of a job as it's so fiddley
Mark
Nah it's got new shoes and drums now. But nearly 120k is pretty good going on one set!
hopkinsgm
09-02-2004, 16:25
It's possible - it's also possible that one of the springs got a bit tweaked by the bolt engaging that bit too far into the drum and as a result isn't pulling the shoes back to their "rest" position. If that's the case, then it'd probably just be a case of replace the springs. Halfords do a package containing all the relevant springs and retaining pins (the pack contains two different lengths - make sure you use the right ones!) to rebuild a pair of VAG drums, costs about a fiver from memory...