Hi All,

Havebeen doing the wifes brake shoes on her car (89 civic rear) and the retaining nails that hold the shoes against the hub plate have snapped when pulling the drum off.... grrrr

does anyone know what im talking about and better yet where i can get new ones as i cant finish the job without them.
they look like clout head nails with a hammerhead on the other end, that locks the shoes into position via a retaining clip..

i have no idea if they are even available being a 1989 model..

please help!

thanks,

tim

Any brake place will stock them as they are very common. I hope the shoes aren't distorted!

Any brake place will stock them as they are very common. I hope the shoes aren't distorted!


Thanx hako, illdo some ringing tomorrow.
The shoes are ok, but the new drums aren't fitting :S
Same part however.

Old drums tend to get a wear ridge in them and hook onto the shoes - if you don't wind in the auto adjuster first, you tend to pull the shoes off with the drum and the pins snap - takes a bit of force though. That's probably why the new drums don't fit, wind the adjusters in and fit the drums, then adjust them through the hole in the backing plate.

Thanx mate,

I noticed that when pulling them off. However the new ones are set to the minimum setting on the tensioner and icant get them on no matter what...

I've measured the new against the old and they're exactly the same.
Is there anything else I should look at or could have missed?
Thanx for thr help already guys!

Right shoe in the right place?
Ends sitting on their seats correctly?
Adjusters wound all the way in?

Try disconnecting the handbrake cables! Somebody may have over adjusted them.

A photo is out of the question?

Right shoe in the right place?
Ends sitting on their seats correctly?
Adjusters wound all the way in?

Try disconnecting the handbrake cables! Somebody may have over adjusted them.

A photo is out of the question?

Yep all the adjusters are wound the whole
Way in.

I'm almost certain it's all in the right place,
I'll double check the seating... Didn't think of the hand brake cable!
I'll have a look at that next.

I'll try n upload a photo when I get home or tomorrow depending on the light.
Would the handbrake adjuster be on the shoes or at the handbrake itself?

If you are refitting the old drums, they will have a ridge on them as MadMax says - you can remove this ridge with an angle grinder taking care just to remove the ridge. Another trick is to file a chamfer on the outside edge of the brake shoes so that the drum can slide on without grabbing. Last trick is to use some coarse sandpaper and simply reduce the size of the shoe lining.
Why are you refitting the drums if the shoe retaining pins are broken?

If you are refitting the old drums, they will have a ridge on them as MadMax says - you can remove this ridge with an angle grinder taking care just to remove the ridge. Another trick is to file a chamfer on the outside edge of the brake shoes so that the drum can slide on without grabbing. Last trick is to use some coarse sandpaper and simply reduce the size of the shoe lining.
Why are you refitting the drums if the shoe retaining pins are broken?

One side is ok, only 2 of the 4 pins are broken so I can put one side back together.
Yeah I was thinking of getting the sandpaper out. Might have to take that path...
I'm fitting new drums so hopefully I don't have to pull out the grinder

If you are refitting the old drums, they will have a ridge on them as MadMax says - you can remove this ridge with an angle grinder taking care just to remove the ridge. Another trick is to file a chamfer on the outside edge of the brake shoes so that the drum can slide on without grabbing. Last trick is to use some coarse sandpaper and simply reduce the size of the shoe lining.
Why are you refitting the drums if the shoe retaining pins are broken?

One side is ok, only 2 of the 4 pins are broken so I can put one side back together.
Yeah I was thinking of getting the sandpaper out. Might have to take that path...
I'm fitting new drums so hopefully I don't have to pull out the grinder

Ok so I can't get a decent photo let alone upload one :/

Getting these pins is harder than first thought, Honda don't even have them, have to come from Japan apparently...
I'm grabbing some off an 86 civic from a wrecker on Wednesday so hopefully they have the same setup!

As for fitting the drums, looks like I'll have to get the sandpaper out... The handbrake is at the minimum setting with no luck...

I hate drum brakes

Should get new pins today.

Will be sanding the new shoes slightly to allow clearance for the new drum.
Any other pointers or suggestions out there? madmax or Madmagna by any chance?

hopefully this will be the end of the problem

I'm not madmax or madmagna (probably mad though), but here's my last tip that may help get the drum on - heat the drum in the oven to just above 100C which will expand the drum.....then use either a rag/asbestos gloves to hold and force the drum on with a twisting motion. I used that trick on a '49 Custom back in the good old days.

I'm not madmax or madmagna (probably mad though), but here's my last tip that may help get the drum on - heat the drum in the oven to just above 100C which will expand the drum.....then use either a rag/asbestos gloves to hold and force the drum on with a twisting motion. I used that trick on a '49 Custom back in the good old days.

Wow! I have to say that's one I have never heard before!

Would that be plausible tho if there is too much meat on the shoes?

Finally got some replacement pins today off an excel at the wrecker! So stoked, they fit perfectly.
After some light sanding and adjustment she should be back on zee road!

It would depend on just how much the drum needs to expand thru heating as to whether it would fit. Ideally to maximise things you would freeze the shoes to shrink them and heat the drum to expand it, but that ain't possible!
It's not unusual in some machine shops that work with very tight tolerances to heat and expand the outer part and shrink the inner part with dry ice so that when assembled and they equalise temperatures, they are about as tight as you can get.

Dont know if I would want to do this as if the drums have been machined flat then when they cool the brakes will be stuck on plus asbestos gloves, no thanks lol

If you have the correct soes make sure that the adjusters are sitting correctly and also most importantly make sure that a. the hand brake is backed right off inside the car and being a drum rear end, make sure that the cables are sitting correctly on the levers and the cables are sitting in the backing plate correctly

Dont know if I would want to do this as if the drums have been machined flat then when they cool the brakes will be stuck on plus asbestos gloves, no thanks lol


You only needed to do this with worn drums which became bell mouthed - very common back when new car parts weren't so cheap. The rivet heads would also groove the drum. You had to force the drum back on using whatever method you could think of, but once on they would be loose as anything due to being bell mouthed.
If the drums were machined you would fit over size shoes to compensate.