One of the older techs I worked with always used to tell me. You'll never put them on backwards if you remember this...the big girl always rides in the back. Free tip friday
@@ryan1turbo899 At least your wheel stayed on. I pulled back on the wheel of an old Wrangler to shift my driving position and the wheel came off in my two hands! Luckily it was in a parking lot.😳
@@johnnyfisherr2656 some one who has done something for 30 years of thier life, I'm going to take thier advice. There wasn't cell phones and internet back then. You had to have a library card to check out a book to read how to do it. No bs videos from guys that aren't mechanics in the first place
@@scottholbert2742 who do you think your talking to ? I'm in my 70's and there we're no cell phones and then likes of,, I bought books in part shop stores. Chilton manuals remember those ? You wanna be gullible and listen to others go right ahead. I trust reading from the horses mouth words. Books. Never have those books steer me wrong. I can fix anything now from past experiences from reading books. Trust it I can. So your going to listen to someone with 30 yrs no how hah, books were around in shops when buying parts from auto parts store and still are other name kind books but still are around. With computers in cars/trucks you need them. And that's if you can understand it to do it. I can. I can read diagrams can you ? Reading books is self taught.. Just reading books. You be surprised what one can learn. Have a good day.
@@johnnyfisherr2656 congratulations on you longevity. Not sure how or were you were raised nor do I care. I was raised on a farm and was taught to repair things yourself. I was busy working. Good for you , but I too remember that there were no cell phones. You learn alot faster by experience. If you pick up a hot PC of steel and burn your hand you are more likely to remember nor to do it again. I was simply stating what I was taught after my first f u brake job at the age of 13. And I remembered it that way for my entire life. Sorry if it sounded like I was being a height racist 🙄
It doesn't take a genius to fix a car. I had to have my truck towed back to a certified repair shop, because they never installed the transmission cooling lines properly. My niece owned a brand new car, and they never could figure out the transmission problem, the 3 years she owned it. The only thing I don't work on, is the transmission. I've fixed everything, including helping my brother swap the engine in his truck. This before Google. We just used the repair manual.
@David sometimes it's better to have something physical in your hands. You can fold page corners, highlight important steps, and not rely on batteries for important information.
@@briangiven7399 I don’t necessarily disagree with your initial statement but damn those were some awful reasons for saying it. You don’t need to fold digital pages cause they hold their place for you, and highlighting stuff on a screen is 100x easier than a real book and you can undo it. If you’re gonna advocate for paper instructions at least give valid reasons.
@@brianw4brian There are a lot of parking brakes that use equal shoes. You also won't find unequal shoes on cars that don't use duo-servo brakes. So like old VWs that have the fixed block at the bottom and some of the lightweight imports.
Very true. I could not tell you how many air brake shoes I replaced with missing spring. Some of these mechanics also are lazy and they just don't care about putting all of the springs on. The shoes end up dragging without all of the springs.
Way back when I worked at the gas station all of the cars had drum brakes, no disk brakes and you're exactly right, the big shoe always in the back. I love watching your videos and if you can do it, we can do it. 👍
I have also seen the fronts on one side and rears on the other. Very good advice as usual Eric. I truly enjoy your videos always great training and wealth of information. Thank you for what you do!
@Jim G... I might be wrong but it kinda looked like that same situation here... Looked like the rear (secondary) shoe had friction material broken off at the top... Suggesting they had 2 rear shoes one one side. If it doesn't fit, just break off the extra until it fits? This is the same person who assembles your furniture, doesn't read the manual, bc their afraid it might take away their man card or something... And says here's the extra screws and bolts... Don't worry you don't need those. 🤣
That's a good tip! However my brother's 2010 Focus has the emergency brake lever on the rear shoe and it's the "less material" shoe as that is how it came from the factory. Threw me for a loop super hard as I thought it was just that wore out, when the replacement shoes looked nearly the same new. Turns out it Was only half worn at 135k and two sets of front brakes during that time (MN rust never lets you get full life from brakes most of the time).
I just did the front rotors and pads on my car in mn with around 80k, took the drums off sanded the outside and painted em up, just blew em out and slapped em back on they will be good for many years just keep removing them every year or two and blow out the excess dust and make sure there arent any leaks while your in there
I saw what you pointed out and also noticed the hardware is not all there. The small cable that hooks up to the finger that holds the star wheel adjustor in place appears to not be there also. Anyone else notice that??
Probably the most straight forward, no nonsence, to the point short I have seen on you tube shorts yet. Oh yeah, it is accurate, and he is correct. I really like how he singled out no one for that rookie foul. I wonder if the other side was right? It could happen.
Thats not how they work. The primary shoe (F) initiates and as the assembly trys to rotate most of the load transfers to the secondary shoe (R). On a properly operating brake system both "shoes" should wear out at the same time.
Eric as always a Good point made, the last video made me jealous as I could hear the cars driving through the rain outside, haven't had any here for 11 weeks now. Regards to all. Richard 🇬🇧
11 weeks? HA. Try more like, a year, here in CA. ( I actually don't know if its been a whole year but its been a long ass time since we've had any rain and we rarely get any anyway)
@@chrishernandez2490 my sister used to live just north of San Francisco, last time i was over there was an earthquake. At least we don't have those 🙂 Morgan Hill, it took me a while to remember last time i was their was 86, then she moved to Spokane, then Idaho?
First shop I ever worked in... Owner told me... "New means new, new doesn't mean good" Words to live by... Too bad that owner turned out to be an asshole
I'm a dabbler when it comes to vehicle maintenance. I know enough to be dangerous. But always respected you true wrenches. It's not an easy job. Respect
So true I noticed immediately what the problem was!!!! That’s like the first thing you learn about drum brakes and it’s backwards on that vehicle what’s the odds of that!!! Keep up the awesome content Eric and I’ll see you in the next amazing video!!!!
I noticed it immediately too. Drum brakes are becoming more rare these days. I can do them in my sleep and always pulled everything apart on both sides. I had a customer watching me work on his car complain I was going too fast and that I shouldn't take both sides apart at once. I explained that I don't get paid by the hour, I'm a professional, and if he wants to watch he needs to stay outside or I'd put it back together and he could fix it himself at home.
@@shannonharris We did high quality work for reasonable prices and were always swamped. I can't afford NOT to lose a bad customer because they're essentially a "time burglar". I'm happy to have managed busy shops and dealt with difficult customers but I know when to say "We don't need your business." If you're a customer that wants to look over my shoulder to see how things work I'm cool with that. If you're looking over my shoulder and trying to tell me how to do my job I DO NOT want you as a customer full stop.
so true, when I did my rear drums years ago the auto adjusters were done wrong, I forget the details but they would not adjust and I was always feeling like my breaks were getting worse and worse and my parking break was basically non existent. took the drums off and was like oh, that could be why. shoes were fine, also the cylinder needed replacing so I did that and was so glad it wasn't the axle seal since I didn't have the time or tools to figure that out (time before google and youtube if you can imagine) never just copy what was there. Look it up, I had to buy the paper repair manual from Haynes for my old Buick and do it the hard way, from text in an actual book. It was such a cave man era, dang velociraptor ran off with my 10mil socket too.
I'm afraid you're wrong in this case. The big shoe should go in the front _on this specific vehicle._ The piston is at the top, meaning the shoes pivot at the bottom, meaning the front shoe is going to be subjected to slightly more wear than the back shoe due to a slight "digging in" effect as the front shoe is pulled by the rotating drum when the vehicle is rolling forward. That means the front shoe needs to have more friction material to avoid being worn-out prematurely. If the piston were at the bottom, however, you would've been correct.
WOW, Take a few minutes and look it up either in a book or online.. Was taught the Primary (F) initiates and as the assembly trys to rotate and gets pinned against the anchor the secondary (R) shoe gets most of the load. A properly operating brake system both shoes will be worn out at the same time. I've seen them swapped and the front shoe looks like new and the rear shoe is into the drum.
Every so often, Eric lets the burn come through. I could never do his job - one of the best diagnosticians in the entire industry and there's always some arm-chair num-nut who knows 'better'.
This is my gal's account but I really just wonder if the person who put those on just did it wrong or were they putting them on the same wrong way the previous person did. Lol. Very good point man. Love the channel, keep up the good work. From over here on the other side of the states in Spokane, Washington.
Probably about 30% of cars/trucks I have done drum brakes on, at least one side had something put together wrong previously. Shoes backwards, spring in a wrong hole, adjuster not in place correctly. I always refer to a service manual and online assembly pictures to triple check.
Awesome tip to DIYers. I noticed the shoes right away. That style setup was notorious for the auto adjust cable , which i don’t see, and the cable guide not seated in the shoe properly. Causing brakes to not self adjust properly.
When you winged the overhead door open, you just gave every backyard wrench buster a biblical moment, because they just seen the light. Aaahhh, A church bell rings in the distance. Great channel, great proper, timely and relevant content. If only Healthscare worked like this....
Okay, also, maybe they forgot to Put - GREASE, and grease up the “star wheel adjuster", also do frequent Maintenance Cleaning on "shoe brakes- system ", is also a must ....
As a mechanic once upon a time in my life. The rule for drum brakes was treat them like a woman's high heel the tall part of the shoe is at the back of the foot. That way she stands proud and stops with no problems.
Now you have me questioning my own rear brakes, which I just did two or three months ago, on my old Tundra. I'm resisting the temptation to put it on stands and look. lol
A friend was complaining that he had to do the rear brakes on his trans am every 10,000 miles. I happened to be visiting from out of town when he was doing them.......and like this one the primary was on the front. When I told him he said that he was just copying what had been done before he bought it. He was a USN nuclear rating, smart but no common sense.
I am working on a 1948 Buick for a friend. He tells me the brakes don't work great; they have a nice hard pedal, but just don't want to stop the car. So I ask him, "Does it lock the wheels in reverse?" "Yeah, just touch the pedal and it brakes hard." "Your shoes are reversed." Yep, that was it, along with other issues.
I never have this problem but I do have trouble remembering which way the adjuster goes. So I fixed that problem by taking photos of it before I start. Then I can just call it up and see how they were put in. It's hard to put them in wrong when you have photos to work from.
I got my camry's drums by memory, their so easy. But my dad said the same thing you did, do one side at a time in case you fuzz up than you got a reference but i never put what you said in consideration. Of course works if you are the last person to install your brakes. That being said, drums are my absolute favroite to install, its like a huge puzzle, you correctly install it and your brakes make you loose your baseball cap in between your defroster and windshield feels like making a smooth shift when driving a manual down the road.
Paused it right away because leading and trailing are backwards. With drums becoming less common I'm seeing more of this. Worked for a shop for about a year and the owner wanted me to put them back on backwards everytime
My best drum brake experience when working at a shop, customer said brakes were making noise. Popped the drums off, and the shoes were literally held on w coat hanger! No return springs or any regular hardware, just a few bent up coat hangers....
Good advice, might have wanted to mention that Uneven length Drum brake shoes, why the orientation is important. Leading, trailing shoes, dual servo style, equal length! DIY got in there and messed up!!!
The most surprising thing is there’s still automobile manufacturers using drum brakes. While German car manufacturers are using electronic parking brakes that apply and release automatically.
The rear shoe does more work that's why it's larger it's called a self-energizing drum brake system. My automotive technology instructor published his own brake repair handbook. I still see it for sale on eBay
One of the older techs I worked with always used to tell me. You'll never put them on backwards if you remember this...the big girl always rides in the back. Free tip friday
My moma was a back seat gal🐳
@Vladimir Putin love your work buddy, you'll get the Ukraine in no time!
@Vladimir Putin bladimir butin
@@madmax82988 Mad Fax
And they are getting bigger by the day
It’s a jeep thing… you just wouldn’t understand😂😂
You win the internet today 😂
@@TheDavidFromTexas I concur... XD
Nice one, 🤣
I have a jeep, I still don’t understand. But I still wave when I dare removing a hand from the wheel
@@ryan1turbo899 At least your wheel stayed on. I pulled back on the wheel of an old Wrangler to shift my driving position and the wheel came off in my two hands! Luckily it was in a parking lot.😳
The first shop I worked at my boss told me, "small in the front and big in the rear, just like my wife". I will never forget that.
😂😂 big booty no titties 😅😂
Has she got a sister?
Shoes on backwards
My favorite type is when you pop the drum off and everything just falls out lol
Too funny😂
I've had that happen more than a few times....
Always was told by the old guys when I started 51 years ago that the best way to remember that was tall people to the back.
That’s handy to help remember. Thank you Scott.
Didn't anyone ever use a book how to do. I never trust anyone saying how to do.
@@johnnyfisherr2656 some one who has done something for 30 years of thier life, I'm going to take thier advice. There wasn't cell phones and internet back then. You had to have a library card to check out a book to read how to do it. No bs videos from guys that aren't mechanics in the first place
@@scottholbert2742 who do you think your talking to ? I'm in my 70's and there we're no cell phones and then likes of,, I bought books in part shop stores. Chilton manuals remember those ? You wanna be gullible and listen to others go right ahead. I trust reading from the horses mouth words. Books. Never have those books steer me wrong. I can fix anything now from past experiences from reading books. Trust it I can.
So your going to listen to someone with 30 yrs no how hah, books were around in shops when buying parts from auto parts store and still are other name kind books but still are around. With computers in cars/trucks you need them. And that's if you can understand it to do it. I can. I can read diagrams can you ? Reading books is self taught.. Just reading books. You be surprised what one can learn.
Have a good day.
@@johnnyfisherr2656 congratulations on you longevity. Not sure how or were you were raised nor do I care. I was raised on a farm and was taught to repair things yourself. I was busy working. Good for you , but I too remember that there were no cell phones. You learn alot faster by experience. If you pick up a hot PC of steel and burn your hand you are more likely to remember nor to do it again. I was simply stating what I was taught after my first f u brake job at the age of 13. And I remembered it that way for my entire life. Sorry if it sounded like I was being a height racist 🙄
My previous boss used to say “funny how you need a license to cut hair but you don’t need one to work on vehicles”
That’s a great point. You need a CDL to drive a semi truck, but you don’t to hopefully fix one.
It doesn't take a genius to fix a car. I had to have my truck towed back to a certified repair shop, because they never installed the transmission cooling lines properly. My niece owned a brand new car, and they never could figure out the transmission problem, the 3 years she owned it. The only thing I don't work on, is the transmission. I've fixed everything, including helping my brother swap the engine in his truck. This before Google. We just used the repair manual.
You don't?!
@David sometimes it's better to have something physical in your hands. You can fold page corners, highlight important steps, and not rely on batteries for important information.
@@briangiven7399 I don’t necessarily disagree with your initial statement but damn those were some awful reasons for saying it. You don’t need to fold digital pages cause they hold their place for you, and highlighting stuff on a screen is 100x easier than a real book and you can undo it. If you’re gonna advocate for paper instructions at least give valid reasons.
The person may have did it wrong before you. That’s one hell of a true statement. I can’t count how many times I had to un-BLEEP someone’s Bleep up.
Advise from the “Big Shoe” himself!🤣🤣
Good advice as some of my friends learned in high school. The person who you're copying off of may have the wrong answer!😂😂
Primary and secondary shoes, is what I was taught. Great job Eric O. Keep up the great work. I'm sure the parking brake worked great.
Most often there primary secondary. Sometimes Shoes can be equal. I forgot which car
Leading and trailing is how I was taught. But his saying is how I remember it too: big in the back.
Leading and trailing is how I was taught. But his saying is how I remembered it too: Big in the Back.
@@brianw4brian There are a lot of parking brakes that use equal shoes. You also won't find unequal shoes on cars that don't use duo-servo brakes. So like old VWs that have the fixed block at the bottom and some of the lightweight imports.
@@brianw4brian Nissan Xterra for example
True.
People don't know about primary spring and secondary springs as well as primary and secondary shoes.
They took a picture of the passenger side and so when they came around to the driver side...switch-o change-o cuh! 🤣🤣
Tell him in order to even them up he'll need to drive more in reverse! 🤭
Cap
Seen it right away. Brake shoes are like Funny Car tires. Big ones in back.
Our dad taught us: Big Backs Brake Better.
Does this apply to any vehicle with drum brakes or just Jeeps?
@@Hugatree4me ALL.
As a retired mechanic I know exactly what you mean..
I watch SMA videos on UA-cam all the time. I respect what he says because he is a down to earth no nonsense auto tech who makes sense.
Very true.
I could not tell you how many air brake shoes I replaced with missing spring. Some of these mechanics also are lazy and they just don't care about putting all of the springs on. The shoes end up dragging without all of the springs.
It's almost like they were on there from the factory for a reason or something
@@RyTrapp0 The funny thing, air brake shoes are easy to change out, when someone knows the little tricks of the trade.
it's usually the guys who put the little springs in last, then put the drum on with the last one half seated
The shoe in the front is a spare right, so you just swap em around and good for another 20k miles! 😅🤣😂🙄
hey thats a good idea.... GET ER DONE....
Except the friction pads on those shoes are gone... they're useless. That's how drum brakes are supposed to work... they don't work.
@@juansolo1617 i still like them better though, they are lighter and dont overheat like discs do.
@Mr. Z remind me to NEVER ride in your car!
And they don't spoil the rims.
Facts brother!!!!
Don't copy the other guy's work, just get it done the correct way.
Way back when I worked at the gas station all of the cars had drum brakes, no disk brakes and you're exactly right, the big shoe always in the back. I love watching your videos and if you can do it, we can do it. 👍
I have also seen the fronts on one side and rears on the other. Very good advice as usual Eric. I truly enjoy your videos always great training and wealth of information. Thank you for what you do!
See that one a lot myself.
@Jim G... I might be wrong but it kinda looked like that same situation here... Looked like the rear (secondary) shoe had friction material broken off at the top... Suggesting they had 2 rear shoes one one side.
If it doesn't fit, just break off the extra until it fits?
This is the same person who assembles your furniture, doesn't read the manual, bc their afraid it might take away their man card or something... And says here's the extra screws and bolts... Don't worry you don't need those. 🤣
Literally didn't know this. But last brake job I did, was removing factory parts.
When I work on drum brakes I like to change them to disc
That's a good tip! However my brother's 2010 Focus has the emergency brake lever on the rear shoe and it's the "less material" shoe as that is how it came from the factory. Threw me for a loop super hard as I thought it was just that wore out, when the replacement shoes looked nearly the same new. Turns out it Was only half worn at 135k and two sets of front brakes during that time (MN rust never lets you get full life from brakes most of the time).
Plus the front brakes do 60 o/o of the braking
I just did the front rotors and pads on my car in mn with around 80k, took the drums off sanded the outside and painted em up, just blew em out and slapped em back on they will be good for many years just keep removing them every year or two and blow out the excess dust and make sure there arent any leaks while your in there
A lot of mechanics make mistakes when installing drum brakes good point great video!!!!
Cap
I saw what you pointed out and also noticed the hardware is not all there. The small cable that hooks up to the finger that holds the star wheel adjustor in place appears to not be there also.
Anyone else notice that??
@@dicky7600 I noticed that too - but I think it's wrapped around the coil hold-down spring. Hard to tell, though.
Great reminder thanks !
Also, I better call a few people and offer them a free umm.. TSB inspection.
"I'm a UA-cam viewer, not a mechanic, Jim!"
Nice catch; I thought at first someone did the springs wrong.
Maybe he drives high speed reverse 🤣 Frt shoe lining looks new😮
Puts it R for race.
@@victorringe9404 he should have had in D for drum brakes!
Cap
It's a movie car for fast and furious 😁
Like holiday photos tall ones in the back! thanks for sharing my guy.
I need to do the rear drum brakes on my 2007 Sienna. They are original and have never been touched. I hope the factory did them correctly.
Probably the most straight forward, no nonsence, to the point short I have seen on you tube shorts yet. Oh yeah, it is accurate, and he is correct. I really like how he singled out no one for that rookie foul. I wonder if the other side was right? It could happen.
The front shoes always seem to wear down quicker, so it seems logical that the larger one would be in front. Good tip, I learned something.
Wait what? That's the exact opposite
I like logic... But you should fire yours!
Thats not how they work. The primary shoe (F) initiates and as the assembly trys to rotate most of the load transfers to the secondary shoe (R). On a properly operating brake system both "shoes" should wear out at the same time.
Good tip I had no idea there was a big shoe .
There isn't always a bigger shoe. Just if there is, it goes on the back.
There's usually one with a longer lining.
I too have have seen this problem quite a bit in recent years.🙏🙏👍💪
Eric as always a Good point made, the last video made me jealous as I could hear the cars driving through the rain outside, haven't had any here for 11 weeks now. Regards to all.
Richard 🇬🇧
11 weeks? HA. Try more like, a year, here in CA.
( I actually don't know if its been a whole year but its been a long ass time since we've had any rain and we rarely get any anyway)
Where are you at ?
@@randythompson2681 Suffolk uk
@@chrishernandez2490 my sister used to live just north of San Francisco, last time i was over there was an earthquake. At least we don't have those 🙂
Morgan Hill, it took me a while to remember last time i was their was 86, then she moved to Spokane, then Idaho?
100% agree with you. Just like new parts are not always "good" parts.
First shop I ever worked in... Owner told me... "New means new, new doesn't mean good"
Words to live by...
Too bad that owner turned out to be an asshole
I'm a dabbler when it comes to vehicle maintenance. I know enough to be dangerous. But always respected you true wrenches. It's not an easy job. Respect
I have seen it many times, especially back in the 90's when most cars we worked on had rear drums.
So true I noticed immediately what the problem was!!!! That’s like the first thing you learn about drum brakes and it’s backwards on that vehicle what’s the odds of that!!! Keep up the awesome content Eric and I’ll see you in the next amazing video!!!!
I noticed it immediately too. Drum brakes are becoming more rare these days. I can do them in my sleep and always pulled everything apart on both sides. I had a customer watching me work on his car complain I was going too fast and that I shouldn't take both sides apart at once. I explained that I don't get paid by the hour, I'm a professional, and if he wants to watch he needs to stay outside or I'd put it back together and he could fix it himself at home.
@@brianneil2485 I agree to think that... But you most likely lost a future customer by saying it... Hope you got plenty of business.
@@shannonharris We did high quality work for reasonable prices and were always swamped. I can't afford NOT to lose a bad customer because they're essentially a "time burglar". I'm happy to have managed busy shops and dealt with difficult customers but I know when to say "We don't need your business." If you're a customer that wants to look over my shoulder to see how things work I'm cool with that. If you're looking over my shoulder and trying to tell me how to do my job I DO NOT want you as a customer full stop.
i have seen this soooooo many times lololol
Broke 2 springs before I realized the last person had them dragging on the axle. Gotta know what you’re doing, period.
so true, when I did my rear drums years ago the auto adjusters were done wrong, I forget the details but they would not adjust and I was always feeling like my breaks were getting worse and worse and my parking break was basically non existent. took the drums off and was like oh, that could be why. shoes were fine, also the cylinder needed replacing so I did that and was so glad it wasn't the axle seal since I didn't have the time or tools to figure that out (time before google and youtube if you can imagine) never just copy what was there. Look it up, I had to buy the paper repair manual from Haynes for my old Buick and do it the hard way, from text in an actual book. It was such a cave man era, dang velociraptor ran off with my 10mil socket too.
If you fed cows to your velociraptor like in JP, he wouldn't need to steal your sockets to get a job to feed his kids... Gawd 🤦
It’s not Friday yet here 😀 darn kids putting their shoes on backwards 🤣
i think i put mine on backwards. i didnt drive it yet but i think ill look at it again. damnit
@@1oneguythat hopefully you didn’t.
Mr. O , a fine job as always 👍
Well, I learned something new today. Stay humble and keep learning!
The Big Girl also has to wear Blinders or she will yell out to stop at every Dairy Queen you pass by !
VERY GOOD POINT TO BRING OUT! CHECK THE SERVICE MANUAL TO BE SURE .
You can usually solve most problems with generous application of RTFM
Havent had a book for a car in a couple decades, good ol internet searching and UA-cam has helped more than some of them diagrams ever did
😎 some guys can’t judge sizes 😂😂
110% agree. Just because you find it like that, does not mean it's right.
Darn it; 56 year old DIY guy done plenty of brakes over the years and never knew shoes weren't symmetrical! Thanks for the great video Mr. O
I did that on my first break job on my Chevy van. The pads wore out fast and had to re-do it. A friend helped me and pointed out my mistake.
I'm afraid you're wrong in this case. The big shoe should go in the front _on this specific vehicle._ The piston is at the top, meaning the shoes pivot at the bottom, meaning the front shoe is going to be subjected to slightly more wear than the back shoe due to a slight "digging in" effect as the front shoe is pulled by the rotating drum when the vehicle is rolling forward. That means the front shoe needs to have more friction material to avoid being worn-out prematurely. If the piston were at the bottom, however, you would've been correct.
WOW, Take a few minutes and look it up either in a book or online..
Was taught the Primary (F) initiates and as the assembly trys to rotate and gets pinned against the anchor the secondary (R) shoe gets most of the load.
A properly operating brake system both shoes will be worn out at the same time.
I've seen them swapped and the front shoe looks like new and the rear shoe is into the drum.
Every so often, Eric lets the burn come through. I could never do his job - one of the best diagnosticians in the entire industry and there's always some arm-chair num-nut who knows 'better'.
I love it when you pull the drums and both long shoes are on one side and the short ones are on the other side...
Even has tabs that rest against backing plate,staring them in the face!!!🤣🤣🤣
So true. I never copy anyone else work.
Excellent advice.
I did that! My mechanic had a big laugh at my expense. Yup 👍 he fixed it and that was the last time I did my own brakes. It was on a 1976 Jeep CJ5.
Truuuue that, i have seen this often done, in my 45 years of working on cars and trucks 👍👍👍
This is my gal's account but I really just wonder if the person who put those on just did it wrong or were they putting them on the same wrong way the previous person did. Lol. Very good point man. Love the channel, keep up the good work. From over here on the other side of the states in Spokane, Washington.
I did they with a Ford Ranger. My dad laughed at me. “Ya weren’t paying attention the day I taught you!” 🤦🏻♂️😁
Just want to add left and right drum brakes are mirror image. Springs and adjusters :)
As a man who owns a custom jeep shop..
I see this almost everytime i do a set of drums that they had a buddy do
And that there people is someone who knows how to change brakes and isn’t just copying someone else’s work. 👍👍
Probably about 30% of cars/trucks I have done drum brakes on, at least one side had something put together wrong previously. Shoes backwards, spring in a wrong hole, adjuster not in place correctly. I always refer to a service manual and online assembly pictures to triple check.
Awesome tip to DIYers.
I noticed the shoes right away. That style setup was notorious for the auto adjust cable , which i don’t see, and the cable guide not seated in the shoe properly. Causing brakes to not self adjust properly.
Exactly. Leading shoe and trailing shoe. If a DIYer or your tech doesn't know what this means...run!
When you winged the overhead door open, you just gave every backyard wrench buster a biblical moment, because they just seen the light. Aaahhh, A church bell rings in the distance.
Great channel, great proper, timely and relevant content. If only Healthscare worked like this....
Also one of the reason disc brake conversions are the goat
Excellent catch!
Drum brakes are like a Kardashian.
Big end is 8n the Back
Junk in the Trunk
Great video and solid tip!!!!
Okay, also, maybe they forgot to
Put - GREASE, and grease up the “star wheel adjuster", also do frequent Maintenance Cleaning on "shoe brakes- system ",
is also a must ....
I was taught the same thing and then I learned this same lesson years ago and it fixed the issues I was having.
If the women don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy. -Red Green-
You gotta use the handymans secret weapon - Duct Tape.
Did my first drum brakes in the garage at 16. I just assumed the bigger one went in the back… nailed it 😂
As a mechanic once upon a time in my life. The rule for drum brakes was treat them like a woman's high heel the tall part of the shoe is at the back of the foot. That way she stands proud and stops with no problems.
Great tip to know. Last set I put on; both shoes were the same length.
Now you have me questioning my own rear brakes, which I just did two or three months ago, on my old Tundra. I'm resisting the temptation to put it on stands and look. lol
One Thing I Was Taught About Drum Brakes Is To Fuck'em And Put In Disk
These can also be put on backwards in some cars. Someone did just that on a Mazda 3 that I just changed the pads on. This is why it kept making noise.
A friend was complaining that he had to do the rear brakes on his trans am every 10,000 miles. I happened to be visiting from out of town when he was doing them.......and like this one the primary was on the front. When I told him he said that he was just copying what had been done before he bought it. He was a USN nuclear rating, smart but no common sense.
Always remember that the Short shoe comes first , because your feet don't get smaller when you grow up
I am working on a 1948 Buick for a friend. He tells me the brakes don't work great; they have a nice hard pedal, but just don't want to stop the car. So I ask him, "Does it lock the wheels in reverse?"
"Yeah, just touch the pedal and it brakes hard."
"Your shoes are reversed."
Yep, that was it, along with other issues.
I never have this problem but I do have trouble remembering which way the adjuster goes. So I fixed that problem by taking photos of it before I start. Then I can just call it up and see how they were put in. It's hard to put them in wrong when you have photos to work from.
I got my camry's drums by memory, their so easy. But my dad said the same thing you did, do one side at a time in case you fuzz up than you got a reference but i never put what you said in consideration. Of course works if you are the last person to install your brakes. That being said, drums are my absolute favroite to install, its like a huge puzzle, you correctly install it and your brakes make you loose your baseball cap in between your defroster and windshield feels like making a smooth shift when driving a manual down the road.
It's fun when previous owner puts both long shoes on one side and both short shoes on the other
Sadly I did this once.
Paused it right away because leading and trailing are backwards. With drums becoming less common I'm seeing more of this. Worked for a shop for about a year and the owner wanted me to put them back on backwards everytime
My best drum brake experience when working at a shop, customer said brakes were making noise. Popped the drums off, and the shoes were literally held on w coat hanger! No return springs or any regular hardware, just a few bent up coat hangers....
Noticed right away, if you didn't you're fired! Big shoe to the rear!
Going to Western Tech for Auto and my instructor said the same thing, smart man.
Good advice, might have wanted to mention that Uneven length Drum brake shoes, why the orientation is important. Leading, trailing shoes, dual servo style, equal length! DIY got in there and messed up!!!
I always learned it as B.O.B. Big on back. Easy to remember and had never failed me
The most surprising thing is there’s still automobile manufacturers using drum brakes. While German car manufacturers are using electronic parking brakes that apply and release automatically.
The rear shoe does more work that's why it's larger it's called a self-energizing drum brake system. My automotive technology instructor published his own brake repair handbook. I still see it for sale on eBay
No Scoff, you sir are 100% Correct
That secondary shoe came apart. The top of its busted.
And Mr.O I've had them come from the dealer wrong too
Eric is the Superman of mechanics.
Honestly, that weird ass spring arrangement would be a head scratcher to me....