Any tricks to get this damn thing on without a second set of hands? My father in law helped me get the driver's side together but he's gone now and I wanna button the passenger side up tonight.
I recommend that you print this post and tape the first drawing up in front of you when you reassemble the brakes. It is very easy to do it wrong and without the drawing in front of you.
The springs and shoes are position dependent, so look closely at the drawing when you put it back together. Make careful note of the FORWARD ARROW that points you towards the front of the car. When you install the brake shoes, remember: short shoe goes towards the front of the car.
Here's two pages out of the factory shop manual...
take your time. and do one side at a time
get a set of brake wrenches.
Take pictures of how all of the springs are oriented
Clean off all the parts ans backing plate with Brake clean
Spray the bleeder screw with PB baster and only use a brake line wrench on it
put lithium grease on the pas on the backing plate where the shoes touch and the screw portion of star wheel
There is a primary and secondary shoe- one is larger. primary is shorter and goes to the front
If your car has a lot of miles on it- spend the money and get a new brake spring kit
Dont spend the money to turn the drum- just get a new one
Inspect the wheel cylinder and if you see any leaks replace it
When you adjust the drag on the start adjuster the drum should just fit over the shoees and adust it so the shoes just start to drag on the drum.