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do you have any tips for doing that? ha, I'm sure it's one of those things that once you have some experience you can do it pretty easy by feeling around but since they don't give you the most room to get your tools in there or to see what your doing for that matter it's a little tricky.

I got it to the point where i can almost get the whole thing off, it's just the last little bit gets caught up over the last part of the brake shoes.

Hey guys, sorry it took so long getting back to you, I've been pretty busy this past week. I managed to get them off and replace the shoes. Man was it a PITA!!! Once I got one of them off i was able to see how it worked which did help but still between the strut, the brake line, and trying to fit two screwdrivers in the slot on the backing plate made it pretty challenging.

The drums did have a pretty big lip on the outside of it, I ended up getting them machined at the local shop to clean it off.

Thanks for all of your help, espically Sidom with sending me that video for that one tool!

Do you guys have any suggesstions for preventing this in the future? I do live in PA so it gets inspected annunally which the drums (should) be removed every time, but I was just wondering if theres something else I could do to help keep that lip off for future drum removal.

Thanks Again!,

-Jim

Glad to hear you the those PITAs off..... I hate'em as well...

Like I mentioned before, it's just a design issue. The shoes wear into the drum.

While it's not a requirement to turn drums everytime shoes are installed, on these I would definitely recommend it because of the lip issue. If you had someone just slap shoes on it before without turning, then the old lip stays & it just gets worse.....

What you could do would be periodically check your brks, if you notice a lip forming and there is still room left you could have the drums turned again.
Me....I'm too cheap. Between having to buy a new drum too early due to turning or fighting the shoes to get the drum off when it's time for shoes......... I'll take the fight...... I have more time than money......

If you can get one drum off then just check out the lever and practice on that side.

If not look thru the hole with a light, you'll see the lever sitting on the star wheel. It just pushes straight out to get off the wheel and turn the wheel in the opposite direction.... Before you start turn the wheel a few clicks to see which way it adjusts so you'll know the way to go to back it off.........

I have a long thin screwdriver that I bent, this way it stays out of the way of what ever you are using to turn the wheel with....

If it is an axle seal, yes you can do it at home. We will need to know what type axle you have. As the styles have different repair procedures. If it is the standard Ford rear end, you need to jack up the vehicle, place on jackstands, remove wheels and drums, place pan under rear end, remove rear end cover, rotate rear end gear until you see a small 5/16 head bolt, remove the bolt, remove the thru pin, push axle in to the center, remove the "C" clip on the axle, remove axle. Use the axle as a toolo to remove the old seal. Then clean the seal housing, install new seal squarely, install axle, install clip, install thru pin and lock bolt, clean rear end cover and either have a new gasket or good quality silicone sealer, install rear end cover, fill with proper rear-end grease. WHeeeeeeewwww! Took almost as long to type this as it does to do the repair. Only forseeable problem is the little lick bolt is apt to break. Be really careful on that part. Good luck.

This reply is for way2old...I have a 1995 half ton e150 with the 5.8L also. I recently tried to pull the rear axles to replace the bearings and just as you said, the little lock bolt broke! I tried drilling for a bolt extractor, but had no luck. Are there any other options to get that bolt out?

This thread is over 2 years old. If you need help with something, please start a new question of your own.

Good pictures. The axle seal is at the end of the axle. I saw other pictures you posted on other sites and the seal is what is leaking. You have to remove the axle to get to the seals. The seals go around the axle at the point you pointed out on the other pictures. Once you follow the instructions, and remove the axle, you will see the seal. Please do not be confused by the other pictures you are trying to compare your vehicle to. These are 2 completely different rear end set ups.

Lol, caught me posting things on other sites eh? Yeah, the guy on there offering me advice has surely cleared up a few things for me. I didn't understand that the axle had to be messed with inside the differential area. You gotta to all that just to change out a seal huh? What about wheel bearings. Do I have to pull the axle just to swap those out?

Ronnie - along with Loren's advice I suggest routinely taking drums off for inspection of both wear and condition of hardware. Clean out drum by dropping it squarely down on hard surface to get all the rust and dust out which causes problems. Clean up that mess and dispose carefully as it's nasty stuff. Wipe good shoes with a paper towel soaked in brake cleaner then treat that as a nasty towel also.

Bearing?? It would have to have some serious troubles to allow that much motion! If so I would be near certain you'd hear that just driving along,

T

Thanks guys. The fact that it is probably not a bearing is great news. A brake job I can handle. Without actually having torn into the brake assmbly, I can tell you that the return spring looks extremely stressed, possibly weakened, and the shoes seem glazed over, but not worn, almost as if they were not in play for some time. The drums give the same indication, almost new looking wear wise. While the above checks were done with only the rr off the ground, I couldn't actually check how the brake operated, so I will have to get the entire rearend in the air to further evaluate it. One more thing I noticed. There was a light coating of some kind of fluid on things, but not bad as if the cykinder was bad or anything. I have been told not to try the brake with the drum off, so I didn't check it to see if it works. But this may be a case of not self adjusting maybe? Mechanic friend told me the oily light coating can be a result of the shoes not making good contact, or being stuck in a position that JUST makes contact, causing the pad (shoe ) to overheat and breakdown epoxy in the makeup, leaving the film...I am thinking that a breakjob is the best way to go further on this. Got brand new brakes up front, may as well do the same on the back. Any other thoughts are appreciated. Glad I found this place.

Ronnie; The only thing that I don't agree with is the evidence of some type of moisture on the linings. If there is any moisture (be it brake fluid or axle grease) it needs to be investigated and repaired. I have never seen or heard of the 'epoxy' theory, and your brake linings should be riveted, anyway. The glazing of the linings is indicative of heat. A leaky wheel cylinder or an axle seal can cause this. You don't sound like the type to skimp, so buy NEW premium quality brake linings. Riveted only (not bonded). If you need assistance on brake bleeding or axle seal replacement, don't hesitate to ask.
We'll help the best we can. Have a great weekend.

Thoughts: Ya - do a whole brake job including hardware and wheel cylinders. Make certain the parking brake is properly functional, releases fully and the connecting bar is slightly loose indicating park cable has retracted. With a helper watch the cable pull in and fully extend - they can be the problem spot or bent hardware. I've seen intermittent wheel cylinders too that can stay on.

More: larger (one with more lining) goes towards the REAR! I've seen that done backwards too.

Your call on machining drums or new ones. Rust can be an issue also.

Some lining material can drag or make a noise if wet like after a hard rain but usually that quits with first stop.

Make sure brakes are adjusted properly before ever touching the parking brake cable adjustment which isn't always needed to adjust! Good luck,

T