Brake Shoe Replacement

[WiseJackJones]

Hi, I am looking to replace the brake shoes on my extremy rusty rear drums but it looks like the central retaining nut is a replacement plastic locking item. Before I take it off, can anyone advise if this needs to be replaced at the same time or is it just a red herring confusing my otherwise ingenious dealer avoidance?

Many thanks

[AlanA2]

I could be wrong but the drum should pull off, a few taps with a hammer should do. You shouldn't have to unscrew anything.

Alan

[davidmac]

Before starting go to Audi and pick up the springs and anchors for inside.Best to change them while your in there.Drums are held on with a single countersunk screw.Make sure you have a good positive bite before you try and undo as they are very soft and the heads chew no problem at all;).With the screw out take your trusty claw hammer tap the drum firmly,working your way all around the diameter of the drum to loosen any deposits from inside. The drum will eventually free itself.Don't be shy with the hammer if the drum has not been off for a while it will take a bit of persuasion :eek: and also while in there check the movement of your handbrake cable on both sides ,it should take zero effort to slide it back and forth(if its stiff replace it).I have also found it easier to undo the wheel cylinder (retaining screw not the brake pipe)and move it forward to allow the removal of the complete brake assembly, this will allow you to strip and assemble on the ground before offering the completed job back up to the stub axle for anchoring.
Hope that helps a wee bit
Cheers Davy:)

ps make sure the handbrake is off :confused: :)

[WiseJackJones]

Thanks for the tip - it sounds (relatively) straightforward then with nothing too complicated :)

I had a look at the assembly at the weekend and shied away after looking at the nut so re-assembled (put the wheel back on) and then driving down the motorway the red brake warning beeping light came on. I pulled off and checked the braking function and the ABS still appears to function normally, however I have clearly done something to cause the error.

Is it likely i've just knocked the ABS sensor or could it be anything else? The car hasn't had the rear shoes replaced since new so I'm thinking it might be best to replace the shoes, the drums and the sensors. Is this overkill??

Thanks again for your help

[humps]

As far as I know, the ABS sensor should only be at one of your front disc brake pads. It is an extra cable running along the shock. Rear drums should not have any sensors.

Try searching for ABS sensor on the forum, I remember a couple of cases where the sensor was not connected properly or loose wiring causing the warning to come on.

[davidmac]

All 4 wheels have ABS sensors and they are tucked up ot of harms way.
Changing drums and sensors is overkill.
Red brake light is nothing to do with ABS.
If your red brake light is on check your fluid level under the bonnet,probably low.If so it could be because of excessive wear on pads/shoes or possibly leaky wheel cylinders.If its the latter use Audi only as after market ones last about 6 months then leak:(and change both if ones knacked the other won't be far behind.Red brake light is also connected to the front pads(wear sensor)but has no bearing on ABS function at all(ABS is a yellow cautionary type sign and brake is a red danger sign)I also work on the ethic "if it aint broke don't fix it";)Leave well alone the ABS until it gives you problems.Another point ,if your level is low due to brake wear alone don't top up unless you need to and then just to the min mark.When the new brakes go on all your cylinders etc wiil be fully closed forcing the fluid levels up,if you have just topped up to the max mark you will overflow. Brake fluid everywhere not great:(
Hope this helps Davy

[Skipton01]

Correct - what Humps is referring to is the brake pad wear indicator.

Cheers,

Mike

[humps]

Indeed, what I said 'ABS sensor' was actually the brake pad wear sensor... what was I thinking/typing!?!? multiple times...

Anyway, last time my brake wear indicator came on, it was already too late. The front discs were scratched. I could see the pads were very very thin, but not entirely sure the discs were really damaged, it was all dealer's words. And I went along with the story and emptied my wallet. They did say the rear shoes were fine...

[davidmac]

Indeed, what I said 'ABS sensor' was actually the brake pad wear sensor... what was I thinking/typing!?!? multiple times...

Anyway, last time my brake wear indicator came on, it was already too late. The front discs were scratched. I could see the pads were very very thin, but not entirely sure the discs were really damaged, it was all dealer's words. And I went along with the story and emptied my wallet. They did say the rear shoes were fine...

Its funny its the one thing we all agree on about dealers,is their ability to empty a perfectly sound wallet:D.wasn't sure where you were going with the ABS sensor humps so I thought I would clear up any mystery.Should have known the ever watchful Skipton was in the wings :)Hi Mike still fighting my own ABS problem by the way.:(

[WiseJackJones]

Strangely, the warning light has now disappeared anyway....hmmm!!!

Thanks for the advice though, will just replace the shoes and not bother with the drums or sensors.

[WiseJackJones]

Please somebody help!!! Got some new shoes and a spring kit from the dealer (they now come with a £15 surcharge which you get back on retuning the old shoes as the 'recycle' them apparently!!!) - felt confident about what I was doing!!

I slackened off the handbrake cable, removed the drum retaining screw, hit it with a hammer a few times but the drum will not come off for love nor money!!!:mad:

The drum itself is free and rotates on top of the hub assembly but won't budge!!! Somebody has suggested that there is an lip on the inside of the drum that has worn in to a rim and that the brake shoes are preventing the drum from coming off - is this right and if so how do you get the drum off???

Thanks again for anyone's advice.

[Darren C]

Don't despair, I had an identical problem with my off side rear drum only a couple of weeks ago.

The time came to repaint the drum with hammerite and it wouldn't budge no matter how hard I struck it with a rubber mallet.

In the end, my Dad and I had about two or three screwdrivers wedged between the dust shield and the drum, (literally trying to prise it off), whilst tapping the drum with the rubber mallet.

After a degree of perseverance, she finally surrendered and worked free.

The key is to prise at the top say and strike the drum at the bottom or prise on the right and strike the drum on the left etc... The shield flexes under the strain and is slightly and I do mean slightly not as tight as it was, but it certainly didn't break either or warp which I was worried about.

Once removed, a good bit of elbow grease with the wire brush and some copper grease around the hub should hopefully prevent seizure next time around.

Best of luck.

Darren

[spike]

Hi
The rear shoes have a self adjuster system which uses a spring loaded wedge to hold the shoes slightly expanded to compensate for brake lining wear. The attached pic shows how to use a screwdriver through one of the wheel bolt holes to push the wedge up and release the shoes. I've had the drums off my car a few times and have never needed to do this so don't have first hand experience of just how easy (or otherwise) it is.

Cheers Spike

[Darren C]

Good call Spike.

I left my drums off over night whilst the paint dried and the rear shoes did expand on the near side - I had to tap the wedge up to get the drum back on.

My off side drum was definitely not held on with the shoe however, the hub was quite badly corroded with muck and surface rust and spun freely as WiseJackJones states.

Darren

[davidmac]

I did say it will take a bit of persuasion:eek: When you get the drum off take a grinder to the lip on the inner surface of the drum this will make removal easier in future.Just grind down to the level of the braking surface as this is just wear on the drum itself and has no purpose.You can buy a hub puller from the car spares place that does the job without all the banging;)

[bye_bye_alfa]

Just curious what mileage you replaced your shoes etc.

Mine has been stood for 3 months whilst I've been away (the A2 was started each month, it started a treat, everytime and my friend had a bijou drive round the block)
and the rear brakes were a little siezed until a slight bashing.

We've done 148,000 miles from new and we're still on the same shoes/drums!

bba

[bluepassion]

ive just had mine replaced at a normal tyre garage for £70 ive done 80k and he said you could have got away with just cleaning the dust away but they changed them any way

[WiseJackJones]

Thanks once again guys, I will give that a try - will let you know success and get some pictures....maybe it'll help someone else :)

This will be the 1st time they've been replaced after 6 1/2 years and 118,000 miles so I suppose I can't complain!! Fronts definitely don't last that long though!!!