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Thread: Drum brakes won’t come off.

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    Drum brakes won’t come off.

    I have a 2015 mirage and I can’t get the rear drums off the car. I have already replaced the rear breaks before and now at 65,000 it needs them again. I swear it eats breaks like mad. With the center nut off the drum will not come off. I hammered at it with a sledge and was finally able to pry it out about 1/2 inch with a screwdriver but it will not come any farther. The wheel bearing seems to have some play in it with the nut off but with it on the wheel sit perfect. Also the center ring of the bearing that sits on the spindle doesn’t seem to move at all like it’s seized but I’m not sure. I looks like it’s trying to pull the bearing apart to me. I torqued everything to spec last time it was apart, I’m simply stumped. Anyone have this happen or have any advice? I really don’t want to pay a shop to fix something I should be able to especially since they want over $300 for just the rear breaks. Thanks



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    Senior Member Top_Fuel's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Joe Z View Post
    With the center nut off the drum will not come off.
    The drum should slide off of the spindle once that nut is removed. You may need to retract your brake shoes prior to removing the drum. Your shoes may have worn into the drum...so there is now a ridge of drum material that is catching the shoes as you try to pull the drum off. Watch the first 40 seconds of this video to see what I'm talking about.


    To retract your brake shoes, you insert a screwdriver through the backing plate to re-set the adjuster (see image below)...

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    Also check this thread for related photos.

    You might want to try removing the other drum first. See if it comes off. It may help you figure out the other side. I have never re-set the adjusters on mine. I would probably need to try it with the drum off to understand it.
    Last edited by Top_Fuel; 07-28-2019 at 04:11 PM.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 52.2 mpg (US) ... 22.2 km/L ... 4.5 L/100 km ... 62.6 mpg (Imp)


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    @ Joe Z: You say " I swear it eats breaks like mad."
    Mine has about 90 000km on it, and the first brake shoes have hardly any wear on them with at least 80% thickness of the lining left. It might have something to do with driving style.

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    I live in the mountains so it’s a lot of 18% grade hills that kill them. Unfortunately they wear out much faster than my other cars because they’re so small they heat up fast.

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    I’m going to check out the video now and give it a shot, thanks.

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    Senior Member Top_Fuel's Avatar
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    The video is mainly useful for the first 40 seconds (where it shows how the ridge catches the shoes). The part about using bolts to get the drum off won't work with our Mirages because they don't have any bolt holes.

    When you finally get your drums off, check them for a ridge that is catching the shoes. Grinding off that ridge is not a bad idea.

    Like I said...you might want to try the other drum first and see if it will come off more easily.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 52.2 mpg (US) ... 22.2 km/L ... 4.5 L/100 km ... 62.6 mpg (Imp)


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    Where's 6th? BecauseRaceCar's Avatar
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    Dumb question here... Did you set the parking brake? I am guilty of doing it once.. forgot to release it after chocking the wheels..

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        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage DE 1.2 manual: 38.6 mpg (US) ... 16.4 km/L ... 6.1 L/100 km ... 46.4 mpg (Imp)


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    Top_Fuel (07-28-2019)

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    Checked out the video and it’s not particularly useful other than the obvious issue with the ridges and the parking brake wasn’t set. Tomorrow after work I’m going to take another crack at it. I didn’t realize you can adjust the shoes from the outside by popping out a rubber piece from the looks of it. All of my older cars had a hub with the studs that the drum slipped over and the wheel held on so this setup is completely different from what I’m use to.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Joe Z View Post
    ...I didn’t realize you can adjust the shoes from the outside by popping out a rubber piece from the looks of it.

    ...this setup is completely different from what I’m use to.
    This setup is pretty strange if you are used to conventional drum brake adjusters. Well...that and the fact that the drum, hub, studs and bearing are all in the same assembly. There is no star-wheel adjuster in 2014-2015 drum brakes in the US. In 2017, they started using conventional-looking drum brake setups (see images here).

    You can't manually adjust the shoes in a 2014-2015, but you can completely retract them by using a screwdriver through the backing plate as shown in that previous figure (also check more detailed pics in this thread). I have never done it. I think the next time I have a drum off, I will try it just for the heck of it. Because I don't know how you would ever figure that out if you can't look an another identical setup while you are trying it while a drum is installed.

    Did you try to remove the other drum?
    Last edited by Top_Fuel; 07-29-2019 at 12:46 PM.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 52.2 mpg (US) ... 22.2 km/L ... 4.5 L/100 km ... 62.6 mpg (Imp)


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    They are a strange setup indeed, took me a few minutes to figure it out the first time through and I have read the article you’re referencing. It has a lot of info but not about the drum being stuck on. I’m going to try an retract the shoes but I didn’t yet. When I had it apart I had no idea you could do that with the drum on because I haven’t worked with a brake setup like this before. I didn’t try removing the other drum, I got frustrated with the one I was working on and have taken them off before so I knew the process but I’ll be back at it tomorrow to try and figure it out.



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