are the rear drums cast iron?

should i paint them with clear coat so they retain that bare metal look but dont rust (im not going to paint them some tacky color, that looks horrible with rear drums)

does anyone have any tips for removing the wheel cylinder? that clip looks funky... will i have to bleed that side if i put on a new cylinder?

i bought all new shoes, drums, springs, and retainers. how am i supposed to adjust the start wheel when everything is new? right now i have it completely screwed in and the shoes feel like the are touching the drum when i put the drum on.

is there a specific way the drums are supposed to be mounted? i know its a good idea to put the stock ones back on the way they came off, but i have new drums and dont know if they have to be mounted a certain way

thanks guys

 

can i rebuild the wheel cylinder without taking it off from the vehicle?

 

i need help for christs sake

i got the cylinder on but now i need to know if i should competely assemble the rear drum before i bleed it

also the cylinder has a little side to side movement, but no in and out movement...is this ok? the retainer ring is on as far as it can go

please help

 

I do believe that there isn't a set way to put on the drums, as long as they go into the holes

How about painting the drums black? Or Aluminium? I don't see why the clear coat wouldn't work, not sure.

 

Just rebuilt my rear drums and yes, the wheel cylinder has a very small amount of side play to it, just make sure that the clip is pushed all the way in, it will snap as it engages. Get everything back together and then bleed both rear wheel cylinders, and for what it's worth, if you had to replace one cylinder you should just do the other as well since it will problably fail soon anyways. Don't take both sides off at the same time so you can reference the other side as you go. Hope this helps..

 

ok thanks so much for the help. is the smaller shoe supposed to be facing towards the front of the car on both sides? i mixed the shoes and now im not sure if i didnt the passenger side correctly.

 

ok this doesnt look right to me...on the drivers side, the star wheel adjustor plate and parking brake lever are on oppsite sides. when i did it on the passenger side, they both ended up facing the back...

 

how did you get the snap ring back ON the cylinder? I cant for the life of me.

 

did you buy a new ring? i used 90 degree angled pliers, then just used a screwdriver to tap em all the way in after that. find somethng to stick between the axle flange and the wheel cylinder so it stays in place.

since your online, can you tell me if my pics look correct?

thanks

 

Didnt take a pic before disassembled... assumed i could find on online that would help, not so much but sort of on...

Autozone.com

go to the vehicle repair guide....

i guess to reinstall i need a 1 1/8 socket to whack the spring into place....... cool. feel like an idiot since they show it to be so simple. i should have been able to figure that out. I also guess i didnt need the special tool to remove them as i DID figure that part out.