Recently when driving i would start to smell something strange and i found it was one of my drum brakes. A lot of heat was being emitted by it so i am assuming that it is rubbing. what could be causing the brake to be rubbing and me not knowing much about drum brakes should i attempt to fix it or bring it somewhere?

 

At the very least, I'd yank the drum and take a peek.

JamesC

 

the only thing i see wrong is a black fluid leaking out of the brake cylinder. i'm guessing that means the brake cylinder needs to be replaced?

 

Firestone quoted about $250 for the parts and labor to replace the cylinder. i have never worked with drum brakes so i'd rather have a person who has to deal with them. But does $250 seem like a reasonable price? or should i get some quotes from some other places?

 

damn, you should just replace it yourself, its not that hard and that will save a lot of money

 

What I have always done is to take one side apart and fix it then do the other. However I do two things, 1) I look at the springs I pull off and lay them in that configuration with the new shoes and 2) I also have the otherside open so I can compare if I need to. It has always worked for me. If you have the tools and basic mechanical experience you can do it. It is not that hard and you always have the other side as a pattern. The hardest part for me is getting the keepers for the pins holding the shoes on.