Whick kit for rear drums?

Jeepoftheseus said:

Hey Jeep Community!

So I posted a while back about losing brake pressure. The fine folks at Meineke told me the rear driver-side piston was blown and it was time to do both rear drums. I trust these guys but the quote was a little high. It's summer time in Phoenix so working on the jeep has been a low priority.

I finally went in today and checked both rear drums. I think the Meineke crew was telling the truth. I've included some photos. My question is: what work do you think needs to be done? I definitely need new pistons and shoes, but should I just do the entirety of both rear drums or can I get away with doing less? What kit do you recommend for them? This is my first time working on drum brakes.

Thanks everyone

photos include before and after pictures from brake clean use.View attachment 622028View attachment 622029


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Just put new brake cylinders and new shoes and hardware kit on it.cheap fix.

Do one side at a time,so you have the other as a reference. Be very careful to reassemble exactly as it was and adjust the shoes correctly.then the ebrake

Rickyd said:

Do one side at a time,so you have the other as a reference. Be very careful to reassemble exactly as it was and adjust the shoes correctly.then the ebrake

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Or take pictures for reference.

I would replace drums, cylinders, shoes and all springs.

Why skimp on brakes

John Cooper said:

Or take pictures for reference.

I would replace drums, cylinders, shoes and all springs.

Why skimp on brakes

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Sigh. This poster correct. Drum breaks are such a pain, might as well get it all done and not have to deal with it again. I really need to do rears on my XJ. I've been putting it off for years

aston4 said:

Sigh. This poster correct. Drum breaks are such a pain, might as well get it all done and not have to deal with it again. I really need to do rears on my XJ. I've been putting it off for years

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Having grown up when drum brakes were all there was, I have never really had a problem doing them.

Now these new cars and trucks you have to put in brake maintenance mode to work on are a pain in the butt. Half the time they won't come out of maintenance mode and off to the stealership you go.

John Cooper said:

Having grown up when drum brakes were all there was, I have never really had a problem doing them.

Now these new cars and trucks you have to put in brake maintenance mode to work on are a pain in the butt. Half the time they won't come out of maintenance mode and off to the stealership you go.

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At least we were born late enough to have hydraulic drum brakes ! ......

ColoJeep said:

At least we were born late enough to have hydraulic drum brakes ! ......

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I restored a 65 galaxy 500 once with the single cup non boosted drum brakes on it.

Let's just say they weren't called suicide brakes because they were safe.

It had a 390 in it with a 4 speed would run close to 13 in the 1/4 mile. Take 2 to 3 times as long to stop.

John Cooper said:

I restored a 65 galaxy 500 once with the single cup non boosted drum brakes on it.

Let's just say they weren't called suicide brakes because they were safe.

It had a 390 in it with a 4 speed would run close to 13 in the 1/4 mile. Take 2 to 3 times as long to stop.

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Gen X and beyond have no idea what brake fade , pucker factor is .....

John Cooper said:

I restored a 65 galaxy 500 once with the single cup non boosted drum brakes on it.

Let's just say they weren't called suicide brakes because they were safe.

It had a 390 in it with a 4 speed would run close to 13 in the 1/4 mile. Take 2 to 3 times as long to stop.

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My dad had a '72 Galaxy 500, blueprinted 400, with drums all around, no power assist. A mechanic took it out for a test drive... came back shaking, said he almost died, he said he hit the brakes and nothing happened lol

That thing was FAST. Like electric car fast. Kickdown caused whiplash pain.

aston4 said:

My dad had a Galaxy 500 with drums all around, no power assist. A mechanic took it out for a test drive... came back shaking, said he almost died, he said he hit the brakes and nothing happened lol

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Been there done that to many times. Someone finally came along and offered me 2 grand more than I had in it, so down the road it went.

John Cooper said:

Having grown up when drum brakes were all there was, I have never really had a problem doing them.

Now these new cars and trucks you have to put in brake maintenance mode to work on are a pain in the butt. Half the time they won't come out of maintenance mode and off to the stealership you go.

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Servicing drum brakes is fine until a spring goes through your eyeball.

aston4 said:

Servicing drum brakes is fine until a spring goes through your eyeball.

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Safety glasses are your friend!!

John Cooper said:

Safety glasses are your friend!!

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And the right tool!

Jeepoftheseus said:

Hey Jeep Community!

So I posted a while back about losing brake pressure. The fine folks at Meineke told me the rear driver-side piston was blown and it was time to do both rear drums. I trust these guys but the quote was a little high. It's summer time in Phoenix so working on the jeep has been a low priority.

I finally went in today and checked both rear drums. I think the Meineke crew was telling the truth. I've included some photos. My question is: what work do you think needs to be done? I definitely need new pistons and shoes, but should I just do the entirety of both rear drums or can I get away with doing less? What kit do you recommend for them? This is my first time working on drum brakes.

Thanks everyone

photos include before and after pictures from brake clean use.

Click to expand...

Drum brakes aren’t hard, per se, but can be frustrating, or extremely frustrating.

As far as what kit, rear drums don’t do the heavy lifting so almost any shoes/drums/spring Kits/wheel cylinders online or from a local auto parts store are going to be ok. Amazon or RockAuto is cheaper if you’re not in a hurry. For reference I spent about $230 on parts at O’Reilly, same parts on RockAuto was like $140. We were in a hurry so paid a premium for right now availability.

Use the search feature, there are a bunch of good threads on here on rears and a bunch of YouTube videos. Here are two we found helpful:


(Second one is just wheel cylinder, not full brake job)

Couple things:

1) way easier with a helper to lend a 3rd hand when putting drums back together after replacing wheel cylinders.

2) changing wheel cylinder means taking off the brake line - box wrench can work but flare wrench is better. Ours was a 3/8. 10mm *can* work but fit is sloppy and risks rounding off the fitting.

3) get the cable springs that tension the adjusting lever put back in correctly. This pic shows the correct way.




4) blown cylinder and replacement means you’re gonna have air in the lines when done. Do a good bleed at all 4 corners - helper needed for this.

If we had to do them again, we could be done in an hour with both sides. However, it was more like a 8 hour project with problems encountered and learning curve. Ours is a rust belt jeep tho, so nothing comes off easy and we had to run new brake lines after breaking one at the wheel cylinders.

JustDandee said:

And the right tool!

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I have one of those that my dad had back in the late 60's when he ran a mail route.

Used to change the drum shoes once a month and the drums every 2 months.

66 miles of dirt roads will do that to brakes.

Jeepoftheseus said:

Hey Jeep Community!

So I posted a while back about losing brake pressure. The fine folks at Meineke told me the rear driver-side piston was blown and it was time to do both rear drums. I trust these guys but the quote was a little high. It's summer time in Phoenix so working on the jeep has been a low priority.

I finally went in today and checked both rear drums. I think the Meineke crew was telling the truth. I've included some photos. My question is: what work do you think needs to be done? I definitely need new pistons and shoes, but should I just do the entirety of both rear drums or can I get away with doing less? What kit do you recommend for them? This is my first time working on drum brakes.

Thanks everyone

photos include before and after pictures from brake clean use.View attachment 622028View attachment 622029


View attachment 622025View attachment 622027View attachment 622026

Click to expand...

I bought mine from Black magic brakes.

Do yourself a favor. Buy the kit from BMB and then get a pair of new cylinders and a new set of hoses.
(BMB doesn't have the cylinders or hoses, but there are plenty of options out there from stock to fancy.)

JustDandee said:

And the right tool!

View attachment 622094

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i finally bought this tool in the late 90's , after 20 years of struggling to do drum brakes with a screwdriver and vise grips . The $20.00 tool is a game changer !

WestCoastDan said:

and a new set of hoses.

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For rear drum brakes?