Honda Jazz, replace rear brake shoe, tyres, hydraulic cylinders, rotor, service

HOW DOES IT WORK?

Some vehicles are equipped with a brake system that is called a disc-drum set up. This refers to the style of brakes on the front and rear of the vehicle. Rear drum brakes have been the standard for many years in the automotive industry. Drum brakes generally cost less to produce than disc brake systems but are less efficient than their counterpart rear disc brakes. This is why there are featured on the rear of a vehicle only. Brake shoes are purchased in sets of four, two on each side. There can be two different brake shoes per side. A primary shoe has a little less friction material. This shoe goes toward the front of the vehicle, and the secondary shoe that has a bit more material that faces the rear of the vehicle. Some vehicles use brake shoes with the same amount of friction material in which case it doesn’t matter how they are installed.

On drum brakes the emergency brake job is done by the rear brake shoes. A mechanical activation system of the emergency brake uses the same principle of forcing the shoes outward against the drum helping to hold the car in place. Vehicles with rear disc brakes will use a smaller drum brake in the center of the rotor for the emergency brake.

WHAT GOES WRONG?

Under normal driving conditions friction between the shoe and drum will remove the brake material from the shoe. When the brake material wears beyond its limits the brake pedal will travel further downward than it should which gives the felling the brakes are not working as well. In general, if a vehicle’s parking brake doesn’t hold or the brake pedal travels to the end of its throw the rear brake shoes need to be checked for replacement. Brake fluid leaks can also be an issue as the wheel cylinder seals can leak coating the brakes shoes with brake fluid. Also, if the rear axle seal leaks it can coat the brake shoes with gear oil making the shoes grab and lock up. It seems strange that oil and brake fluid would make the brakes lock up because one would think it could allow the brakes to slip and slide making their action even less but this is not the case.

Rear drum brakes have a tendency to grab and lock-up even without the introduction of brake fluid or gear oil. This is due to over worn shoes contacting too much surface area inside the drum. Locking up can be due to the brake shoe being sprung which allows the very top and bottom of the shoe to contact the drum. The center of the shoe should be the only part that contacts the drum.

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?

When replacing your brake shoes and drums cost is always at the back of our minds, but this is really not the place to skimp on quality. New OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) shoes are made of better material and will outperform cheaper brakes over the long run. Another difference in shoes will be how the friction material is attached to the shoe frame or metal backing. There are generally two methods which are used; bonded (glued) or riveted. Smaller shoes tend to be bonded while larger shoes tend to be riveted. 

HOW LONG DO BRAKE SHOES LAST?

Brake shoes tend to last about twice as long as the front pads due to the car’s brake bias (front to rear ratio). You can expect the shoes and drum to last between 30,000 and 40,000 miles depending on driving habits and the design of the brake system.

SHOULD I ADJUST MY BRAKE SHOES?

Drum brakes incorporate an automatic adjusting mechanism but sometimes it may not work as intended and become frozen do to the extreme heat or water they car endure from normal usage. Some vehicles have a window or slot in the backing plate where you can access the adjuster to manually adjust the brakes. If no access slot is visible the wheel and drum must be removed to adjust the shoes.

How to Change the Rear Brake Shoes

General overview of how you change rear brake shoes:

1. Work on only one wheel at a time, so the other side can provide a guide to reassembly.
2. Break loose the lug nuts on the rear wheels.
3. Block the front wheels, then raise the rear of the car and support on jack stands.
4. Remove the rear wheels and the brake drum. If the drum won’t slide off easily, manually back off the brake adjuster.
5. Remove the rubber plug on the rear of the dust cover and use a screw driver to crank back the adjuster wheel.
6. Clean the brakes with aerosol brake cleaner.
7. Disconnect the parking brake cable.
8. Press and turn the shoe hold down springs and remove.
9. Unhook the lower spring between the brake shoes, and in many cases you can remove the shoes, adjuster and other mechanisms as a unit.
10. If not, remove the upper spring and adjuster and remove the shoes.
11. Swap any springs and hardware being reused onto new shoes.
12. Apply a small amount of high temperature grease to any metal on metal rub surfaces, and the adjuster.
13. Installation is the reverse of removal.

Tools you will need

Only basic tools are needed for this job, though we assume you have a floor jack (not your car’s spare tire jack) and jack stands.

• Floor jack and jack stands
• Lug wrench
• Aerosol brake cleaner
• Pliers
• Vice grips
• Flat-bladed screwdriver
• High temperature grease

Parts you may need

• Brake shoes
• Brake springs/hardware
• Brake fluid