Replacing drum brakes - any instructions?

Xact1

Hi,

I need to replace the drum brakes on my 92 Club Car.

I took a look at the shoes and they look pretty worn, especially the front sides. Also, 1 of the hubs was scored. SO, I just purchased new drum brakes and hubs from EC.

Does anyone have instructions on how to properly remove, replace, and adjust a drum brake setup on these older Club Cars? I want to do this right the first time!

Any help would be greatly appreciated! This is a great forum: lots to read

Xact1

BGW

__________________
This advertising will not be shown in this way to registered members.
Register your free account today and become a member on Buggies Gone Wild Golf Cart Forum

Extractor

Well, if no one chimes before I'll be doing mine this weekend and I'll tell you 4 or 5 things not to do! Got new springs also. Looks pretty straightforward but you know how that goes...

Xact1

Thanks, keeping me away from the things NOT TO DO is good

I have been doing a lot of reading about the brake system. From the looks of how my shoes are worn (fronts and especially bottom fronts worn excessively), it appears as though the previous owner adjusted the brake cable instead of the 7mm adjusting nut on each assembly. My understanding is that the cable adjustment is to be used to set the hill/park feature, correct?

gpetruska77

yes cable is for hill brake but if you have one tighter than the other the shoes will not get full contact on drum. i did it that way with 7mm adjuster and brakes would not lock up. you have to equilize them spin rotor till you hear pad rub with adjuster then back it off alittle. do same with other side then adjust cable to rub off a touch. (you have that dual pull cable to balance out). your done.( caution can get flat spots on tires when goin 30 and lock them up on pavement!!!)

shadowman

do 1 side at a time so if you get stuck you can look at the other side......................

Xact1

OK,

I used Andy4639's post about brakes (thank you very much for the pictures!).

My brake springs were inboard and not outboard like Andy's, but that appears to be the only difference.

I took apart one side at a time, cleaned everything with brake cleaner and greased (using white lithium grease as recommended by EC.com) where required, and installed the new shoes and hubs. Yes, the springs are a little tricky to do, but it wasn't bad at all, just took a little thinking and a little grunt work.

Adjustment was simple enough, and I now have great working brakes!

I have one more question:

After I step on the brake pedal and then let up, the pedal does not quite return to the end of it's stroke. It stops about 1 inch short. There is a very slight amount of play at the end of the threaded rod, that is used for adjusting the hill brake.

How do I properly adjust the return stroke for the brake pedal? OR, should I just leave it?

Thanks in advance for all of the help!

Xact1

Let me add that when I depress the brake pedal, let it up, and push the cart back and forth, I can hear and feel a VERY slight drag from the rear wheels. As soon as I pull up on the brake pedal, the sound goes away and everything smooths out.

I think that it's just a cable adjustment up front, but I would like some expert opinions!

oxfordlawn

have you tried spraying the brake pedal pivot point with some penetrating oil. Sounds like your pedal return spring(if its still there) is meeting some extra resistance. Is your pedal return spring there??

Xact1

oxfordlawn,

Yes, the brake pedal return spring is there. I just sprayed the entire pivoting area with WD-40. Holy cow! The pedal returns to full stroke!

I should have thought of this on my own.

oxfordlawn, consider yourself a genius!

Thanks to everyone for their advice, it is greatly appreciated.