nother brake question - new hub won't turn

[Happy Face]

I've gone through the brake rebuild on the rear. The left rear seems fine, after the new hub is on, it turns freely. I still have to do the adjustment.

The problem is with the right rear. It was hard to get the new hub on and clear the new brake shoes. I even loosened the emergency brake cable. It seems that the brakes are engaged even though the system has been completely bled, no pressure in the lines (no fluid in the lines even). Yet, the right rear brakes seem to rub hard against the hub. Can't figure this one out. The other side seems identicle yet it moves freely.

??

[2002]

Look on the back of the brake plate. You will find two hex heads. Turn them with a 17 mm wrench until the drum turns more easily. If the adjusters are stuck you might need to apply some liquid wrench or some other rust remover.

[Happy Face]

Steve,

I've already checked that. The adjusters are not what is causing the shoes to rub. They move without any problems.

I'm stumped

[Guest Anonymous]

what are the castleated nuts supposed to be torqued to?

[2002]

Sometimes the emergency brake lever, the one riveted onto the rear shoe, gets stuck on the the W spring and won't let the brake release. If that is the case you can grind the end of the hook on the emergency brake lever so it doesn't interfere.

[BillWilliams]

has all of the torque specs

http://www.bmw2002faq.com/content/view/48/32/

289 - 340 lb ft .That is alot. Only the best torque wrenches go that high. Some of the math boys can give you a weight to place at the end of a certain length bar to obtain that torgue. I use a BIG IR air gun to spin those nuts and they are still on there. Lucky I guess.

[schuetz1619]

I assume that when you use the word "hub" you really mean "brake drum." I also assume that you are using new shoes that are straight and properly lined.

Getting a new drum on after a complete brake job can be hard, even if everything is working correctly. Start from the beginning and check systematically:

(1) Have someone press the brake pedal lightly as you watch the rear brake shoes. The wheel cylinders should push both shoes outward equally, and both shoes should relax evenly when the pedal is released. If this does not occur, you have a hydraulic problem: seized cylinder, blocked hydraulic line, or bad master cylinder. This must be corrected first.

(2) Once the hydraulics check out: Turn both the front and rear brake-adjustment cams on both wheels so that the shoes move as far as possible toward the center, giving you the smallest possible diameter for your brake-shoe-circle. Now try to install the drums. They may be a little hard to get on until you nudge the shoes into the proper position to make a perfect circle. If they go on, fully, without forcing, secure them with washers and lugnuts and press the brake pedal several times. Now try to remove the drums. if they come off easily, adjust your emergency-brake cables and then adjust your brake-adjustment cams and the job is done.

(3) If the drums still won't go on: Check to see whether the emergency brake is perhaps stuck. To do this, remove the drums and have someone pull and release the emergency brake while you check both sides to see that the rear shoe is in fact being moved outward when the E-brake handle is pulled. If the actuating lever and the rear shoes do not move freely and visibly, the cables are seized and need replacement. If the shoes move freely and visibly, greatly loosen the handbrake adjustment nuts at the rear of the handbrake and see whether the rear shoe relaxes and moves forward, decreasing the diameter of the brake-shoe-circle. If the drum still does not fit, you have some combination of variables, such as non-standard parts, that is working against you. The usual suspect here is out-of-round shoes or oversize brake linings.