How to replace drum brakes, wheel cylinders and front pads GM

[@bowtieman55]

For 20 of my 34 years, I've been into cars and trucks and have owned quite a few. I mechanically inclined and have done many (large) repairs/upgrades, but drum brakes have ALWAYS been mysterious. Your video took all the fear away and now I have brand new brakes on the rear of my '97 Yukon.

[@butchp1384]

Excellent video. Only one I've seen with the exact same rear brakes as my '95 Chevy Suburban K1500 4x4. Chilton's is crap - photos are so dark you can't even tell what you're looking at, and I hadn't done rear brakes in almost 40 years, so this video was a real help.

[@darthvadar2757]

The most complete informative brake video there is out there. GMC 1 tons brakes are the most difficult I have come across. This video is a complete how to do them right.

[@clarkbi78]

I am no mechanic but when I inherited a 1976 Chevy I needed to replace the wheel cylinders and brakes in the rear end. Watching this video a couple times and taking multiple pictures made it pretty easy. It took me an entire day to do both brakes. Passenger side was done without those brake pliers and the drivers side was dkne with the pliers which made life easier until I had tocut the bolts from the wheel cylinder but better than the brake lines. Thanks again for a great tutorial.

[@johnlreim]

i put this on my phone and follow it while overhauling my brakes. It worked perfectly...Many thanks for the detail.

[@patrickyork10py]

I recently bought a 1987 GMC SIERRA and on my way home the rear right tire was locking up at almost every braking. Im guessing a spring broke our something went wrong with the adjuster. My dad's friend who I bought the truck from mentioned he came into stopped traffic instantly and had to slam the brakes hard and that happened ever since. I would have to say this outs the best detailed video I've found ro replace the rear brakes and to replace em! Thank you so much for the video! The springs were the most stressful part about the thought of tackling the job myself! This definitely markes things seem way easier! Thank you very much!!!!!

[@iangeerts7475]

Thanks for sharing! Greetings from Holland, where some of us love the American way of drive..

[@curlyyoder]

What an awesome informative video! Fought these damn drum brakes countless times but not often enuf to remember what I did the last time! Your film and explanation is detailed, clear and sharp! You make it look so easy! Thanks to your video, only had a one swearing session! Thank you so much!

[@TheWwong]

Great attention to detail. A little anti-seize applied to the threads of the bleeder screw could save alot of grief later. Thanks for posting.

[@ericschmiege9384]

Great Video!! I had never done drum brakes before and I learned a lot. Thank You!!

[@DerAngriff]

This clip is well done. Quality work. I like that you're showing it done with the specialty tools but also how to do it if you don't have those tools.

[@Dizioblue69]

Thanks for the tutorial and tips! I really enjoy your technique. I have to help someone today on his 1992 1500 Chevy suburban rear brakes and don't really care for drum ones but this video gives me confidence on taking on the task. You helped me out on your tutorial you made for a 1995 Volvo 850 turbo where a you replaced a head gasket. Still running good!

[@donnie4u2nv]

Very good video we were successful on a rear brake job on my son's 79 blazer. Yay!

[@ANDREASRIAL]

this is a very good video, thanks for uploading it, the "mechanics" out there are going to be mad now.

[@Denfala]

Good video man I was looking for info on a 98 k1500 wt with 10" rear drums The springs are giving me fits and found your video informative and watched the entire thing Even though I have done the 11's a bunch of times and 100 of pads just taught me some new ways of doing some things ,Good Job.

[@Effay513]

As always Will, I love your work and your videos are my primetime shows!! (I don't watch much t.v.) I feel like I'm sitting in the garage with you. Good stuff, Brother. Keep up the good work.

[@ChrisGitchell]

Great video, your explanations were very thorough and precise, well done.

[@emtscythe3782]

Nice job will, I enjoy your videos. I use anti-seize all the time religiously on bearings, bolts, studs, etc. I have found over the years that anti-seize on auto adjusters and caliper pins tends to harden and cause gumming. The adjuster tends to get mucked up with brake dust. I have started using silicone paste and it seems to work out great. Keep up the good work.

[@germall69]

Excellent video, so clear and precise! Thank You!

[@monodeloro]

Just replaced both leaky rear cylinders, following this vid. Thanks a lot. Now, to save for a disc brake kit...

[@briangray7614]

Great tutorial with good camera work !! Thanks for sharing.

[@robinsonsauto]

Thank you for the positive feedback! It’s appreciated

[@Humbllllle]

thank you so much i have a 1970 chevy c10 and i took it apart and didn't know how to put it back together even with pics ane this video helped so much! thank you

[@AGWBS]

Very helpful. You noted every detail and the tips were great! Just rebuilt/restored the drums on my '69 Camaro and had your vid going while doing the job.

[@billrobinson3508]

Thanks Robinson Auto for a great installation video. Helped with my 1957 chev 1/2 rear shoe install. 👍 Bill Robinson Regina, Saskatchewan Canada

[@RRVideosAndSound]

For people who dont do this often, its good to snap a pic with a smart phone before you take everything apart, too.

[@funforall9741]

This is good advice make it a habit in general if you are rusty or is your first time to snap a pic

[@NE-Explorer]

@@LMBee00 it's easy to confuse left and right side when figuring out how the right should be connected when looking at the left but as long as you have pics after taking each part off you are good. There was at least 3 different sets of breaks which could go on a Silverado around this and you need to have the code from the glove department to get it right.

[@robinsonsauto]

Thank you man i appreciate that, im not much of a tv person either, awesome that's the feeling im after, bring you along real time real world, thank you for the feedback

[@kross_1743]

I worked on drum brakes and they are a pain in the ass! disc brakes are so much easier!

[@nateb-runs5053]

very well in depth and straight to the point thanks buddy. just got willed over my g pas 1964 gmc stepside.. this helped me alot

[@RX7GSLSEowner]

Sorry to hear about the Taurus videos Will, I would have liked to see them. Indeed though, don't let it get ya down. Great job with this video! If you make one about the self adjusting mechanism I'd like to see it. Everything clicked for me a while back once I learned that most work via the parking brake when in reverse but not all are this way so you first need to understand how yours work. Also it might be worth mentioning why the front shoe is shorter. You can explain it better than I could!

[@audiefied]

Hey Will great job on them brakes. I find on most drum set ups that the adjusters only work with reverse braking and most people never drive and stop hard enough in reverse to actually make them adjust properly. After time the rear brakes end up not doing much if anything at all. For final setting of the brakes I do some repeated reverse stops and you feel pedal pressure and braking improve. I also do this on occasion to keep them adjusted properly. Keep up the great vids

[@heymiggy]

Very nice video. Detailed and you can actually see what yr doing. Keep up the good work!!!!

[@MattLsBr]

Awesome video I did my first drum and shoe brakes thanks to you thank you so much 👍🏾👍🏾

[@HomerSimpson-nu4qg]

A really great video. My only added comment would be.......if you are replacing the wheel cylinders as part of your project, work on loosening the wheel cylinder up prior to removing all the brake hardware. Reason is....if you strip the head of one of those two 1/2 inch mounting bolts (which I have experienced several times), and you are doing this in your home garage, you will likely need to take the truck into a shop to get that seized/stripped bolt removed (depending on the truck, there could be not much room in there to work on that seized/stripped bolt...2500 springs make things pretty tight.....you may not have a torch, or a welder to put a nut on that stripped bolt head). As such, easier to do if you haven't yet pulled off all the brake shoe hardware. Same thought if that brake line is seized into the 3/4 fitting (the one that goes into the wheel cylinder). Some trucks do not have the room to pull the wheel cylinder towards you (pulling the brake line through the backing plate) and spinning off the wheel cylinder as ROBINSONAUTO has suggested....which by the way is absolutely the correct thing to do if you have the space. If it is seized in the fitting, and you are not willing to replace the brake line yourself, you will want this done in a shop. So.....get that wheel cylinder freed up before you pull off all the shoe hardware.

[@nycityman18]

good job on those brakes you make it look so easy ,I have a 98 durango and the brakes stick sometimes on the left rear, after i depress the brakes still feels like there holding a little ...then i get that burned brake smell ...no leak on cylinder

[@annettegifford7825]

You are a God send! Thank you to the moon and back!

[@shanelovley4776]

Your videos are awesome! Very thorough thank you for helping me with my project

[@andrewwolfe4764]

I would like to thank you for this very descriptive video. I put it together fine thank you.

[@alive.off-grid]

Amazing video thank you very much. Really help me out I'm at a lost on rear brakes.

[@reddog9401]

hey rob,awesome job.your a awesome person and a great mechanic

[@johntracey523]

Great video specially the time you took for rear brakes. Since they don't wear fast. As weekend mech I don't get to work on them often. Found that today snapping a photo or two with Dig camera is way to go. "Gravity bleed".., never heard of that, good tip. Self adjusting brakes. Never quite understood them. You helped some but tell me do they adjust for normal braking or emergency braking? AND most important How do they not over-adjust. How do they stop adjusting themselves?

[@SteveRobReviews]

Well done, after rechecking my 2002 2500hd frt suspension your way in an unloaded position I did notice my pitman arm needs replacing. The nut is directly over a cross member and cant get the pitman arm puller in there , no space at all. I can use a large wrench to take the nut off. Is there a way of doing this without removing the box completely ?

[@hankwulk3342]

Great review on drum brakes. I personaly dont like doing shoe replacment on vehicles. But you made it look easy lol.

[@robinsonsauto]

Free replacement no charge done deal, just labor never had an issue

[@spelunkerd]

Nice review, Will! This is identical to my 2000 suburban. From the angle of the camera, the left front shock seems to be leaking oil. I have trouble visualizing how that automatic adjuster works to move the brake shoes outward as they wear. A year ago I found some animations, but they don't seem detailed enough to show the whole process.

[@artistknownaslisa2850]

Best vid I could find for this. Thank you.

[@thomasnicholson1795]

Hey man great video i have a 1995 Chevy Z71 off road I'm having to replace the wheel cylinder on so while I'm in there I'm going to rebuild both sides and replace the shoes and spring this video has helped me a lot thanks again.

[@robinsonsauto]

Thanks for watching

[@robinsonsauto]

Will do, i started putting one together, need to redo due to poor lighting, if all goes well i will shoot for this weekend

[@ericrigoroso4445]

Eric, you are the man! thank you and job well done........

[@wsmith2009]

just wondering do you have a video of doing the park brakes and how to set the rear brakes on a 96 GMC Sierra SLE 1500 Z71 thanks

[@robinsonsauto]

Sorry this one i didn't catch, time was tight however i do service these 4L60 and 4L80's often, i been contemplation doing a complete rebuild series on a 4L60e for you guys i have one coming in, in the near future, if time allows check in for that one, its a common trans that i feel would benefit many

[@jamesmorgan1601]

Thank you so much for this video!!! It is an absolute life saver!!!

[@samd410]

As usual, Excellent video

[@eddiemaxwell7593]

Thank you so much maybe i can get these breaks back together now lol

[@robinsonsauto]

Thank you, believe it or not by the book they want you to remove the steering gear box, not to bad of a job however snap on makes a low profile puller that works well for Gm ( snap on YA6880 ) may be other brands out there hope that helps

[@robinsonsauto]

Thank you sir. very good questions, i would like to make a video response for you guys covering the self adjusters, hands on i feel it would be easier to understand and more helpful that way, thank you for the interest, will do my best

[@MrMunchiemo]

Nice video!! Thanks for taking the time to make videos.

[@dlafrontis6224]

Good job very good instructions.

[@robinsonsauto]

The problem with that is The throw is very little on the automatic adjusters... adjust by hand then let the automatic adjusters take over and maintain it, that way you have no worries of one side or the other being out causing a come back, set it and forget it, move on to the next job, i find it faster time is money

[@BlazerGuy1983]

hey where you located if you don't mind me asking? I live near Pittsburgh. Just curious. thanks. Great Vids!

[@victorleonard7087]

Are those the 11" shoes? Also, i just bought a set of Dorman "Quick Bleeder " screws with built-in check valves. Have you used those yet?

[@codyw5455]

Hey Will, I have a 1997 ford F-150 with a 4.2 V6 5 speed manual. It has a manual transfer case and will go into neutral and into 4 lo only. My votech teacher told me something about a vacuum switch and was wondering if you had an idea of whats wrong.

[@fordwindsor351]

A question I have when I hear you say something relating to the front pads as being a lifetime warranty, I worked for AutoZone for a fewyears and the lifetime deal was in case they failed as in falling apart or some other bad issue, the warranty did not cover a free set of pads just from normal use which is what happens to them.

[@robinsonsauto]

Thank you for the feedback, anytime, :) hows that saying go "don't hate the player hate the game" lol its all good

[@screwsnutsandbolts]

Great videos 👍🏻

[@jeffminton6454]

Well done. Thanks!

[@n.d.8473]

Great reference. However... I could not get any break fluid to get into the cylinder...its coming through the line at the insertion point but nothing through the bleeder. I pumped the pedal a bunch but no luck.Does that mean the cylinder is not good(new)? What am I missing?

[@Bossrich6287]

Good video,i just bought a 94 corsica for a work car,only 400 dollars.

[@Lalofelix73]

Glad I saw your video had drum breaks installed wrong. I had long side of pad facing the front

[@johntamulonis4626]

very clear, great job, thank you for sharing.

[@marcodevries4481]

Great video. Very helpful

[@robinsonsauto]

Thank you, good catch its on the list, i will try and put something together for you, i have a pretty good understanding see what i can come up with, thanks again

[@kfallstidi]

Your a life saver....ty!

[@DonnieDunlap2000]

hey Rob Can u do a Tour of ur Tool box and tools?

[@AntoineFinch]

what is the name of the grease you used on the front rotors again?

[@robinsonsauto]

Thank you sir, i appreciate the feedback, will do

[@Downsouthonthewest]

Are the drums left and right identical? Like can I switch them..

[@genewileyopa]

Thank you for the video. Very helpful.

[@robinsonsauto]

Thank you sir. very good tip thank you for sharing, i appreciate the feed back

[@RZGOBLIN]

Good job Will

[@JRobert111111]

There is an inexpensive tool to compress the caliper piston back in which you just turn the handle and it pushes on the old pad. Also, you should never (old or new car) push that old contaminated fluid back up backwards through the ABS system and the master cylinder seals. The old fluid should exit through the bleeder screw into a pan, which also makes pushing the piston back in easier and preventing premature failure of the ABS system and master cylinder.

[@robinsonsauto]

Thank you i appreciate the compliment, great tip

[@darrenbeckett5479]

Excellent video

[@EstablishedLowriders]

Amazing video, thank you so much🙏🙏

[@robinsonsauto]

Thank you 😊 glad you enjoyed it

[@YouTubebingewatcher]

I've noticed that people working on the brakes dont seem to worry about the asbestos. has there been some improvement on this?

[@LirokuToragi]

+Sarah Rivera You should always worry about this, that's why you use brake cleaner. It wets it down so it doesn't go airborn. You can also use distilled water and pour over everything to dump off the excess dust. Never use an air compressor to clean these things. It wouldn't be a bad idea to wear a mask.

[@nevamind3334]

Thank you, very detailed and helpful.

[@jackmeoff2396]

Very well done video

[@OldCrowsClassicCars]

Helpful video!

[@15205golfer]

are you in pittsburgh?

[@epiphaknee]

I've never had an issue with Autozone either. In fact I even heard an AZ employee recommend to a customer with bad rotors (who could not afford rotors & pads) to just replace the rotors when she had the money and then warranty the pads at the same time. Go figure...

[@robinsonsauto]

Not at this time sorry, will put up when one comes in thanks

[@MartellLeVellSweetCreations313]

Hi I Have A 1999 Chevrolet Suburban And Is the Wheel Cylinder The Only Other Thing That leak brake fluid My mechanic trying To Tell Me I need to replace the backing plate and Wheel Cylinder please let me Kno

[@hollieblackmon3958]

MARTELL LEVELL Sweet creations LLC I

[@bughead7290]

i replaced rear shoes and drums on my 95 astro van now the thing shudders like hell when driving it any suggestions.I did not replace the springs the guy that did it put the shoes on back wards and i drove it that way for about 600 miles also i noticed that he ground down that emergency brake cross bar to make it fit because he had no idea the shoes were backwards do you think that my be the culprit?

[@TheCaperfish]

missed an important step , its imperative to remove the rubbers sleeves for the front caliper pins and use a bore brush to remove the rust in the bores , then smear (silicone) brake lube on back side of rubbers and put them back in , this will prevent rust from building up in there and swelling the rubbers from the back side pinching the slide pins , that is the main cause of slide pins not moving freely and seizing up. I use a small screwdriver to ream around rubber sleeves and a pair of needle nose plyers and pull at same time to remove them, they come out easy once ya get the hang of it.

[@Denfala]

Do you have a video for the 10" drums Thats what I have on a K1500 v6 work truck The springs are a pain!

[@GhettoWagon]

Those are Easier to do. Two hold down springs, One top return spring and the little spring on the bottom. I will be doing mine soon. Ill have a video

[@Denfala]

ghtowagon Thanks for responding so fast.

[@PAMAROSHOUSE]

great video boss

[@samd410]

excellent video

[@Lazydomsgarage]

I did the wheel cylinders on a 98 z71 and when I went to bleed the brakes no fluid came out after I added fluid to the master and when I pump the brakes it acts solid could this be a pinched line or a plugged line

[@robinsonsauto]

Thank you sir. comes with time

[@emberharper480]

very helpful! thank you much!!