Rear Brake Drum Stuck, 1990 Mitsubishi Mirage Options

[Dave Davis]

I am changing my rear brake shoes. I have successfully done the left side, but the right side's brake drum won't come off. I have hit it many times with a rubber mallet, but all I have is just a little play. It seems like the shoes are inside a 'lip' of the inside brake drum or something like that.

Although I have a 1990 Mitsubishi Mirage, my rear brakes (and drum) are not like the one illustrated in fig. 73 on p. 9-16 of the online manual. My brake drum does not have the two bolt holes for taking off the drum. My rear brakes are more like the 1988 and earlier Mirage models shown on pp. 9-12 to 9-15 in the Haynes manual. There seems to be no way to access the shoes or adjust them in so that they can clear the drum. (My parking brake is off. The outer wheel bearing and wheel bearing nut are off, but not the inside wheel bearing).

The only thing I can think of to get the drum off is to try to cut the head(s) of the shoe hold down spring pin(s) on the back of the backing plate. That might loosen the shoes enough to get them to move and get the drum off. What do you think?

Dave Davis

[KiT TeUnG 2549]

Wish i had a better solution , but seems like a good idea to meeh. Its rough to try and pry between the backing plate and the drum. the backing plate usually juss bends. And sumtimes yu can be successful. But its a very rough call. Yu can always get a brake hardware kit for the drums. Id say go for it. It will allow enough movement. Wut also hinders the process is the corrosion between the spindle and where the drum seats on it causing a hard time to release.

Goodluck

[Dave Davis]

A friend yesterday said there should be an opening for a screwdriver behind the backing plate. But he was thinking about his Ford pickup, not my Mirage. I took a look under the brake drum and behind the backing plate just now and I see two hex bolts on top, and the heads of the hold down spring pins in the middle area. I could just get a chisel and try to cut off the heads. I suppose I can pick up replacement pins somewhere.

[KiT TeUnG 2549]

Yeah yu should be able to get them sumwhere. Lots of places have a rear drum brake hardware kit for that car as they fit many models.

[DennisW]

Try slackening the handbrake cable (it will probably have to be readjusted with the new shoes anyway). What can happen is the inner part of the drum develops a lip where the shoe has not really been in contact and this lip has to be dragged over the edge of the shoe, and the handbrake mechanism left where it is will fight this. Also might have to open the bleeder here too, but try just the cable slackening first.

[KiT TeUnG 2549]

Loosening the hand brake cable wunt do anything. There is a self adjuster in there that has adjusted itself a bit out and keeping the shoes where they are. Loosening it will nto allow the shoes to go more in then wut they are already are. The auto adjuster will hold it at its position. With the hand brake not applied its not holding any sort of bind on the shoes.

[DennisW]

I am aware of the self-adjusters -- unless there is something wrong there it is relatively easy to move the shoes back against those. What you will never do is move it against the handbrake mech if there is that lip there; not without breaking the linings off the shoes or breaking a retainer, anyway. Slacken the cable, give some mallet hits front and back of the drum, and watch it get free.

[KiT TeUnG 2549]

That still makes no sence . The self adjusters work themselves out as the brake shoes wear. They adjust outward. Lots of these models in that year did not had a capped plug to adjust the self adjuster. If there was he would have juss adjusted the self adjuster in and pulled the drum off.

More soo , the hand brake onlee applies to the primary brake shoe. NOT both. When the hand brake is engaged it onlee pulls out the primary bake shoe to lock on the inside the drum , while the secondary stays dormant. Loosening the adustment on the handbrake cable seemingly is a dead in by all logic.

Now lets say in sum extreme case , that the wearing of the brake shoes during the years cautioned sumone to adjust the hand brake cable tighter to make it more effective , since the shoes are extremely worn. Fine , but the thing is that the self adjuster would have also extremely auto adjusted all the way out. So yur still stuck with the same issue. The hand brake is not the issue at all. This is an extreme case which i dun beleive happened either.

[DennisW]

Yes, I didn't realize these had a ratchet type of self adjuster -- I thought those went out with hula hoops. I was thinking of a simple friction type, which both self-sets and self adjusts afterward, and will allow shoes to move inward where nothing else is holding them out (i.e., w/c pistons or handbrake mechanism). Good luck with this. Maybe some way in to the star wheel with a length of wire or something ?

[chain rattle]

would applying heat to the outer drum be of any use?

this is a real problem
how do brake shops usually deal with this ?

could the brake cylinder inside be ceased

[KiT TeUnG 2549]

large 3 jaw drum and cylinder puller , 2 arm adjustable cylinder remover. Lots of things this guys alreeady tried too