This 2006 GMC Sierra 5.3, 4WD, came into the shop for its 100,000 mile maintenance. We replaced the spark plugs, wires and air cleaner element. We also added oil to the front and rear differentials.
Another service we performed was an all-around brake job. We replaced the front brake pads and the rear brake shoes. We also had the front rotors and rear drums resurfaced at a machine shop.
In this post, I will concentrate on the rear brake shoes. These have a single spring application. They are known to be a bit of a problem. Many techs and DIYers complain about this setup. I will show you a few things I have learned from doing them.
In the two pictures below, you will see the single spring. It looks something like a horseshoe and has a lot of pressure on it. They do make a special tool just for pulling this spring back and removing the brake shoes. I did not use the tool on this job. It is possible to do the job without the expense of the special tool. However, caution is advised, as the spring is very tight.
In the picture below, you will see one of the brake shoes. On this application, the whole apparatus is replaced. When you purchase the new brake shoes, it will come with the shoe and the parking brake lever attached. All of it comes off and is replaced, unlike on other applications where you simply remove a keeper and the parking brake lever remains on the vehicle.
Removing the cable from inside the spring going to the parking brake lever can be troublesome. In the picture below, you will see the new brake shoe (parking brake lever and spring conduit attached). The parking brake cable goes through the spring conduit and hooks to the parking brake lever. Again, this is the part that many people find very frustrating.
To make this much easier here is what I do: first, (on this model with extended cab), I look below the back of the extended cab on the frame. In that area is the connector for the front cable coming from the parking brake to the two rear cables each going to one side respectively. Below you will see the area and then a picture of the connector on the frame:
Once the connector is located, I detach one (or you can do both at the same time) of the rear cables. See the picture below:
I can actually detach it just using my hands, so it is not that hard to do. I believe the top cable goes to the right (passenger) side and the bottom one goes to the left (driver) side. Once the rear cable is detached from the connector, I now have slack on the other end (the brake shoe end) to move the cable in and out easier. See the picture below:
There is a tab on the end of the spring conduit that must be pressed down to allow the cable to slip out of the spring. Sometimes the cable will come out of its own accord once I detach the connector. Now the brake shoe (with parking brake lever) will slide right off the parking brake cable. See the pictures below:
To remove the shoes themselves (without the special tool) I simply use a large screwdriver, pliers and a pair of side-cutters. There is an adjusting spring to remove, along with the adjuster.
I always grease the contact points to make for a nice, smooth and quiet braking experience. I use caliper grease on the rear brakes and front as well. See the picture below:
I also make sure to clean up all hardware with a good quality brake cleaner.
Once the job is done, I always torque the lug nuts to specification.
I torqued all four wheels to spec and then test drove the vehicle. All was well. The brakes felt good and smooth and the parking brake worked smoothly as well. We shipped this one to the customer. Another one fixed.
