Question On Drum Brake Shoes

[jj421]

So today I decided to replace the shoes on my rear drum brakes on my Loyale. I've been looking for rear discs for about a year, but not had any luck. Either I don't have the money, there are no junkyard cars, or a list of other reasons. I just spent the $20 and got new drum shoes.

 

Installation went fine (surprising). Wasn't too difficult, even for my first time doing drum brakes. What I have a question about is the old shoes.

 

One thing that caught my eye was the Fuji Heavy Industries logo on two of the shoes. Could these be the original brake shoes that came with car in 1990? The new shoes didn't have the Fuji logo (obviously). The odometer is at 278,300 miles. I doubt these are the original shoes. I'd imagine they've been replaced once before. If they were replaced at the dealership, could they have use Fuji brake shoes? I'm just curious about this. Knowing some of the car's history, I'd say it was probably a 60/40 highway/city driving car. So there's no way the shoes are original, right? They're really worn down, but they still worked. Lift the back of the car, step on the brake, and you can't turn the wheels.

 

 

Second thing I wanted to ask about is the wear. The leading edge shoe (towards the front of the car) had less material than the trailing edge. Is this normal for EA82s? Both sides were exactly the same, no marks on the drums themselves, and the material on the pads seems pretty normal (no cracks or whatever). I just wanted to ask about this. I kinda have a feeling it's normal, but wanted to check.

 

 

 

 

Thanks for any help. I know a lot of people do rear disc swaps, so not sure how abundant the information on drums is. But all I can say is, the new shoes made a HUGE difference. My brake pedal is a lot stiffer and doesn't have a deadzone in it anymore. I presume the front brakes won't overheat easily anymore. I'll be happy if I can get at least 100K out of these shoes.

 

Thanks!

Edited May 27, 2014 by jj421

[MR_Loyale]

Do you have the automatic or manual adjusters? I still got my old brake shoes if you want to compare.

Edited May 27, 2014 by MR_Loyale

[rrgrr]

I have only done shoes on one of my old subys @ ~190K -pretty sure they were original, and still had a fair amount of pad left. It was a hatch, so a bit lighter, maybe, a manual car and I am big on coasting - I try to use brakes sparingly. I actually would not be surprised if they were factory.

The uneven wear; I would guess you had a weak spring somewhere or uneven action somehow in that assembly. If both sides are like that, it's prob'ly just how they 'roll'.  HTH

Edited May 27, 2014 by rrgrr

[bendecker]

I've only replaced my drum shoes once and it was on an EA81 (183k miles). I'd bet the setup is very similar to yours.  If it's any help, mine were much thinner on the leading edge (towards the front of the car) than the following edge (towards the back). I was also surprised at how easy it was.

Edited May 27, 2014 by bendecker

[jj421]

I'm 95% sure they're automatic adjusters. I had to manually adjust them to fit the new pads, but once I got the drum on, I just hit the brakes a few times in reverse and the shoes seemed to fit in place. Here's a picture of the drums when before I replaced the shoes:

 

 

My wagon is a manual transmission, so it's very possible the two previous owners used engine braking more often. I know I do. I use the brakes sparingly as well.

 

Yeah, both the driver's side and passenger's side had the uneven wear. I suppose that's just normal on old Subaru drums, if bendecker had the same thing. I should've replaced the springs too, but I didn't think about it until I was already working on it.

 

When I had the drum off, I wanted to make sure I put everything back together right. So I set up my camera and stepped on the brake a couple times. Looking at the footage, the leading edge shoe extends further out. The wheel cylinder pushes the leading edge shoe more than the trailing edge. Could that mean a new wheel cylinder is needed? The old ones weren't leaking or anything. I guess it's not really a big deal; I should still get 100K out of these (hopefully 150K+), and the next time I service the rear brakes, I'll definitely try to get rear discs.

 

Also, something interesting to note. I think the driver side drum had been replaced from a junkyard unit at some point before I owned the car. I saw orange pen markings on the inside (once I used some brake clean on it); the same markings that Pick-N-Pull uses on items in case you want/need to return them. That drum has been replaced before, probably. I have those markings on the HVAC controls and the handbrake console is a slightly different shade of gray. So a previous owner must've been to the junkyard a few times.

 

I don't know; just interesting to learn about the history of my car. I still find it hard to believe these are the original brakes. I guess it's possible, but I have so many miles on my car that I just don't believe it.

Edited May 27, 2014 by jj421

[czny]

Yeah, those are the auto adjusting brakes.

 

I have the manual adjuster backing plates & hardware here you can have free just for the shipping(before I throw them out.) The wheel cylinders look good - no corrosion. Plus another pair of whl cylinders.

PM if interested.

Edited May 27, 2014 by czny

[jj421]

Thanks for the offer, but I'm fine with the auto adjustment. Don't really see a reason to swap it as it's working fine. Yeah, it might be causing the uneven wear, but I can still go a while before doing the rear brakes again. And when I do, I'll probably do a rear disc swap.

[czny]

Thanks for the offer, but I'm fine with the auto adjustment. Don't really see a reason to swap it as it's working fine. Yeah, it might be causing the uneven wear, but I can still go a while before doing the rear brakes again. And when I do, I'll probably do a rear disc swap.

You're welcome.

 

I tried the manual swap & the brakes were better. But not near as good as the rear disc swap!

[jj421]

Yeah, it seems like there is a small deadzone in the pedal, as that's just the way the auto adjusters make it I guess. But not nearly as much deadzone as there was before. My brake pedal used to go almost to the floor when the fronts locked up. Now, the fronts lock up when the pedal is just below the gas pedal.

 

When I have to service the rear brakes again, I'll really try for rear discs. It's just yeah, I've been looking for a year. I never see turbos in the junkyard, and when I do, I don't have the money for 'em. Or someone had pulled the rear discs already. And buying rear discs from someone else is hard to find, and they usually ask a much higher selling price than I can afford.

[czny]

 

"When I have to service the rear brakes again, I'll really try for rear discs. It's just yeah, I've been looking for a year. I never see turbos in the junkyard, and when I do, I don't have the money for 'em. Or someone had pulled the rear discs already. And buying rear discs from someone else is hard to find, and they usually ask a much higher selling price than I can afford."

 

LKQs prices at the salvage yards are going up again. Just wait and see. Ever since the old man (owner) passed away the corporate office has been seeking more ways to clean out their patrons wallets. Tax on admission. BS environ-"mental" fees. Ad nauseum.

End of rant.

[jj421]

Yeah, a lot of the stuff at the junkyard isn't cheap. I wanted to get rear discs last weekend since everything was 50% off, but row52.com lied. It said there was a turbo GL in the yard, but it was N/A. At regular junkyard prices, I can get a whole rear disc setup for $120-$150 I believe (if I pay for everything ). That's still a lot cheaper than buying a rear disc conversion kit from someone on here, as I see rear discs going for $200-$400 for everything. And for someone like me who works near minimum wage, that's a lot of money to spend on one part.

[KeoniHo'omo'a]

Aloha, Any information on purchasing a disc brake conversion for my 1988 Loyale GL would be appreciated. Also, being new to Subarus, the 88' GL Turbos came with rear disc brakes? If so, will they work as a conversion for my 88'? Much Mahalos for any info. Keoni