02 Sunfire rear drum brakes issue

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Eagleeye

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Hello everyone. I currently am in the process of changing out my rear drum brakes on my 2002 Sunfire 2.2L. I've bought all new hardware for them including shoes, springs, levers, drums, and adjusting pins. Intact the only thing not new is the wheel cylinders and backing plates. I've assembled the brakes completely exept getting the drums themselves back on. They just won't fit! I know that if everything is correct I should have little issue sliding them on and that the should freely turn with slight resistance. I have troubleshooted this for 3 days now. The E brake is fully released and the adjusting pins are fully screwed in as they should be. The new drums are the exact same as the old ones and the shoes look to be the same. The only thing left I can think of is that the shoes are not the same as they seem to be aprox. 4mm longer than the old ones. The pads on them and all parts that connect are identical though so I don't see how that could be the issue. Honestly I'm at a loss. Anyone know what could be the issue?
 
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you have the self adjuster set for it's shortest length?
 
melsg5 said:
you have the self adjuster set for it's shortest length?
Click to expand...

I sure do. Also as an update, I just replaced the wheel cylinders as well. They were leaking and one of the bleeders was seized up. In doing so I also had to replace that short back brake lines as the nuts on the line were stripped. So to recap, the only things that are NOT new are the E brake line and the backing plates. The E Brake as I said is not engaged at all there is plenty of room as far as I can tell. I attempted to reassemble the brakes again with the new wheel cylinders and I still have the same issue.
 
without seeing difficult to pinpoint, you have to compare each of the old parts with what is new, there has to be something that is significantly different to prevent you from being able to install the drums.
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Well, I'm looking into getting new backing plates now. The 6 little nubs that the shoes sit on are worn all the way down. Do you think this could be causing the shoes to shift enough to keep the drums from sliding on? Sadly no one carries the backing plates so I'm going to have to hit the junkyard and hope I can find good ones. The other option is to weld new nubs on and grind them down, but that is beyond my means. If it isn't the backing plates the only thing not replaced is the E brake line. I've checked all the parts and they are all the same.
 
Well, that site does infact have them, but $75 each is not an option for me lol. So, looks like the junk yard is my best option after all.
 
I went to the junkyard today to look for backing plates. I didn't end up getting any because when I looked at all they had, every single sunfire/cavalier had them looking the same. So either this is an issue with all sunfires/cavaliers, or this isn't actually an issue. I did assemble the brakes today without the ebrake attached and with some force the drums did go on. However, it was deffinetly more force than should have been needed and the drums do not turn.

I read somewhere that sometimes brake shoes are made with turned drums in mind meaning that the circumference of the drum would in fact be slightly larger. Since these are new drums the have not been turned. I have not been able to confirm if this is the case with my shoes though. Could this be the issue? I realize I'm going to have to adress the ebrake issue, but with it unattached I'm still having the issue of it being to tight, with everything replaced and I'm 100% sure I have them assembled correctly what else could possibly be wrong?
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only guess is you were given the wrong shoes. people all the time replace brake drums with new ones and there are no special shoes for turned drums, thats what the adjuster is for. Too late now but it's always best to do one side at a time. You are sure you assembled the adjuster correctly and it is fully retracted? You are sure the wheel cylinders are fully retracted and are the same as the originals?
 
Yes to the wheel cylinders and yes to the adjustors. I got the shoes from autozone, even had them replaced. I may got up to O'Reilys and get a set there to see if there is a difference.
 
having the same problem

Eagleeye said:
Hello everyone. I currently am in the process of changing out my rear drum brakes on my 2002 Sunfire 2.2L. I've bought all new hardware for them including shoes, springs, levers, drums, and adjusting pins. Intact the only thing not new is the wheel cylinders and backing plates. I've assembled the brakes completely exept getting the drums themselves back on. They just won't fit! I know that if everything is correct I should have little issue sliding them on and that the should freely turn with slight resistance. I have troubleshooted this for 3 days now. The E brake is fully released and the adjusting pins are fully screwed in as they should be. The new drums are the exact same as the old ones and the shoes look to be the same. The only thing left I can think of is that the shoes are not the same as they seem to be aprox. 4mm longer than the old ones. The pads on them and all parts that connect are identical though so I don't see how that could be the issue. Honestly I'm at a loss. Anyone know what could be the issue?
Click to expand...
Any fix suggestions a
Other than stop using auto zone?
 
Any help with your problem yet im having the same issues
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did you compare the old shoes with the new ones?
 
I know that (depending on type of drum set-up) there is a primary and secondary shoe. I believe the small one goes to the front and the longer larger one is on the rear side of the drum.
 
did you place the new shoes in the drum to see if their curvature matches the drum, if not the shoes have to be ground to match.
 
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