i need your help with rear drum brake spring removal--------

[1RED-RYDER1]

unfortunately my 1983 vw cabriolet drum brakes are TOAST! i'm having difficulty removing the springs from the upper mechanism that separates the shoes! the large lower spring was relatively easy to remove. HOWEVER i'm at a loss as to what tools are needed, or even the proper procedure to disassemble the upper mechanism! pardon my intrusion into the diesel form.

thanx red

[air-cooled or diesel]

you should have shoes out of brake housing, put in vice and a brake tool works real good. if you dont have a brake tool, slip joint pliers can do the job, takes a couple of times to get back on though. needle nose pliers can work too, but the bigger pliers have more grip. when putting back together use new spring kit for drums.

[82vdub]

That upper spring assembly is sure a tough one to do, and undo. I've always done it sitting in the driveway and/or while it's still in the car. Probably have a couple scars on the knuckles by removing skin on the wheel lip of the vehicle too. I've always done the brakes with just needle nose, or vice grips, or a pair of pliers, something along those lines. There's probably a VW specific brake tool to make that job an easy one.

[air-cooled or diesel]

standard brake tool; has 1 side that does retaining clips the other side is set up to hold springs while you stretch then into place. i find adjustible (slip joint)pliers work much better than needle nose and a vice for the upper springs.
everything goes a certain way so take one side apart and have the other side exposed so you can see how your parts go back together
the bottom springs the big ones are the ones that give me fits getting them back together.

[1RED-RYDER1]

THANX FOR YOUR RESPONSES!

my 'cabby' is originally from colorado car, rust is minimal, judging from the 'accumulation' the drivers rear wheel cylinder had been leaking for some time. i got the emergency cable lose from the shoe/arm. the 'two shoe unit' suggests the top spring---the one passing thru the upper-bar---must be disassembled first, followed by the smaller spring. [i have some physical disabilities----three rotator cuff surgeries, and work-related injuries to both thumbs which limit my grip-strength.] i am trying to plot my reassembly strategy to make this a get-it-right-the-first-time repair. this is the reason i sought help, you guys have been-there and done-this before, and sounds like you have scars to prove your experience!

BTW i recently 'serviced' the brakes on our 97 honda crv, afterward i searched for tools that would have made an easier chore, of that nightmare.......
take a look at LISLE#45100, and 44800-------------these tools 'should' allow easier work with both my vw/cabby and honda springs. i am ordering both from amazon today. LISLE# 48400 is another neat tools for import brakes. all three were $40-ish plus shippinng on amazon.

again THANX red

[82vdub]

Proper tools, or tools that are different then a common screwdriver or pliers etc, can never be bad to add to your personal tool collection.

[air-cooled or diesel]

replace rear wheel cylinders.
a flange wrench is correct for brake lines 11mm is standard for most brake connections
you need to be careful of hold down bolts for wheel cylinder too. they rust in and strip easily. spray good and let soak in. power blaster works good most times. and have vice grips handy if 1 of these bolts strip. new bolts too especailly on a car this old, and in need of service.

[supersisu]

I just did this job on my 1980 Pickup, it was awful! I put the springs on the shoes, then stretched the shoes over the cylinder and bottom bracket. It worked okay. One problem was that the new spring retainer wasn't as deep as the old one so the posts that holds the shoes to the backing plate were not long enough to fit through the spring! Used the old retainers. My Ford drum brake multi-plier didn't do much good, as those spring went on posts rather than through holes in the shoes. The main misery was that I forgot to put the hand brake cable back on, I didn't want to take everything apart, so I brazed some nuts to a pliers and filed a slot to compress the spring. After a few hours and after I stopped crying, I realized that I should loosen the cable from the handbrake lever. Ta Da! After a week, the scabs on my hands are almost completely healed.

[Quantum-man]

I never replace any part that is functioning correctly, and without obvious wear. Saving money is mere coincidence.

The primary reason is that you cannot buy oem conponents that are as well made as the original or old stock was.
Many replacement parts create the need for annual, or biannual service, whilst the original part was 'over engineered' to help the part last beyond the initial 3 year warrantee etc.

With your spring removal difficulties, I make a tool from a strip of stiff sheet, say 5cm long, and bend one end to right angles at about 5mm from the end. Then make a hole in the other end to take some form of lever, eg a screwdriver.

Insert 'L' into spring near one end [sharpening end helps insertion] of the spring and tension the spring with the lever against the shoe. Spring end now free to be removed, [or inserted] .