How to Replace Rear Brake Shoes on a Ford Probe

Replacing the rear shoes in your Ford Probe requires skillful hand and finger strength and dexterity as well as a degree of patience. It's not as hard as some rear brake shoes replacements, but it's not as easy as replacing the front disc brakes on the Probe, either. Save yourself some money and replace the shoes yourself. Take both drums off, but leave one side together to refer to if you've never done this before. There are a lot of small springs and hardware and having a starting point to refer to will be helpful.

Instructions

Park the Ford Probe on a flat paved surface. Do not apply the parking brake, but place the Probe in gear and remove the keys from the ignition. Place a wheel chock in front of one of the front tires. Break the lug nuts loose on the rear tires using the breaker bar and a socket

Lift the left rear quarter of the Probe with the floor jack and place the jack stand under the left rear frame rail. Do the same for the right side to elevate the rear axle. Remove the lug nuts and wheels on both sides.

Remove the two drum retaining screws on the facing of the driver's side rear drum using the impact screwdriver set in reverse position and a Phillips head bit. Strike the top of the screwdriver with the hammer to break the screws free and then un-thread them from the drum. Remove the drum. If the drum is stuck to the hub, strike the face of it with the hammer to break it free.Do the same for the passenger side rear drum. Then return to the driver's side.

Locate the brake shoe adjuster just below the wheel cylinder and under the top shoe return spring. On the left hand side of the adjuster is a cam that positions the adjuster. Release the tension on the adjuster by pressing in on the cam with the screwdriver. The shoes will come in together a little. Use the needle nosed pliers or the set of dikes to remove both the upper and lower brake shoe return springs.

Remove the hold-down spring in the inboard (left) shoe by pressing on the clip with the finger of one hand and holding the head of the hold down pin on the backside of the backing plate with a finger on your other hand. Turn the clip so the notch in the clip mates with the tip of the pin. This is not easy to accomplish and you may have better luck manipulating the clip and pin with the needle nosed pliers than your finger. Remove the inboard shoe. Remove the brake shoe adjuster by sliding it out from the left.

Repeat this step on the outboard (right shoe). You do not have to remove the parking brake cable from the actuating lever for the outboard shoe, but you will need to remove the retaining clip that is holding the actuating lever to the shoe so you can remove the shoe. Spreading the clip with the screwdriver will work.

Spray the inside of the backing plate with brake clean and allow the backing plate to dry. Locate the six shoe contact points (three for each shoe) on the backing plate. They're near the outside edge of the backing plate and are oval shaped. These points are where the backing plate of the shoes sit against the backing plate. Clean these spots thoroughly with emery cloth or a light grade sand paper and apply a coat of silicone based lubricant to those points.

Install the new brake shoes and hardware starting with the outboard shoe. Reattach the shoe to the actuating lever by squeezing the clip with the needle nose pliers. Replace the hold down spring and pin to hold the outboard shoe in place and then install the lower return spring.

Clean and replace the brake shoe adjuster in the same position it was removed. It will sit there on the hub axle until the inboard shoe holds it into place. Attach the lower return spring to the inboard shoe and swing the shoe into place, manipulating the backing plate to secure the adjuster. Replace the hold down spring and hold down pin on the inboard shoe. Replace the upper retaining spring.

Place the drum on to see how loose it fits. You'll need to manipulate the cam of the adjuster with the screwdriver to get it so the drum fits snugly, however you may want to replace the passenger side shoes first and leave the driver's side drum off as visual aide and reference again if necessary.

When both sides are replaced, adjust the cam to get the drums to fit snug, replace the retaining screws and replace the wheels and lug nuts. Tighten the lug nuts snug to the hubs and lower the Probe. Re-tighten the lug nuts with the torque wrench set between 80 to 100 foot pounds and a socket. Remove the wheel chock.