thumping sound after replacing rear drums and shoes

[Colomblood]

I just did the rear drums on my 98 hatch, got new drums, shoes, and hardware kit, did the job, everything is where and how it should be far as I can tell, but when I brake, I hear a thumping sound, think it's coming from rear passenger side but not 100% sure, got the parts online at rockauto.com, I haven't found much info on this particular problem on here or anywhere else, I read that maybe one of the drums I bought is warped?? I don't know if I adjusted the E-brake too tight or if that would have any effect on the braking of the car, it's only the second time I've messed with drum brakes, I did my '04 Odyssey and had no issues afterwards, need some ideas on what it could be, thanks in advance for any help

 

[sleeper si]

did you lube the contact points on the shoes and backing plate?

 

[Colomblood]

yeah I lubed the contacts, put everything back the way it was, it's something stupid, I know it! LOL

 

[sleeper si]

yeah I lubed the contacts, put everything back the way it was, it's something stupid, I know it! LOL

I always sand the rust and crap off the six spots on the backing plate, then lube it with brake silicone lube, do the same on the shoes plus the ends that meets the piston and the bottom that meets the anchor.
You need for the shoes to retract back by the spring, so the lube and smooth surfaces make it easy for the shoes to retract, not doing so will bind and cause your brakes to be engaged or partially engaged making that thumping sound.

 

[Colomblood]

great answer, do you know from personal experience that lubricating everything will resolve this issue? by the way, someone mentioned to me that brake shoes are not identical, that 2 are smaller than the other 2, I never noticed but is it true? if it is, that could be my problem too?

 

[Trekk]

TBH I haven't done them on a civic of this year in forever. It depends on the type of drum system as to if the primary shoe is a different size then the secondary. If the drum has a rectangle anchor point at the bottom of the drum, normally from the ones I've seen the shoes are the same.

When I adjust shoes I spin the tire and adjust till it has a slight drag, slows and stops. If its just spinning away its too loose.

It not uncommon to get a new rotor or drum that is warped when you go aftermarket. It happens to me once in a blue moon when I have to get Napa parts. I've turned rotors right out of the box that weren't even close to strait. If you think it could be a warped drum, just swap sides and see if the sound moves. The only other real ways to tell would be to turn it (cut it) or put a dial gauge on it ($$$ for a good one)

 

[Colomblood]

well I opened up the rears, greased up all the contacts and shoe ends, didn't really see anything that was off, only thing I noticed was the passenger side drum was harder to get off, driver side came right off, also when I went to adjust the e-brake, passenger side seemed to be the only drum that would drag eventually, the driver side just keeps spinning, but this is turning into a nightmare, I just took it for a spin, and I still hear the thumping sound although slightly louder, like it's coming from both sides, and my brake pedal seems to travel even farther to stop the car, air may have gotten in I'm thinking cuz I had a harder time taking apart and reassembling the drums and springs this time, and the piston or cylinder that expands at the top(don't know the technical name) popped out on both sides of the car and a little brake fluid leaked out! I never dealt with having air in my brake system before, it's just hard to believe that air could have gotten in after spilling a few drops of fluid, in any case, its gone from bad to worse! I'm getting frustrated but I really don't want to tuck my tail in between my legs and pay a mechanic to solve this for me, FML

 

[sleeper si]

when those pistons popped out of the wheel cylinders you induced air no matter what.
you will need to bleed them cylinders now, usually if rusted will break off, so some pb blaster and heat it up with a torch and out she will come easy.

 

[Colomblood]

damn, I was afraid of that, question about using penetrating oil and a torch, isn't it dangerous using a torch on a surface with a flammable liquid on it?? how exactly do I go about following your suggestion, step by step? thanks a lot for the help

 

[Trekk]

You probably should of just replaced the wheel cylinders anyways (age). Worse case the bleeder breaks off, the wheel cylinders should be pretty cheap, like $10 or less a pop.

You wont really have any type of fire issue unless you are shooting Rust pen. on the bleeder while you have the torch on it lol That stuff is made to soak into the metal. So unless you go spray happy, you should only have a little spot of rust penetrant and its drip.

If you are doing this alone, look up "gravity bleeding".

 

[sleeper si]

You probably should of just replaced the wheel cylinders anyways (age). Worse case the bleeder breaks off, the wheel cylinders should be pretty cheap, like $10 or less a pop.

You wont really have any type of fire issue unless you are shooting Rust pen. on the bleeder while you have the torch on it lol That stuff is made to soak into the metal. So unless you go spray happy, you should only have a little spot of rust penetrant and its drip.

If you are doing this alone, look up "gravity bleeding".

well replacing the wheel cylinders sounds easy if the hardline fitting doesn't get rounded not using a 5 sided wrench or the line gets twisted or even breaks on you. then repairing the line will be another encounter for you, most peeps say to replace the whole line but you can get away with these black metal fittings that butts the new line to the old line.
wow haven't seen anyone recommend gravity bleeding, been doing this all my life while others say to buy a power bleeder or have someone pump the brake pedal. Open the line and let it drip

 

[Trekk]

Most people probably don't know what it is. I have a power bleeder. vac bleeder ect. Hower if you don't have those tools or a helper (that understands what to do) gravity bleeding is a great option. Something like wheel cylinders you can do in a few moments time. If you were to fully flush a system via a gravity bleed that could take a few hours.

 

[sleeper si]

Most people probably don't know what it is. I have a power bleeder. vac bleeder ect. Hower if you don't have those tools or a helper (that understands what to do) gravity bleeding is a great option. Something like wheel cylinders you can do in a few moments time. If you were to fully flush a system via a gravity bleed that could take a few hours.

just remember to keep an eye on the reservoir to ensure it is full all the time. you don't want it to go empty

 

[Colomblood]

good info guys, I'm gonna try to see if I can loosen the bleeder valves, as long as they're not seized, I should be good doing bleeding on my own, I've watched several videos about how to do it and feel I got the Jist of it, thanks for your help!

 

[sleeper si]

good info guys, I'm gonna try to see if I can loosen the bleeder valves, as long as they're not seized, I should be good doing bleeding on my own, I've watched several videos about how to do it and feel I got the Jist of it, thanks for your help!

if the line breaks you can use these black compression fittings that are DOT and legal as compared to the brass fittings. see picture

 

[Colomblood]

UPDATE: so I had someone with more experience help me with the bleeding, it's done and now the car brakes fine, and the thumping sound ended up being one of the springs was on backwards, so it was making contact with the star wheel adjuster, now the only issue is at high speeds when I brake, I feel pulsing, it wasn't doing it before I changed the drum brakes, do drum brakes have this issue normally as well? I thought it only happened with disc brakes due to warped rotors or bad pads?

 

[sleeper si]

pulsing leads me to think either your shoes have oil on them or the drums are not true.

 

[Colomblood]

I thought of the drums being defective also, they're bendix, I figured it was a good brand, bought 'em online, maybe I'll look into buying a different set and see if it changes anything, and just out of curiousity, if I open the wheels up again, check the shoes and find any type of oil or grease on them, is there any special way of cleaning it off?

 

[Trekk]

Brake cleaner. I normally just hit the shoes with a p80 sandpaper. You should always clean new rotors or drums with brake cleaner before you install them if you didn't.

 

[sleeper si]

I thought of the drums being defective also, they're bendix, I figured it was a good brand, bought 'em online, maybe I'll look into buying a different set and see if it changes anything, and just out of curiousity, if I open the wheels up again, check the shoes and find any type of oil or grease on them, is there any special way of cleaning it off?

have the drums turned on a brake lathe. brake cleaner works.