I bought a set of rear brake drums, shoes and springs.

ANDYEHELER

MEMBER
2010 FORD FOCUS
2.0L
4 CYL
2WD
AUTOMATIC
80,000 MILES

I bought a set of rear brake drums, shoes, and springs. They are Brake Best and are for a 2010 Ford Focus SE. I'm having a hard time getting the springs to fit into the slots they go in. I got most of them, but one particular hole seems to be too far away for the spring to get into. It isn't a matter of stretching the spring, because the actual hook on the spring seems to be too narrow to go in, and widening it with a pliers just makes it slip out easily. I've linked two videos below. Also in the attached picture, you can see the new shoe is slightly wider where the spring hook has to get to. Thanks again.

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3 Replies

ASEMASTER6371

MECHANIC
52,797 POSTS

Good morning,

I attached picture of the drum brake system. Can you identify the spring that you cannot attach? There are 2 springs and I need to know which one.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-replace-rear-brake-shoes-and-drums

This video shows the job being done

https://youtu.be/1j7qDoi1LP0

Removal and Installation

Remove the parking brake control boot.
Release the boot clip.
Lift the boot upward and over the parking brake control handle.
NOTE: Make sure the rear brakes are cool to the touch.

Move the parking brake control to the fully released position.
Relieve the tension on the parking brake cable.
Loosen the adjustment nut.
Remove the brake drum. For additional information, refer to Brake Drum in this section.
Remove the hold-down clips and pins.
NOTE: Do not allow the wheel cylinder pistons to fall out of the wheel cylinder bore.

Disconnect the brake shoes from the wheel cylinder.
Using a suitable tool, hold the wheel cylinder pistons in place.
Release the shoes from the backing plate.
Disconnect the parking brake cable.
Push the lever inward.
Release the cable from the lever.
Remove the lower return spring.
Remove the upper return spring.
Remove the primary shoe from the strut and brake shoe adjuster.
Pull the shoe outward.
Disconnect the strut and adjuster.
Release the strut and adjuster.
NOTE: The strut support spring is under tension.

Remove the secondary shoe from the support.
Move the strut downward.
Disconnect the parking brake return spring.
Clean, check and apply silicone grease to the brake shoe contact points on the brake backing plate.
NOTE: Make sure that all mating surfaces are free of foreign material.

To install, reverse the removal procedure.
NOTE: The internal auto-adjuster must be set and the brake shoes centralized to the brake drum.

Adjust the brake shoes. For additional information, refer to Brake Shoe Adjustment in this section.
Adjust the parking brake cable. For additional information, refer to Section 206-05 . Check out the diagrams (Below). Please let us know if you need anything else to get the problem fixed.

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