Okay, so I have installed new shoes, hardware, and cylinders on the rear of my 95 F-150. My question is this: When I hit the brakes with the drum off, the shoe closer to the front of the vehicle moves as it should, but seems to fail to return to its original position. Is that an issue with the drum installed? Also, I'm having a hell of a time getting the drum to fit back on, what should I do about that? I'm about 90% sure I've put the new brakes together correctly (no easy task, might I add). Any tips on the drums would be nice.

 

i just did the brakes on my 96 f-150 and i had the same problem getting the drums back on. i just moved the shoes with my hands untill the drums would fit over them and then used some muscle to put them the rest of the way on. i dont know if this is what your soposed to do but i had the shoes on right, and i figured it was becasue i was putting on new drums too that it was such a close fit.

 

Click the black Bronco in my signature & look thru the Brakes & Hubs album. There's a large group of pics & diagrams about drum brakes, so spend some time studying them & their captions.

No, that doesn't happen when the drum is on, and you have to retract the autoadjusters fully to get the drum back on. Once it's on, you can expand them thru the access holes in the bottom center of the backing plate.