Hey All,

Yesterday I was doing a break job on a rear drum. I got the whole assembly back together with a brand new cylinder and shoes, but then made the (perhaps?) mistake of trying to blead the line to that cylinder with the drum off. To my great surprise and dismay, when I had a friend start lightly pumping the brake-pedal one of the springs that hold the shoe "in" towards the backing-plate popped off and allowed that side's piston to travel all the way out of the body of the clyinder, spilling fluid all over.

I have to ask if this is normal for a brand new cylinder? I would have thought there would be some kind of interior lip that would stop the piston from travelling right out the end of the body!? Did I get a bum cylinder, ruin this one, or what? Should I ONLY blead break lines with drums back on?

I guided the piston back in, wiped everything off and reassmbled because I was doing this all on the street and needed to move it a hundred yards. I'm wondering if this is not a safe condition any longer however.

What do you folks think?