I had the pleasure this week of replacing the emergency brake shoes in my

87 245 wagon. This was not because the linings wore out, but because the old rivets rusted out and the shoe separated from the lining. When this happened the whole thing made quite a racket, with the old lining rattling around inside the rear drum. At first, I thought the rear axle had gone, but a little fiddling and listening led me to the rear parking brake shoes.

I got things apart pretty easily. The caliper came off without a hitch, and the disc/drum separated from the axle with a little help from WD 40 and a mallet. I bought some new pads, ($35) for the set, and was able to get the new shoes installed without too much difficulty. The springs were a little tough to install and it took me several tries to get the spring hooks in their holes. Once that was done, I tried to get the disc/drum back on the axle. That's where I got stuck. I tried soaping the new shoes, wetting them, spraying them with soapy water, banging on the drum with a mallet, begging the rust gods for assistance...you name it. But for the life of me,

I can't get the drum to fit over the new shoes. Anybody done this before?

One thing I have not done yet is to completely back off the cable adjustment nut, but that's because the cable's pretty loose already.

At any rate, I figure that's something simple I can try this weekend.

Are there any secrets to this job? Anybody experienced similar problems?

Tips for getting the drum over the new shoes? All thoughts welcome.

Jack