When the brakes on my 2005 Ford Ranger started making that tell tale growl I decided I needed to do it myself this time despite the fact that it’s probably been at least 10 years since I did a brake job. Happily it was like riding a bicycle.  This repair is very similar to every other set of drum brakes that I’ve ever done, but your mileage may vary.

A shop might charge $2-300 or even more for this repair but the truth is that if you’re fairly mechanically inclined this isn’t an excessively difficult  job, and you can do it yourself with about $60 worth of brake shoes, and you won’t need any “special” tools.  Chances are that if you do any automotive work at all you already have most or all of the tools that you will need for this job:

• Jack and jack stands or equivalent
• Cross Wrench to remove the lug nuts
• Hammer
• Pry bar
• Medium / large slot screwdriver
• Small / medium “Vise Grip” type locking pliers
• Locking needle nose pliers
• Digital Camera

Expect to take from 30 minutes to 1 hour for each side unless you are already proficient – in which case you probably don’t need this guide.  If you get in a hurry and don’t read the directions – or if you run into problems like frozen or broken parts it could take quite a bit longer.  Clear your calendar for a few hours just in case. Try to have another vehicle available in case you need to make a parts run.

Brakes aren’t something that you want to foul up, and drum brakes are a lot more aggravating than discs are – so if you don’t have the patience to safely do a good job then you should just shell out the cash and let a professional do it for you.

This information may not be correct, and may cause extensive damage to you or your vehicle, and is only for information / entertainment use only.  You must agree that you are responsible for the consequences of any use or misuse.

Never work on any vehicle that is up on a jack – you will almost certainly injure or kill yourself, and damage the car.  Use jack stands or a safe equivalent like railroad cross ties or 6x6s.  Never work on any vehicle on a soft or unstable surface – concrete is best, asphalt can collapse under jack stands if you put enough weight on it.  You are solely responsible for your own safety and that of your car, passengers, other cars, drivers, and pedestrians.  If you are not 100% sure that you can safely complete this job then don’t do it.

Here is a valuable tip – do one side at a time.  That way if you get confused you can look at the other side to help you get it all together again.

Before you jack up the truck loosen all of the lug nuts while the tire is still on the ground.  Then once you have the car safely up and the tire off remove the retaining clips that the factory used to hold the drum on.  If the drums have ever been removed there won’t be any retainers so don’t worry about it, but if you have to remove them they will be damaged in the process which is OK, because they no longer serve any purpose – just throw them away.

use a screwdriver to pry the retainer clips lose and then just yank them off with a pair of pliers.

Then remove the brake drum by gently tapping on it with a hammer to get it started, and then pry it off with a pry bar through the center hole.

Once you have the drums off examine them for deep scratches (like you will have if you wait too long to replace the shoes) or glazing (like you get if you drive like a mad man).  If the surface is not in good shape then you need to get the drums turned (7-10 bucks apiece) or replaced if they are too bad to turn.  Many parts stores that sell brake shoes also will turn your drums and discs.  If you don’t know what you are looking for, or if you aren’t sure, then take them to the parts store or machine shop to be checked.

Here’s what you will see once the drums are off -

Take several pictures of all of the springs and clips to help you get them all back together later. Don't just rely on your memory! If you don't have a digital camera then draw a diagram.

Helpful tip #1 – Put a ratchet strap, bungee cord, or giant rubber band around the outside of the brake shoes – this will help to hold it all together while you deconstruct the assembly.

Now remove the top spring from the rearmost brake shoe (the two sides are mirror imaged) by grasping it with a pair of vise grips and prying on them with a screw driver.

Don’t worry about the other top spring yet – it will be easy.

Now remove the spring from the auto adjusting lever by lifting the end of it up and off of the adjuster.

This will free up the adjuster lever which just hooks onto the end of the tensioner spring / cable and rides on the same stud as it’s lever spring

Now grasp both of the shoe hold down spring clips with a pair locking needle nosed pliers and remove it by compressing the spring and rotating it 90 degrees while you hold the retining rod from the back with finger pressure.  This is very easy to do with locking needle nose pliers and very hard to do without them.  If you don’t hold the rod from the back it will rotate along with the retainer, and make you say bad words.

Now use your locking pliers to grasp the spring that runs between the two brake shoes – stretch it just a little bit and pull the end out of the hole – note that this picture shows me holding the wrong end of the spring – I didn’t get a good shot of holding the correct end (this is on the passenger side).  Anyway, one end (the end toward the front of the truck)  will come out easily, and the other won’t come out at all without great difficulty and damaging the spring – so don’t force it.  Once you have the right end it will come right out with no problem.

Once you have the front end of the spring out just pivot the spring out and the other end will unhook.

Now take off the ratchet strap and the shoes will both come off – the front one will still be hooked to the big spring at the top but it won’t be under any tension and it will come right off.

Several parts will just come loose along with the brake shoes – like the star wheele auto adjuster -

The four brake shoes are all exactly alike except that two of them have this stud and the other two don’t.  The shoes with the stud install toward the rear of the vehicle.

The stud goes at the bottom by the way.

The rearmost shoe (with the stud) will still be attached by a soft steel clip to the parking brake lever.  You will have to bend apart the legs of the clip to remove it, and then you will have to crimp them back with a pair of pliers to install the new shoe.  Go ahead and do that.

One end of the adjuster star wheel assembly is threaded while the other end is not.  Turn the treaded end to shorten the adjuster assembly as short as it will go – but leave it loose – don’t screw it in tight and bound up.

Now you are ready to reassemble everything using the new brake shoes.

See that silvery thing under my left thumb?  That piece of sheet metal positions the cable / adjuster tension spring and is only held in place by the hole that it rides in and the slot in the shoe retractor – it’s kind of a pain in the butt. Don’t forget to position it as you install the shoes.

First rehook the big top spring to the forward shoe (it isn’t under any tension yet) and position both shoes while holding them loosely in place with the ratcheting strap or bungee cord.  Check to make sure that the slave cylinder rods, parking brake link, and star wheel adjuster are all in place on both ends – then lightly tighten the ratchet strap.

Replace both shoe hold down springs using the locking needle nosed pliers – push and rotate 90 degrees while holding the retaining rod from the back.

Use your locking pliers and screwdriver to pry the top spring back into place.

Replace the lower spring that goes between the shoes by tilting the rearward end into it’s hole in the rear shoe and stretching the spring with locking pliers to hook the front end into it’s hole in the front shoe.

Now route the adjuster tensioning cable around the shiny sheet metal braket on the rear shoe.

notice the sheet metal bracket (it's kind of blue in the picture) is only held in place by the notch in the parking brake link.

Now install the auto adjuster spring over the stud then hook the adjuster lever to the end of the spring/tensioner cable and install it over the same stud.

Now lift the end of the spring and hook it onto the adjuster lever

Remove the ratchet strap and check everything to make sure that it is all in place – slave cylinder rods on both ends, parking brake link on both ends, star wheel adjuster on both ends.  the top of the shoes should be bearing on the anchor pin that the two big springs hook to.  Also the adjuster lever should be engaging the teeth of the star wheel – if it isn’t the star wheel adjuster is probably installed backwards.  If all that looks good and you don’t have too many left over parts (any would be too many) then you are ready to re install the brake drum and the tire.

The brakes should work just fine, but they will adjust theirselves when you back the car up – so make a point of backing up and pumping the brakes a few times.  Drive around especially slowly and carefully untill you have determined that everything feels and sounds right, and the brakes work like they are supposed to.

Typical Drum Brakes - not exactly like Ford Ranger Drum Brakes but pretty close, and close enough to help you know what parts I am referring to in the article.

Ford Ranger Drum Brake Repair is a post from: Zenfixit.com

That’s the best clip I can find at the moment. If I find a better one I’ll change it.  You can actually see the plastic billowing a bit during some segments.

If plastic on the windows in the oval office doesn’t make it socially acceptable to do what you have to do to control those energy bills I don’t know what will.

Drafty Windows? Whitehouse Covers Them With Plastic is a post from: Zenfixit.com

This article is for informational purposes only, and it may be entirely or partly incorrect.  Electrical work should only be performed by qualified persons. Anyone who does electrical work must always follow all safety rules and guidelines. Read the Safety Rules for Electrical work before going any further.  By continuing you agree that you are responsible for your own actions.

Just one note before you start:  The wires that connect to a 50 or 60 amp plug are quite stiff, and the receptacle must be securely attached to the surface – plastic drywall anchors will not be adequate.  You really need to be able to drive two or more screws into solid framing, and if the wire is roughed out in a location where that is not possible you should address that issue before you proceed.

This is what you should be starting with – the correct sized wire sticking out from the wall in the correct location.  This stove wire is 3 – 6 guage copper conductors plus one 10 guage (smaller) ground conductor, and it is roughed out about 2-3 inches above the floor behind the range.  This is about ideal.

Assemble your receptacle for the correct configuration based upon the instructions that come with it – don’t remove the wrong knock out! If you do remove the incorrect knockout in a moment of excessive enthusiasm you can actually get a UL approved plug from a wiring supplier to correct such a mistake – you can’t just leave an open hole.

Trial fit the receptacle, and mark the insulation 1/4″ or so into the device.

Carefully remove the outer insulation and any packings that may be in there.  Be careful that you don’t cut into the insulation of the individual conductors.

Screw the stove plug frame to the wall using screws that are long enough to give good penetration into the underlying wall framing.  Do Not use screws that are longer than  needed or you might drive the screw through the wire inside the wall – that would be bad!

Tighten the cable clamp snugly.  This doesn’t need to be incredibly tight, and overtightening cable clamps can dammage wires, and cause shorts.

Bend the individual conducters along side of their final location and mark them to be cut to length, and strip the insualation.  Note that you just don’t have room in there for any excess wire – you have to cut it the right length.  You simply can’t leave it long in case you mess up.  So, pay attention to what you are doing, because cutting a wire too short could be a lot of trouble to correct.

Make all of the individual connections based upon the instructions that come with your range plug.

With all of the connections made you can see that there isn’t much room for error as far as wire length goes.  Also notice how close the individual wires come to the other connections – that is one reason that you don’t want to strip off too much insulation – or accidentally dammage it.  If you are dealing with a wire with damaged insulation – maybe from a botched previous job – you need to repair the insualtion with UL approved electrical tape – not the 50 cent a roll stuff from the flea market.

Once you put the cover on this job is finished.  This 4 wire range plug is almost identical to surface mounted dryer receptacles, welder plugs, and many other 4 wire surface mount receptacles.

In most areas you must get an inspection for a new installation.  In some areas you don’t need an inspection if you are just changing out an existing device or fixture.  In some places it might be against the law for anyone other than a licensed electrician to do even a small job like this.  Check with your  local codes department before you start.

4 Wire Range Plug Receptacle is a post from: Zenfixit.com

This article is for informational purposes only, and it may be entirely or partly incorrect.  Electrical work should only be performed by qualified persons. Anyone who does electrical work must always follow all safety rules and guidelines. Read the Safety Rules for Electrical work before going any further.  By continuing you agree that you are responsible for your own actions.

Parts of a 220 Circuit
No matter what appliance you are wiring for, any 220 circuit has three elements:

Disconnects
For any appliances rated over 300 Volt-Amps (which includes almost everything 220) there must be either a means of disconnect at the appliance or a breaker lock permanently installed in the panel so that a service man can insure his own safety. (NEC article 422.31) “Means of disconnect” can include a pigtail which can be unplugged from a receptacle, a disconnect device (often used for HVAC equipment) or a unit mounted switch which has a clearly labeled off position. Appliances which are in a direct line of site of and in the same room as the breaker panel are exempt from this requirement.

Any time that you are working with aluminum wire, you must coat all connections with conductive grease such as Ideal brand Noalox. Failure to do so will result in a connection failure due to corrosion, and a hazardous condition which could result in fire or electrical shock.

Breaker Panel Connections
Important safety note: Main panels cannot usually be de-energized by turning off breakers. Only qualified personnel should work on main electrical panels. A simple mistake can result in death or injury.

All 220 circuits connect to the breaker panel through a double pole breaker (or equivalent fuse). Double pole breakers often look like a pair of single pole breakers that are stuck together – because that is exactly what they are. 220 equipment will actually function if it is connected by way of two single pole breakers, but it wouldn’t be safe or up to code, because in the event of a fault one breaker might trip causing the appliance to stop working, but it would still be energized by the other breaker. So double pole breakers are designed to trip both sides simultaneously. The amp ratings of breakers should never exceed the amp rating of either the wire, appliance, receptacle, or disconnect used in the circuit.

Power Connections
The 2 line voltage wires which are feeding the 220 circuit connect to the double pole breaker in the panel. Both of these wires should be either black or red for their entire exposed length inside of the breaker panel. These wires can be colored with paint, tape, or perm marker to comply with this code.

Ground and Neutral Connections
All modern 220 circuits will also have a ground wire which is identified by either green insulation or by being bare metal with no insulation. The ground wire connects to the ground bar. Some 220 circuits will also have a white insulated neutral wire which connects to the neutral bar, or to the combined neutral / ground bar.

Wire for 220 Circuits
The wire requirements for 220 volt circuits are pretty much the same as for any other circuit – it must be of the proper type for the place that it is being used, it must have sufficient volt – amp capacity, and it must have the correct number of conductors. Proper color coding would also be nice, but isn’t a big deal because the exposed lengths of the conductors (in the main panel and in the terminal device) can be colored with paint, tape, or permanent marker. If you are wiring for a dryer, range, or any other 220-110 combo appliance you must use a four conductor wire with an insulated neutral and a separate ground such as X-3-WG. If you are wiring for straight 220 equipment such as a water heater then you can use a three conductor wire such as X-2-WG. The amp rating of the wire should never be less than that of the circuit breaker that is used. You can find a handy wire application / amp rating chart on this page.

Note: You can no longer install 3 wire range or dryer circuits – you must install 4 wire systems for ranges and dryers. If you already have a 3 wire range or dryer then don’t worry, your old appliance can be made compatible with a 4 wire system by installing a 4 wire pigtail on it. Then when you buy a new appliance it will plug right in to your new 4 wire system.

The wiring inside of a modern 4 wire stove receptacle

Terminal Connections
Connecting the terminal connections on a 220 system aren’t all that different than installing any other appliance, fixture or receptacle except that the wire and connection hardware is usually bigger (and a little bit harder to work with) and there is an extra “hot” wire. Because of the bigger stiffer wire it is also more important to cut the conductors to the correct length as you won’t be able to stuff extra wire into a box like you can with most fixtures.

A Frequently asked Question
Why do some 220 circuits have a neutral wire and others don’t?  Because some appliances contain 110 volt internal circuits (such as timers and electronic displays) which require a neutral connection to comply with current codes. When these 4 wire appliances are connected to old 3 wire systems via a 3 wire pigtail they use the ground conductor for the neutral.  Other “straight” 220 appliances such as water heaters have no need for a neutral because the current both feeds and returns by way of the two hot wires as the current polarity alternates.  Ideally, in any circuit the ground wire serves only as a safety feature and never carries any current under normal circumstances.

Related Articles:

Understanding 220 Circuits

Basic 220 Volt Circuits is a post from: Zenfixit.com

But first – Power Tools are Dangerous! Many woodworkers accidentally cut off their fingers, put out their eyes, or worse. Modifying power tools makes them even more dangerous.  These Jigs are almost certain to kill you and everyone you know. I do not recommend that you do as I do.  For maximum safety you should never even get out of bed.  Ever.  If you do, you shall not hold me in any way responsible – if you don’t agree to this then you must move along now without reading any further or even looking at the pictures.  In fact I strongly recommend that you go back to bed.

You can easily use your hand belt sander as a bench sander with a simple jig like this

This belt sander jig is very useful for shaping wood, and plastic work pieces and even metal – but you should be very careful when shaping metal with power tools in a wood shop that you don’t start a fire. If you use a dust collection system, you should always disconnect it before shaping metal so that you don’t suck hot metal or sparks into a container of sawdust!  Speaking of dust collection – if you plan to do much wood working you should get a real dust collection system or you will end up with a chronic cough from all the sawdust that ends up in your lungs.

You can see in this picture the general idea of how it works. The jig is built up out of two layers of plywood after first cutting the recess for the sander out of the top layer. The fence that I have clamped on in the first picture is for a special purpose, and I usually don’t use that. The strip that clamps into the vice is what makes it a “bench hook”

Bench hooks can really help you to make the most of your shop space.  When you clamp it into a good vice it’s just like the tool is permanently attached to the table, but it only takes a minute to swap them out.  I use bench hooks to mount the following tools:

• Bench grinder
• Pocket screw fixture
• Mechanics vice
• A section of I beam that I use for an anvil
• The belt sander that’s in the picture

You could use this same simple system for just about any bench mounted tool.

A table saw is probably the most useful woodworking shop tool.

A crosscut sled is so useful that it should be the first thing you build when you get a new table saw.

Table saws always come with a miter gauge, and they are just about useless in my opinion. Maybe not useless, but extremely limited and hard to use. A crosscut sled like this one makes it possible for you to accurately cut 90 degree crosscuts from large or small pieces of wood. If you have a regular need for miter cuts you can easily adapt the design for that as well.  It’s the next best thing to having an expensive sliding saw table.  BTW, always use all of the safety guards and equipment that come with or are recommended for your power tools – even if it makes them unusable.  Seriously, table saws are dangerous – always follow the safety rules and use all the safety gear – and even then you could still mangle yourself.  Needless to say I shall not be held responsible even if what I am showing you is dangerous – which it is.

• I should have made the fences taller in the area of the blade – as you can see there is only about an inch of material holding the two parts together after making a maximum depth cut.  However after several years of regular use it continues to hold together.  I made my fences out of two layers of 1/2″ plywood glued laminated together – which is very strong, and stable and works quite well.
• I also should have made the section of the bottom where the saw cuts easily replaceable so that it could stay nice and tight and zero clearance for clean cuts.
• Make the runners (that slide in the miter slots on the saw table) out of hard wood so that they will stay accurate for a long time.
• An accurate fit between the miter slots, and the runners is very important and might take more than one try to get just right – if they are too loose the jig won’t be accurate, and if they are too tight they will bind.
• Once you get your runners dimensioned just right lay them in the miter slots with a spacer under them to make them sit slightly proud, then with the runners still in the slot attach the rest of the sled to them, carefully squaring the sled fence with the miter slots and the runners. Then raise your saw blade to cut through the sled bottom.
• Keep a nice coat of paste wax on the bottom of the sled to keep it working smooth and easy.

By clamping a stop (just a scrap of wood as in this picture) onto the cross cut sled fence you can very quickly cut many pieces exactly the same length. Once you build a crosscut sled you will find that you use it all the time.

By building this rolling stand I was able to incorporate three power tools into one very useful unit – a thickness planer on the left, a table saw in the center, and a router table on the right.  The router table and the saw table extension over the planer also make it much easier and safer to saw large pieces of plywood on my small table saw. Notice the crosscut sled stored in it’s own cubby on the bottom, and the other associated accessories right were you need them.  The gray pipe and duct tape on the planer is home brewed dust collection for a tool that didn’t come with any built in.  It works good BTW.

Remember whenever you build shop furniture like this, that if you get everything the same height life will be much easier when working with big pieces.  For example my main work bench in the background acts as the out feed table for the table saw – because it’s the same height.

About that small table saw – The main shortcoming of most inexpensive table saws is the fence.  Look for one that is accurately square, and clamps very tightly in place, and has a good measuring system for repeatable results.  Plan on spending some time getting any table saw properly set up.   I have another much more expensive contractor saw now, but because of the way I have this one set up it’s the one I always use.

The router table insert is just a piece of plywood that sits in a recess. A good close fit and gravity is all that holds it in there.  Being able to lift the router out like in the picture makes it much easier to adjust the depth of cut compared to squatting under the table.  Incorporating the router table into the table saw serves several purposes – it makes double duty of the space, it allows you to use the table saw fence for the router table, and the rolling base allows you to easily deploy to another spot if you are working on long pieces and need extra clearance.

Woodworking Tool Jigs and Tips is a post from: Zenfixit.com