Time for new brakes again

im doing the same thing tonight

Brakes are always fun. At least disc brakes are pretty straightforward to do. Drums ... not so much. (why ford thought drum brakes on the back of my focus was a good idea - I'll never know).

I did the rear drums in our '03 Taurus many months ago, and the front discs not too long ago. It wasn't too bad, as I had already done the drums in my (now wrecked) Escort just about a year before. One thing about drums is that there is generally a specific order of assembly. I think I did it out of the "official" order, and I was able to do it without special tools both times. On the Escort I also changed the e-brake cables at the same time, so it was a bit more involved.

I may also not be too afraid of drums as I took Power Mechanics in HS. Part of the course was to tear down and rebuild simple manual transmissions and various drum brake systems. I don't think I'd tackle a tranny without a good manual, but drums are fairly logical and if you only do one side at a time, you'll have the opposite side as a reference in case something is forgotten or doesn't seem to go back on right.

Sounds good, stoptech makes really nice kits. Going to be doing pads and possibly new disks too soon, going with hawk HPS pads.

Why drum breaks in the rear?

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

At least that appears to be the logical answer.

David

Well the reason for Drum brakes on the rear of your focus are usually because of two things one is Cost.integrated rear calipers are a lot more than a pair of drum brakes

But the other one may be the fact that rear brakes aren't really used as much as the front brakes.You'll go through three sets of front brakes before you need rear shoes.
This is my opinion
heres my Certs if interested
ASE Certified
5 Areas Including Brakes
Toyota Certified Technician

same here on my saturn. I have discs in the front, drums in the back. those are going to be fun to replace. when i first started driving it, I thought I needeed new ones because the old ones were making alot of noise, and did not seem to be efective. turns out, my fluid was low. filled it up, and no more noise, and I just need a light tap on the pedal, not a throtle to the floor as before.

I'll have even more fun when the O2 sensor dies. that thing is a PITA to replace.

-digital

What amazes me, after living my life in the land of winter road salt, is seeing the underside of a car with ~100K that has so remarkably little rust on it.

Most car companies use drum brakes in the rear to save cost. This is done two ways. One, Calipers for disc brakes are really expensive. Usually they start around $1000 and get ridiculous in a hurry. The other cost savings is in antilock brakes. By putting a small drum in the back that provides only the needed 15% of braking force, they don't have to worry about the rear wheel locking up and trying to spin you out. Rear disc brakes require active anti lock systems which also significantly increase cost.

This being said, if you can get four wheel ABS disc, you should. The stopping power is vastly superior. Not to mention that modern ABS systems are extremely good. Also, they wear more evenly. The reason why rear drums last three times as long as the front discs is because they aren't exerting nearly enough force to contribute significantly to stopping the car as an antilock safety measure.

My mechanic only charges me 20/hr and gets the parts cheaper than I'd pay for them in a store.

I've never had a situation like this, but I love it.

He replaced the back brakes for $60 labor.

I'm not even Family.