Thanks a ton for these. I just did a full rebuild on both sides of my '03 Caravan, and your videos helped me understand what I was getting myself in to.
The Original Mechanic hey buddy! any idea on why with the rim on the van the tire gets tight..... and with the rim off the drum it is loose. i changed the rear shoes step for step in my 05 town and country and i replaced all springs and rings and pins..... driving it and it smokes a lil bit
Melvin Cox It seems like the automatic adjuster is too tight. If you hit the brakes in reverse a few times the adjuster is designed to set the gap between the shoes and the drum. Otherwise I would try to back off the star wheel a bit. I show that in the video. I can't imagine why the wheel would make a difference, but to eliminate the possibility of an issue with the wheel, tighten the lug nuts without the wheel on and see if it's too tight then. If it isn't then there must be some odd problem with the wheel and I can't imagine what that could be. Good luck with it and I hope this helps.
Hi David, Keith here. I'm an electronics technician by trade as well. I'll be watching some of your vids today. I have a 2002 caravan I'm going to change the rear drum brakes on. I appreciate your posting the video. I grew up helping my dad at work in a mechanics shop for three years, I learned a lot from him and my fellow mechanics. A suggestion if I may, the brake cleaner is bad for the axel, brake cylinder and caliper seals. It often eats or degrades them, as it's a solvent designed to dissolve and remove petroleum products. If allowed to air dry with no tension or rough wiping they should be ok. As far as blasting the dust off, I agree definitely wear your mask, use an N95, just take the shoes off as they will be thrown out and it's a waste of good chems. If you really want to clean the dust of just use a mechanics cleaning brush and some gasoline, it works really well in keeping the dust down and it won't hurt or degrade your seals. Feel free to visit my page as well, not as far along as you but you may find a few useful things there. Best Wishes n Blessings, and again thanks for the post. Thumbs up Keith
To release the brake tension...... Behind The brake plate is a hole slot aperture where you should release the brake tension, where you will see a cog wheel that has teeth on it, (The parking brake adjuster) its a simple matter to insert a small spoon handle or a piece of flat plate metal so that you can turn the cog either up or down, depending if you want to tighten the parking brake or loosen it, it is a very simple process, no matter how rusted the wheel cog is you will be able to turn it from outside the brake plate, all you have to do is apply heavy leverage with your piece of metal or a cut down spoon handle against the hole edges, therefore gaining extra leverage into one of the cog wheel teeth, which is beyond and just inside the aperture hole, you turn the wheel cog adjuster which causes the threaded bolt to lengthen out by putting pressure against the brake shoes. My car is 17 years old, and same as yours, and I have always been able to adjust the parking brakes from the exterior and without having to take the wheels off or the drums. It is impossible to use a long screwdriver to do the job of turning the brake adjuster cog as you wont be able to manoeuvre it, the trick is to use something sturdy but short to turn the wheel cog from the rear of the brake plate, when you have located the small tool into the hole you will feel it when it is in the right position located into one of the cog slots, you can just sense it, when you have turned the cog sufficiently to lock the shoes against the brake drum, then you back the cog off until the spinning wheel is just free of the shoes, then you just replace the 2 protective rubber boots back into the apertures. It is usually a 10 minute simple job to adjust both sides for me. Having The right tool is everything.
That's hard to visualize. I almost need a picture or diagram to get an idea of what this looks like. I'll just have to feel around a bit to get an idea.
My 4th gen 04' Caravan drums look fairly similar, if not the same. To pop off the drum cover an easier way; SOME drum covers have a couple smaller holes by the wheel studs. Find a bolt or two that fit the holes and tighten them down evenly to push the cover off. These are a PITA. Everything is shot in my drums so I bought all the hardware, master cylinder, wheel hubs, etc. I think everything 4th gen Caravan I've rode in with over 150k had howling rear hubs.
Viewers trying to understand the star wheel, continue to video 2 and 3. The technique is repeated and a little easier to understand. Be aware that there is a cable that has to be moved to reach the star wheel. Great vid!
Hi, Appreciate you making this helpful video! Could you let me know if you have a video of replacing strut rod bushings for the T&C 2002 Limited model..? Thanks!
I do not. I did make a couple of videos on thoroughly disassembling the front struts on a 2000 Caravan if that's any help. Here's part one of a three part series: ruclips.net/video/3mN881WE-UM/видео.html
Is it possible to do the adjusting without raising vehicle? Thanks having same issue. no signs of rust whatsoever but frum wont come off and parking brake is released and hard to push down even a hair. i dont have jackstands.
You would have to able to get at the star wheel and turn it to release brake tension. That's really tough without being under the car. Maybe you can put some boards under the car for support. Don't ever get under a vehicle without solid support.
That happened to me too. You need to get some slack in the cable by pulling it toward the brake and holding it there with a vice grip. There's a spot about midway between front and rear to do that. I think I showed that in the the part 2 video.
The Original Mechanic What I ended up doing (with the advice from a buddy who used to be a Chrysler mechanic) was put a vice-grip on the spring part, right next to the end. Then take a pliers, bend down the end, and it reveals the cable underneath just enough that you can slip the emergency brake cable lever back on between the spring covering and the end. Worked great!
THANK YOU!! you are the ONLY VIDEO that shows how to relieve the self-adjustor!!!
Thanks a ton for these. I just did a full rebuild on both sides of my '03 Caravan, and your videos helped me understand what I was getting myself in to.
Thanks for watching and commenting and I'm glad you were able to make use of the videos,
The Original Mechanic hey buddy! any idea on why with the rim on the van the tire gets tight..... and with the rim off the drum it is loose. i changed the rear shoes step for step in my 05 town and country and i replaced all springs and rings and pins..... driving it and it smokes a lil bit
Melvin Cox It seems like the automatic adjuster is too tight. If you hit the brakes in reverse a few times the adjuster is designed to set the gap between the shoes and the drum. Otherwise I would try to back off the star wheel a bit. I show that in the video. I can't imagine why the wheel would make a difference, but to eliminate the possibility of an issue with the wheel, tighten the lug nuts without the wheel on and see if it's too tight then. If it isn't then there must be some odd problem with the wheel and I can't imagine what that could be. Good luck with it and I hope this helps.
Hi David, Keith here. I'm an electronics technician by trade as well. I'll be watching some of your vids today. I have a 2002 caravan I'm going to change the rear drum brakes on. I appreciate your posting the video. I grew up helping my dad at work in a mechanics shop for three years, I learned a lot from him and my fellow mechanics. A suggestion if I may, the brake cleaner is bad for the axel, brake cylinder and caliper seals. It often eats or degrades them, as it's a solvent designed to dissolve and remove petroleum products. If allowed to air dry with no tension or rough wiping they should be ok. As far as blasting the dust off, I agree definitely wear your mask, use an N95, just take the shoes off as they will be thrown out and it's a waste of good chems. If you really want to clean the dust of just use a mechanics cleaning brush and some gasoline, it works really well in keeping the dust down and it won't hurt or degrade your seals. Feel free to visit my page as well, not as far along as you but you may find a few useful things there. Best Wishes n Blessings, and again thanks for the post. Thumbs up Keith
+Keith Noneya Thanks for the feedback and suggestions. Good luck with your channel!
To release the brake tension...... Behind The brake plate is a hole slot aperture where you should release the brake tension, where you will see a cog wheel that has teeth on it, (The parking brake adjuster) its a simple matter to insert a small spoon handle or a piece of flat plate metal so that you can turn the cog either up or down, depending if you want to tighten the parking brake or loosen it, it is a very simple process, no matter how rusted the wheel cog is you will be able to turn it from outside the brake plate, all you have to do is apply heavy leverage with your piece of metal or a cut down spoon handle against the hole edges, therefore gaining extra leverage into one of the cog wheel teeth, which is beyond and just inside the aperture hole, you turn the wheel cog adjuster which causes the threaded bolt to lengthen out by putting pressure against the brake shoes. My car is 17 years old, and same as yours, and I have always been able to adjust the parking brakes from the exterior and without having to take the wheels off or the drums. It is impossible to use a long screwdriver to do the job of turning the brake adjuster cog as you wont be able to manoeuvre it, the trick is to use something sturdy but short to turn the wheel cog from the rear of the brake plate, when you have located the small tool into the hole you will feel it when it is in the right position located into one of the cog slots, you can just sense it, when you have turned the cog sufficiently to lock the shoes against the brake drum, then you back the cog off until the spinning wheel is just free of the shoes, then you just replace the 2 protective rubber boots back into the apertures. It is usually a 10 minute simple job to adjust both sides for me. Having The right tool is everything.
Thanks for this info!!!!
That's hard to visualize. I almost need a picture or diagram to get an idea of what this looks like. I'll just have to feel around a bit to get an idea.
He literally did this in the video ..
My 4th gen 04' Caravan drums look fairly similar, if not the same. To pop off the drum cover an easier way; SOME drum covers have a couple smaller holes by the wheel studs. Find a bolt or two that fit the holes and tighten them down evenly to push the cover off.
These are a PITA. Everything is shot in my drums so I bought all the hardware, master cylinder, wheel hubs, etc. I think everything 4th gen Caravan I've rode in with over 150k had howling rear hubs.
Viewers trying to understand the star wheel, continue to video 2 and 3. The technique is repeated and a little easier to understand. Be aware that there is a cable that has to be moved to reach the star wheel. Great vid!
Jack Denning Thanks for watching and adding the insights!
Hi, Appreciate you making this helpful video! Could you let me know if you have a video of replacing strut rod bushings for the T&C 2002 Limited model..? Thanks!
I do not. I did make a couple of videos on thoroughly disassembling the front struts on a 2000 Caravan if that's any help. Here's part one of a three part series: ruclips.net/video/3mN881WE-UM/видео.html
Is it possible to do the adjusting without raising vehicle? Thanks having same issue. no signs of rust whatsoever but frum wont come off and parking brake is released and hard to push down even a hair. i dont have jackstands.
You would have to able to get at the star wheel and turn it to release brake tension. That's really tough without being under the car. Maybe you can put some boards under the car for support. Don't ever get under a vehicle without solid support.
Nice my van drums are stuck as well thanks..
Isaac Jimenez You're welcome. Hope this helps you get them freed up.
Ebrake cable came off the lever when I did the brakes, can't figure out how to re attach, got any hints?
That happened to me too. You need to get some slack in the cable by pulling it toward the brake and holding it there with a vice grip. There's a spot about midway between front and rear to do that. I think I showed that in the the part 2 video.
The Original Mechanic What I ended up doing (with the advice from a buddy who used to be a Chrysler mechanic) was put a vice-grip on the spring part, right next to the end. Then take a pliers, bend down the end, and it reveals the cable underneath just enough that you can slip the emergency brake cable lever back on between the spring covering and the end. Worked great!
Mibne still drives fine little screach at very low speeds but drum wont come off
this video wasn't about changing the rear brakes.....you spent the entire time removing the drum....☹