I tried to replace the drum brake pads on my 2005 Taurus today, and thought I had everything pretty much figured out. I did one side, got it all back together (except I hadn't put the drum cover back on) - then went and dis-assembled the other side. When I started putting that side back together, I realized that the retractor spring (the large spring across the bottom) was loose - on both of the tires that I'd worked on. At this point it seems like the spring is in the correct holes in both brakes pads - but there's an additional hole at the edge of the metal on both of the pads, that the spring could possibly go into. I've seen pictures of other people's brakes, but I couldn't see both ends of that spring.
So, is the spring supposed to be kind of loose? Doesn't seem right. Any ideas what I'm doing wrong?
I screwed the adjustor all the way back in, and then backed it out one turn - will this adjust automatically when I start using the brakes?
I've got pics of my passenger-side rear brake up at my flickr account - take a look and tell me if something is set up wrong somehow. You might have to look close to see the end of the retractor spring inside the hole at the left in Picture #2.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/
So, is the spring supposed to be kind of loose? Doesn't seem right. Any ideas what I'm doing wrong?
I screwed the adjustor all the way back in, and then backed it out one turn - will this adjust automatically when I start using the brakes?
I've got pics of my passenger-side rear brake up at my flickr account - take a look and tell me if something is set up wrong somehow. You might have to look close to see the end of the retractor spring inside the hole at the left in Picture #2.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/