Looking to change the drum brakes on my sisters 2014 Chevy Cruze. I watched some videos, doesn’t look too terribly difficult, and I’m no newbie with tools but I’m also not a mechanic. Anyone know if it is something I can reasonably do myself? If so, any advice before I dive into it? Thanks.
Drum brakes are a pain to work on because of having to deal with springs and adjusters but if you're handy with tools you should be able to handle it. If you don't have a brake spring tool you should be able to use vise grips and a big screwdriver to wrestle the brake springs off and back on. Be sure to lube the contact points on the backing plate that the shoes slide on. (There's special brake lube made for that.) Wear eye protection in case a spring goes flying in your direction.
Be careful to pay attention to your parts. Each side has a leading shoe and a trailing shoe. Don't get them mixed up. Also, the star wheel adjusters are supposed to go in the proper way. Pay attention to this. If I were doing this, I would take a straight on picture of driver's side and passenger's side to have for reference if you don't have the shop manual. Also, get a new hardware kit (springs, retainers, etc.) for each side.
Definitely good to replace all the hardware.
The leading shoe usually has a shorter strip of lining material. Also pull back the boots on the wheel cylinders to check for any brake fluid leakage. Now's the time to change them if there's even a slight leak.
Do the job right and that mess won't have to be dealt with for a long time!
Great advice, Chuck.