Well, I finally got it. At least the Driver Side is done anyway. Not sure if I will ever do the Pass. Side. Parking Brake works great now. What a PITA.
Basically, I took ideas from both t he CAC, written articles form several magazines and tried a little bit of everyting to make it work. If anyone cares, here's what I did:
I put the top spring on first to hold t he two brake shoes together, then I had to loosen the four nuts that hold the backing plate on in order to slide a .015" feeler gauage behind the backing plate to hold the rear retainer pin straight and tight (thanks for that idea TimAT, that's what really got me over the top). Then I put the retaining springs in a vise, squeezed them closed and tied them closed with a couple pieces of picture frame wire, then slid the spring and cup up into place from the bottom and over the pin. Hold the cup an spring in place with one pair of needle nose pliers coming in between the brake shoe and the axle flange, then go through the access hole in the flange with another (very skinny) needle nose pliers and twist the pin to secure it in the cup. Then cut and/or pull out the wire/string out of the spring so that it expands to hold the shoe in place. Then you have to re-tighten the backing plate nuts (pull your feeler guage out first); the top right one is difficult to get to now that the rear brake shoe is held in place, but it can be done (a thinner 9/16" box wrench would help).
Then you move on to the other side, or front, retainer spring and cup. This one is easier because you can get to the pin with your finger on the back of the backing plate. Still have to tie your spring down tight with wire or string, but it goes a lot faster.
Then make sure the actuator at the top is engagedin the slots in the shoes. )I was never able to get my actuator out to replace it with the new stainless steel one that came with the kit. No matter what I did I could not get the two pieces to separate once I go the C-Clip and washer off. I just cleaned and lubed it and made sure it moved freely) Once I made sure the acutator was where it was supposed to be I move to the bottom.
First I hooked the bottom spring in the hole in the rear (or right) shoe. Then I inserted the adjuster mechanism in both shoes. I then used a combination of small screwdriver and needle nose pliers to pull the spring over to and insert in the hole in the front shoe. This took more than a few tries to accomplish and a slotted or hooked screwdriver might have made it easier, but it can be done as described.
Then just check everything to make sure its working properly and reassemble and adjust the shoes. My Parking Brake works better than it ever has, so, again, I don't know if I will takcle the pass. side any time soon. I also had the unfortunate discovery that my caliper is leaking so that may be the next (hopefully easier) project.
I suppose that all's well that ends well, but I still think this is a poorly designed system.
Thanks for all who offered ideas and suggestions, particularly John Z with the tying down of the springs and TimAT with the feeler guage idea. Without those two bits of wisdom I would still be in the driveway.
Bernie O.
:L
