Broken parking brake and drum spring.
 

I basically have a few questions regarding drum brakes on my 84 camaro with an open rear.

A few years ago my parking brake snapped. The play in the handle had no tension. Is it possible that a spring in the drum broke and caused this lack of tension?

I have a broken spring in the drum. This spring is in the 6 o clock position and is basically hanging free. Can someone help me out with a part number and a brief explanation of what is involved in fixing it?

Would it be a smarter decision to just upgrade rears to something with posi and a better gear ratio?

http://imgur.com/gBO1QqX

Get a hardware kit from napa.

I don't follow your other complaint.

what he said, a $10 hardware kit is something you should do every brake job. it could impact e-brake if the rear brakes are not working. or you have a broken cable or something else

none of this has anything to do with the rear.

I was basically asking if I should just go for a used rear with complete brakes at the moment or if I should fix this and do that later. Since it seems like a cheap fix you basically answered my question.

Like Scott said the spring my contribute to e-brake but the culprit is most likely the cables. I would get under there and check for a snapped cable or hell even if they aren't snapped they are 30 years old

I'll try and look at the cable asap but I probably won't have time for a few weeks, Thanks for all the help.

Your dont only have a broken spring on the bottom, your missing the return spring on the front shoe. There should be another one..similar to the green on but it should go from the shoe to the mounting point at 12 o clock.

Assuming your car is a 84 NAPA part number UP 2242 would work for you.
http://www.napaonline.com/Catalog/Ca...242_0094813708

The shoes *look* good for the angle in the pic, but I obviously couldnt tell if they are cracked/etc. Also make sure that the wheel cylinders & axle seals are not leaking.

Pop the adjusters out, open them, clean the threads up, lube them and reuse them. If you can move them easily by hand, grab new ones.

IF IT WAS ME..assuming the shoes are good and the cylinders & seals are not leaking...Id buy the <10 dollar kit from NAPA, or a smilar one from another store, replace all the hardware, leave the shoes (if they are good), lube the adjusters, put it together and use it like that.

Depending which cable snapped you may be installing it at the wheel..or under the car/at the handle.

They are not that expensive..and as it was mentioned above, they are old. Id be suprised if they were actually working before it broke. A lot of times the cables seize up but when you pull the handle you still get a tension feeling like you did something but if you pop the car in gear it would still roll away.

It's a lot easier to do new brake shoes and springs than it is to install a whole new rear. Chances are that the new rear you get is also going to need brakes. It would be like replacing the motor every time you needed an oil change.

There was some brake fluid on the back of the wheel when I pulled it off. I forgot to mention that. I've been really busy and haven't looked at it again since I got back. I'll take a good luck as soon as possible.

you likely need new wheel cylinders. replace both sides.

I'll add those to the list. What is the tool called that removes the springs?

Brake spring tool.