# 88 Sentra 2d Sport Coup DRUM BRAKE QUERY



## jlaw (Apr 20, 2011)

Hey everyone, 

Just joined, cool place! This is my first nissan (140k), bought in a pinch for $350 and I've put a few dollars into it. 


Replaced: 
fuel filter- believe it alleviated bogging out on the accel.
air filter
oil filter-so accessible
oil- clean running 
power steering fluid-really helped
brake fluid 
wipers
rear brake shoes 
hardware for rear brakes
pvc valve- hard to find! 
battery
(fr) motor mount- not yet

This car has been, overall, a breeze to work on. No big jobs, and fun to learn a few things on. 

*tl;dr* _Drum won't release. I'm trying to replace the rear brake shoes and hardware and can't get the damn drum off the shoes. On the other side of the drum, there is an access point for the adjuster valve and lever. 

How, if necessary, am I to press the lever away from the adjuster wheel to spin and release the drum?? _



This question is my interpretation of the Haynes directions for the vehicle. 

I mean, the space to stick a screwdriver, much less two, inside, to press upon the adjuster lever, is VERY TIGHT. You can't see a damn thing. :newbie:


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## ahardb0dy (Nov 9, 2003)

You didn't say if you did it or not but to remove the rear drums you have to remove the cap in the center and than the nut, than the drum should come right off. 

I just had to replace the brake cylinder in my 90 Sentra and forgot about the nut and spent 10 minutes trying to pry the drum off, finally checked the service manual and saw the nut had to come off, after removing it the drum came right off.

If you ever have to replace the wheel cylinder the 2 wheel and 4 wheel drive parts are different, the 4 wheel drive has a 1/16" bigger piston and the brake line and bleeder are opposite from the 2 wheel drive part.

I agree the adjuster opening is in a terrible place, hard to get at.

Get a factory service manual off e-bay, the Haynes and Chiltons manuals really suck or register at www.autozone.com (free) they have service manuals online that are very close to the factory ones.

A few other tips since this is your first Nissan, The Nissan's like NGK spark plugs, don't waste your money on any of the gimmick plugs just the basic or v groove NGK's work best, for spark plug wires go OEM or NGK. If you have the GA16I engine, don't forget the small foam filter inside the air filter housing, you can buy a foam filter for anything that is large enough than cut it to fit.

Power steering what's that?? LOL mine is manual steering!!

If you don't know about them already I will suggest RockAuto Auto Parts great prices and big savings over local auto parts stores, they have 5% discount codes that are easy to find online

Also check out OEM Surplus Parts At Giveaway Prices! for surplus NEW factory Nissan parts, not as much sentra parts as there used to be but very very good deals, for example I have bought from them so far: new 5 speen trans $465 delivered in the Nissan crate !! New distributo (with the cap and rotor) $53 delivered, new cooling fans from an automatic trans car, fan motor is larger than the manual trans cars, $54 delivered, brand new sport seat cushions bottoms and backs $25 each,


I have the Nissan FAST program here same program Nissan parts dept uses to look up parts so if you need any diagrams or part numbers, or want to look up your VIN to see what the car's options are let me know.

Need anything else ask or send me an e-mail, where are you from by the way??


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## jlaw (Apr 20, 2011)

*hey there*

Hey, Virginia here. 

Thanks for taking a moment to reply. I am going to use oem surplus for a new dash, it is the only aspect of the interior that needs work. 

I did wrench off the cap and nut in the center of my rear drum. But, that thing wobbles some yet will not budge! I suppose I need to just tug at it some more. 

I'm glad you note the adjuster placement. Your message seemed to indicate that I would probably not need to mess with the lever i was referring to! 

Good notes on the plugs too, that will be on the docket.


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## ahardb0dy (Nov 9, 2003)

I did not see any dash parts on the oem-surplus site, where did you see it listed?

Keep in mind the dash between your sport coupe and all the other Sentra's 88-90 known as B12's are different.

you may have to use a thin scribe or similar like below










to push the lever towards the outside of the car than use a normal sized standard screw driver to rotate the adjuster.

here is the page from the pulsar service manual showing the rear brakes in case you need it, the pulsar service manual is the one someone just posted a link to download on here, the B12 sentra and the pulsar are basically the same other than the body and the CA18 engine that was available in the pulsar. Their are other differences as well but most of the service manual can be applied to our sentra's:


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## ahardb0dy (Nov 9, 2003)

WELCOME TO THE SITE BY THE WAY, I am in Florida and have owned my 90 Sentra since 11/03 other than a 75 Ford Mustang 2 I had way back during HS, and a 2001 Dodge Dakota I used to have all my vehicles have been Datsun, Infiniti or Nissan's.

Let us know how you make out with the brakes, one other thing you may try if you can't loosen the adjuster is to loosen the emergency brake cable at the brake level, it may be too tight.

here is a link to my Sentra pics if you want to check them out:

http://tinypic.com/useralbum.php?ua=o9ZpCT53udESeDh3h3/Hbw==


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## jlaw (Apr 20, 2011)

Update: Drums are not off yet. After attacking with pb blaster and a hammer, I finally took it to a pep boys and watched the folks work. They didn't have the slightest clue how to get these damn drums off. 

I have not succeeded with a scribe and screwdriver through the access to the adjuster and the guys there didn't even try. 

They DID conclude that they would be unable to do anything for me because within the bearing assembly underneath the cap and bolt, there seems to be a fitting for a specialized tool. They suggested finding whatever tool would work for it. The drum is spinning, isn't it true that it would not if the shoes were seized?? 

saaaaaad face 

Banging this thing will not get it off. What to do?


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## ahardb0dy (Nov 9, 2003)

there is no special tool to take the drums off !! The bearing is accessed from the rear and there is no bearing in the front. taking it to pep boys was probably the biggest mistake, I'm surprised they didn't try to sell you an engine when you asked for brake work!!!

You said you removed the dust cap, the cotter pin, the adjusting cap than the nut under it right? than a washer is removed, than the drum should pull right off. If the drum is able to turn freely I can't see how it can be stuck on the brake shoes as the shoes obviously stay stationary as the drum turns.

here is a pic from the service manual just in case you need it:











I would remove all the parts your supposed to and if it still won't come off, maybe bolt the tire back on and use the tire to give you more leverage to try and pull the drum off, but as I said if the drum spins freely I can't see whay it wouldn't come off. Let me know.


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## jlaw (Apr 20, 2011)

Well today i gave a local nissan service shop a call. Those guys referred me to my hammer. When my buddy gets back to town tomorrow evening, we are going to whack it until something breaks or falls off. 

I've really only encountered people that know the same list of options that I do. But, this particular guy mentioned that he has dealt with it before, and has taken him 2 hours to loosen one.

I'm expecting a disaster at the end of this task. Should be so simple.


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## smj999smj (Jan 1, 2006)

I once got one off by use a 10 lb. slide hammer with a hub flange attachment.


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## ahardb0dy (Nov 9, 2003)

you really won't damage much, you are replacing the brake shoes anyway, worse thing you may need a new drum,bearing and seal.

Are both sides being a pain to get off?


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