Finds: Brake Spring Pliers
By Chuck Cage
Removing the springs on drum brakes can be a nightmare, alternately refusing to come apart then flinging parts all over the garage — all while you pretend you have three hands in order to compress the spring and manipulate the catch at the same time.
There’s an easier way: brake spring pliers. And they’re not even that expensive.
The “tong” end is used for installing springs over an anchor post while the “handle” ends are useful for stretching the small shoe-return springs.
I’ve always wondered why more people don’t do their own brake work. Pricing at the widely-known “brake shops” varies from excessive to absurd, and their ads are almost universally deceiving. A $99 “brake job” usually ends up being “per axle” then “pads only” — which means that they’ll take 10 minutes to stick pads in for $99. Wow. Great deal.
With simple tools and a free Saturday afternoon you can service your own brakes on a new-model car for hundreds of dollars less than the cost of a “brake job.” For example: Rather than $250 or more an axle, try spending $50-$75 on pads, and $20-$30 on having the rotors turned — at the same shop, by the way.
Yeah, it’s dirty. Try this: Wear latex gloves to avoid having to dig brake dust out from under your fingernails, then clean up afterwards and take your wife/girlfriend/husband/boyfrend/significant other/self out to a $150+ fancy dinner with the cash you’ve saved — or do the other end of the car now instead of later.
We’ve used lost of different brands of brake spring pliers, but the one pictured above comes from Satco industries (link below). Froogle’ll turn up dozens for around $5-$10, and you can find these at most automotive parts stores or tool suppliers as well.
Brake Spring Pliers [Satco]
Street Pricing [Froogle]
November 28th, 2006 at 9:18 pm
I don’t know how I’ve gone this long before discovering these. I hate doing drum brakes; maybe these will make the job a little more tolerable. Another worthy mention: The disc caliper piston recess tool. Well worth the $10.
November 29th, 2006 at 6:16 am
Doing the brakes on the cars is like pulling teeth at times. It’s just amazing how they get these assembled. I have learned to put an old carpet remain on the ground so that any flying objects think springs can be found rather quickly. While at the same time sitting a little warmer.
Some autoparts stores do lend tools for some of these tasks. Well worth the effort, when having to deal with repairs.
December 1st, 2006 at 12:57 am
I haven’t had to use one of these yet. I’ve always just mounted all the springs, set one shoe in place and pulled the other into place with a set of channel locks.
December 18th, 2006 at 7:49 am
I guess I’m as old as my kids say I am. One of the first tools I bought was a set of these. Drum brakes are a vanishing breed, but these things make life a lot easier if you’re stuck with the job. Standard issue drum brakes are a day at the beach compared to the spring GM installed on my 99 Grand-Am. A piece of round bar bent into the shape of a W. It can be removed with channel locks, but is impossible to install without a special tool from MAC or Snap-on.
December 22nd, 2006 at 11:54 am
[…] If you’ve decided to pick up the necessary tools and save tons by doing your own brake work, this’ll be your next purchase. While you don’t need something like this to bleed your brakes, it does allow you to do it by yourself. Instead of having someone pump the pedal from inside the car while you open and close the bleed valves from under the car, power bleeders allow you to apply pressure to the master cylinder — the equivalent of having someone in the car pushing on the pedal continuously. It makes bleeding brakes much easier and much quicker. […]