Installing Cordoba rear drums on a MK I.

**Peter Jones** · 09-01-2008, 04:10 PM

Installing Cordoba rear drums on a MK I.

It's pretty straight forward.

Thought I'd continue the brake saga through the installation process. I'll do a separate thread for front, rear and Master cylinder/booster so that people can find the topics easily later on.

First jack up the car and remove the wheels! I'm doing back and front so all 4 wheels are coming off. I'll detail the front brake story in another thread....

**Peter Jones** · 09-01-2008, 04:19 PM

Here's the old rear drum with the handbrake cable already removed.

Don't forget to undo or at least loosen the handbrake cables.

Undo the brake line at the rear. TIP - always use a ring spanner on the bleeder nipples or you'll round them of and you'll never be able to get them out.

Here's what you're left with once you undo the 4 bolts with 15mm heads that hold the axle and brake to the suspension arm.

Give that face plate a good scrub with a wire brush and make sure it's nice and clean. You don't want any crud in there.

**Peter Jones** · 09-01-2008, 04:32 PM

Now to pop the Cordoba stub axle and brake backing plate on. It's really cool the way these drum assemblies stay in one piece when you remove them. It makes it a pretty quick swap over.

And here it is bolted up, handbrake cable bake in and brake line re-connected. You can see 3 of the 4 mounting bolts clearly here. I had a look in my Haynes book of lies for a torque setting but couldn't see one in there. So I put some loctite on them and just did them up effing tight.

Now's a good time to re-pack those wheel bearings. I gave them a good blast out with degreaser and packed them with Wheel Bearing grease - don't use any other kind of grease or you'll have problems later on.

Apparently Wheel Bearing grease now comes in BLUE!

I'm not Joking!

Now just pop the regreased drum back on, do up the nut, replace the locking thingy , install cotter pin and grease cap.

If you haven't done so already you might need to release the self adjuster to allow the shoes to come back in before you can get the drum back over the shoes. In the shot of the brake innards above. There's a spring that runs vertically, the adjuster is the piece of metal on the top end of the spring. To release it just push it upwards with some pliers or something.

**Peter Jones** · 09-01-2008, 04:49 PM

Here's a comparison shot of MKI vs Cordoba/MKIII drums.

Of course you need to bleed the brakes and adjust the handbrake cables - but there's nothing exotic about this - check your workshop manual on how to do it.

Pete.

**Peter Jones** · 12-01-2008, 07:59 AM

One last shot with the wheel back on.

**Jarred** · 12-01-2008, 12:36 PM

nice write up pete, I honestly thing all your brake work should be stickied in the mk 1 section! mods...

**GRN_VAGN** · 06-10-2011, 03:23 PM

Originally Posted by Peter Jones

You can see 3 of the 4 mounting bolts clearly here. I had a look in my Haynes book of lies for a torque setting but couldn't see one in there. So I put some loctite on them and just did them up effing tight.

If i remember correctly, my manual Said 58nm, i dd this swap last week, i just do as you said, loctite, and effing tight