yohy Posted July 26, 2008 Share Posted July 26, 2008 HELP. Does anyone have the procedure for R&R of the backing plate for a rear disk setup? The car is a ’97 Legacy L awd, again with disks in the rear. Foolish me, I figure a couple of hours to do a brake job, pads/rotors, time for a sandwich. NOT! On the driver’s side, the outer ring of the backing plate just crumbled in my hands as I was wrestling with the rotor. I figured no big deal, probably a few bolts and I can replace the ring. Again, NOT! It appears the dang thing is integral to everything including the caliper support. Now I have the factory manual but for the life of me I can’t locate the procedure for removing it. I have stripped off all of the parking brake paraphernalia (another long story as I have NEVER dealt with a drum brake!) but it looks like the plate is trapped by the hub, please someone tell me I don’t have to pull the hub apart to get the plate off. So I am now on bended knee, someone please, the procedure for removal of that backing plate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted July 26, 2008 Share Posted July 26, 2008 if it's a benign part of the backing plate, can you just leave it there the way it is? i would think you could just put everything back together (new rotors, pads) and be good to go. then plan ahead for tackling this rusted part replacement. i've seen a number of rear rusted through backing plates..pitted, small holes, big holes, large chunks missing. ususally doesn't cause a problem. not ideal of course, be nice to have them there but there's thousands on the road right now like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yohy Posted July 26, 2008 Author Share Posted July 26, 2008 grossgary, yep, it's the "benign" section, more of a dust shield that encircles about 3/4's of the heavy metal backing plate. I can't believe someone hasn't come up with some sort of replacement for that section as it's just tack welded to the backing plate. So you think just ripping the dust shield portion off and putting it back together is appropriate? I worry about road debris, etc getting in there. Now curious, if I did try to remove the entire backing plate, do you have to pull the hub? If so, is the hub pressed into the rear spindle or splined into it? Thanks again for the quick reply and all of your input. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted July 26, 2008 Share Posted July 26, 2008 i'm not sure. but someone posted a picture of the exploded view from a Subaru FSM of a rear EJ hub in one of the threads i started in the past year. it was about converting from drum to disc and was a view of the rear disc, hub and backing plate. if i wasn't on dial up maybe i'd think about searching for it for you. and yes it would be nice to have it there, because rocks and debris could get in there, but i've seen tons of them rusted off and missing. can you weld or drill? could you weld or bolt a similar piece of metal in it's place? i guess you're bolting to badly rusted metal so that's not going to work? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yohy Posted July 27, 2008 Author Share Posted July 27, 2008 grossgary, I've got the FSM but it doesn't describe the procedure for removing the backing plate. Now I do have a machine shop down the street, I might stop in and get his thoughts on fab'ing up something to weld to the meat of the backing plate. Again, only the outer ring of a lighter metal rusted away, the actual backing plate that holds everything is fine. I guess it doesn't hurt to ask. Thanks again for your thoughts/comments, it's appreciated. Oh, it have "searched" and found multiple posts on the drum to disk conversion, but nothing specific to the process of removing the backing plate. Lastly, if I take off the axle nut, will that hub/tone ring slide off on the splines of the axle or is it pressed into the wheel bearings? Just trying to figure out next steps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted July 27, 2008 Share Posted July 27, 2008 the hub is pressed in, so i'd avoid getting into all of that if possible. can you just drill two holes and bolt a new piece of metal there? metal is easy to cut to the size you want and bolt it on...make it aluminum so it doesn't rust! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chef_tim Posted July 27, 2008 Share Posted July 27, 2008 Hey John, you have no idea how closely I'm following rear brake threads:-p Please be sure to post your final out come. Later, Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yohy Posted July 27, 2008 Author Share Posted July 27, 2008 Tim, I was thinking about you when I started this job. Dang, as mentioned, I thought a few hours and I would be done, including lunch. Well northern winters took it toll on that darn dust shield. If it wasn't for that, I would have been done in the allotted time. Now it's time to sit back and think. And yes, I will give you the outcome. Oh, the backing plate (ref: splash shield #2 at http://www.trademotion.com/partlocator/index.cfm?action=getLocator&siteid=214077&chapter=ARL7521&appSectionid=2788&groupid=2513&subgroupid=2403&componentid=0&make=32&model=Legacy&year=1997&graphicID=7521470&callout=2&catalogid=2) is about a hundred bucks. BUT the issue is getting the fool thing off. Hence, the sitting back and weighing options. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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