Suzuki GZ250, rear brake problem

 Hi,
wondering if someone can give me a few pointers on  repairing the rear
drum brake on a Suzuki GZ250 Marauder - 1999 model.

If I put my foot on the brake pedal, then release - the brake is not
returning to  "off", not releasing.  I assume there is some spring?
mechanism in the brake itself that springs it back to the released
position.
the Cable itself seem to be ok and functioning - it's definetely a
problem in the brake itself.
Quite possibly this is not something I can fix myself - but if someone
can explain the problem fix - I'll at least be able to clesrly
identify what's wrong when I take it in to be fixed, or I might be
able to buy a replacement "whatever it is" I need to replace.
many thanks.
(Havn't been able to find any web site that shows the brake in detail
and describes all the bit's'n'pieces that make it up.)

 
The operating arm has seized in the brake drum plate. Common fault,
that afflicts virtually all drum brakes sooner or later....

See where the cable is attached, on the rear wheel? That's the
operating arm. If it's not returning, then you remove the rear wheel,
remove the brake plate, and remove the operating arm from its splines
(mark where it sits with a small scratch or a punch mark or similar,
so you put it back in exactly the same place afterwards).

Knock out the pivot pin that the arm is splined to. Clean it up with
wet & dry paper or similar. Grease it very lightly, with a decent moly
or copper-based grease. Check it swivels nice and freely. Reassembly
is the reverse of disassembly. Half an hour's work, maybe.

Oh, clean all the brake dust out of the drum while you're there.

 thanks for that, sounds like something for me to get into at the
weekend,
I hadn't really considered that it could be a "simple" Clean and
Grease, I suspected
the operating arm would have had some kind of component that'd need
replacing.
this actually occurred about 2 or 3 years ago - and I think now it may
not hav ehad the service correctly done, cos he couldnt figure out why
it would not return to normal position after removal and reassembly -
and ended up adding a Spring on the end of the Cable to 'push' it back
into the release position - which obviously worked ok - up to now!
 Lets hope this does the trick this time.
thanks again.

 
Actually, a lot of drum brakes have an additional spring on the cable
or rod end, but the main returning force is done by the brake shoe
springs. But, I'll just reiterate: when you pull the operating arm off
the splines, mark its position so it goes back exactly as it was
before.

 neutrino wrote:

http://www.bikebandit.com/partsbandit/showschematic.asp?dept_idq9508

There are two springs (#4) that hold the two brake shoes (#3) to the rear
brake backing plate (#2). The springs hold the shoes against a round pin
which is permanently attached to the backing plate. It needs to be greased.
When you step on the brake pedal, arm (#8) rotates the brake cam
(#5). The cam also needs to be greased.

In order to grease the pins you have to remove the brake shoes. You don't
have to fight the springs, With the backing plate laying on the bench, use a
motorcycle tire tool or a screwdriver to pry the two brake shoes up and
rotate them up towards you so they are side by side with the springs still
attached.

When you have removed the shoes, it's a good time to degrease the brake
backing plate with a stiff bristle brush. Get all the brake dust off the
backing plate and out of the brake drum. You can apply a little bit of grease
to the sealed wheel bearings by putting a gob of grease on your finger,
sticking it in the axle hole and pushing it into the tiny gap between the
bearing spacer and the bearing.

I have been greasing sealed bearings like this for 40 years and rarely have
to replace a wheel bearing.

Once you have greased the pivot pin and the brake cam and put a tiny dab of
grease on the places where the aluminum brake shoes touch the pin and the cam,
just hold the brake shoes vertically side by side with the springs between
them and push them into the horizontal plane and they will pop back into
their proper position.

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