2005 Chevy Silverado Diagram for replacing Brake shoes

By retaining spring, are you talking about the holddown spring for the shoes, the one with the pin and washer? Or are we talking about a return spring?

It's the retractor spring (shaped like a "W") that hooks from one shoe to the other, holding them down. As soon as I release the shoes, they pull away from the backing plate and and turn inward, which makes me unable to put the drum on.

I tried to upload a picture, but was unsuccessful for some reason.

I took a look at the service procedure for rear brake shoe replacement, and it does'nt look too complicated. Are you sure first of all, that the replacement parts are correct, and not possibly mis-manufactured, and that it is being assembled correctly. Were both sides disassembled at the same time?, or is one still assembled that you could compare it to, for assembly reference? The only important note I see in the service procedure is, Ensure that the retractor spring is properly seated in the retaining bracket at the bottom of the backing plate. It does not say what the result will be if it is not.

My problem was the retractor spring was properly seated in the holder. When I pushed it down hard, it stayed in perfect position. Thanks for your assistance!

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