70p2ontiAc
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I have a 2002 Explorer, 4wd, 4wheel disc brakes and am looking for an illustration that shows how to adjust the emergency brakes. Can anyone out there help me?
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2002 Explorer: Adjusting emergency brakes.
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Welcome to this forum! I've moved your thread into the stock 2002-2005 section.
KPPCExplorer
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If you remove your rear rotors you can see the shoes, springs, and other components of your parking brake. There is a star shaped piece that is attached to a thread. Using a screw driver, twist it to adjust.
Exproblems
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>>>>>>>>>>>
Type your topic into the "search bar" at the top of the forum and see if there are any "instructions with illustrations" posts in here. You can also remove your rear brake pads and rotors, which will give you access to the Rear Parking Brake Shoes AKA Emergency Brakes. While you attempt to remove the rear rotors, the rotor may hang up on the Parking Brake Shoes hitting against an inner lip that has formed on your inner rotor surface. Try and remove this lip off of the rotor once you get them off or replace the rotors if needed. Once you've gotten this far with the rotors off, you can see the adjustment "Star Wheel" located at the bottom end of the shoes, where the 2 brake shoe halves connect in the middle with the Star Wheel adjustment bolt/spreader. Expect the Star Wheel to be seized or rusted up in place. If so, spray it with some PB Blaster lubricant first to help free it up. You turn the star wheel up or down on it's threads to adjust the brake shoes outward or inward, pay attention to what direction the shoes move when you spin the star wheel. Spreading the shoes outward will tighten them up to the rotors, inward loosens them to the rotor, but don't turn them too far outward or you won't be able to slide the rotors back on over the top of the Parking brake shoes when re-assembling everything. You may want to put some anti-seize compound on the star wheel threads so the wheel won't seize or rust up in the future. BTW, Right behind the star wheel, there is a "punch or drill out plate" on the backing plate that Ford never removed on these Ex's to access the star wheel. On older vehicles, they (Ford) pre-tapped this hole to access the Star Wheel adjustment wheel so you could just use a Parking Brake adjustment tool (Flat head screwdrivers work too) from behind the backing plate to adjust the Parking Brakes with the wheels and rotors still on the vehicle. You would just insert the tool thru the access hole/ port on the back side of the backing plate and spin the star wheel up or down, adjusting the parking brakes. They also used a rubber grommet to plug up this access port. There should be some instructions in here (I've seen some before) on how to tap or drill out this access port yourself, just becareful if you try it yourself and you'll need a couple rubber plugs for the new access holes you made. Try at your own risk, just read up on it first. Good Luck!
>>>>>>>>>
Type your topic into the "search bar" at the top of the forum and see if there are any "instructions with illustrations" posts in here. You can also remove your rear brake pads and rotors, which will give you access to the Rear Parking Brake Shoes AKA Emergency Brakes. While you attempt to remove the rear rotors, the rotor may hang up on the Parking Brake Shoes hitting against an inner lip that has formed on your inner rotor surface. Try and remove this lip off of the rotor once you get them off or replace the rotors if needed. Once you've gotten this far with the rotors off, you can see the adjustment "Star Wheel" located at the bottom end of the shoes, where the 2 brake shoe halves connect in the middle with the Star Wheel adjustment bolt/spreader. Expect the Star Wheel to be seized or rusted up in place. If so, spray it with some PB Blaster lubricant first to help free it up. You turn the star wheel up or down on it's threads to adjust the brake shoes outward or inward, pay attention to what direction the shoes move when you spin the star wheel. Spreading the shoes outward will tighten them up to the rotors, inward loosens them to the rotor, but don't turn them too far outward or you won't be able to slide the rotors back on over the top of the Parking brake shoes when re-assembling everything. You may want to put some anti-seize compound on the star wheel threads so the wheel won't seize or rust up in the future. BTW, Right behind the star wheel, there is a "punch or drill out plate" on the backing plate that Ford never removed on these Ex's to access the star wheel. On older vehicles, they (Ford) pre-tapped this hole to access the Star Wheel adjustment wheel so you could just use a Parking Brake adjustment tool (Flat head screwdrivers work too) from behind the backing plate to adjust the Parking Brakes with the wheels and rotors still on the vehicle. You would just insert the tool thru the access hole/ port on the back side of the backing plate and spin the star wheel up or down, adjusting the parking brakes. They also used a rubber grommet to plug up this access port. There should be some instructions in here (I've seen some before) on how to tap or drill out this access port yourself, just becareful if you try it yourself and you'll need a couple rubber plugs for the new access holes you made. Try at your own risk, just read up on it first. Good Luck!
helphos
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Emergency Brake woes on 2002 Explorer 4WD
Don't bother with opening up the 'knockout plug'- you cant get to it from the back anyway(at least on 4WD and RWD Explorers!). You really have to take the caliper and the rotor off to adjust it. BUT, if you have driven the car a couple of years since your last rear wheel brake job... ***eddaboutit. that disk aint coming off.
When I did this job the first time, the brake linings were non-existent, just naked shoes. I had never seen that before. So I put all new parts on and tried to adjust them with a little drag (as recommended) and buttoned them up. My daughter (it's her Explorer) complained from the start that there was no ooomph in the parking brakes, so I readjusted them with a little more drag. Not much improvement. I felt that if I made them any tighter they would heat up, wear out, and give her lousy gas mileage.
Two years went by. The rear disk pads are still fine, but I decided to take one more shot at tightening the emergency brake shoes. Well, despite their ineffectualness, they have worn a groove in the drum and the disk-drum will not come off. The first time I had tackled this job 2 years ago I bent the E-brake shoes getting the Rotor/drum off, so I gave up.
This is a terrible example of engineering, and its sad because none of the technology is very new. We've been putting drum brakes inside disk rotors for years. Why is it so hard??
(This is not so much for the OP, but for future generations of Explorer owners)
Thanks for reading.
Don't bother with opening up the 'knockout plug'- you cant get to it from the back anyway(at least on 4WD and RWD Explorers!). You really have to take the caliper and the rotor off to adjust it. BUT, if you have driven the car a couple of years since your last rear wheel brake job... ***eddaboutit. that disk aint coming off.
When I did this job the first time, the brake linings were non-existent, just naked shoes. I had never seen that before. So I put all new parts on and tried to adjust them with a little drag (as recommended) and buttoned them up. My daughter (it's her Explorer) complained from the start that there was no ooomph in the parking brakes, so I readjusted them with a little more drag. Not much improvement. I felt that if I made them any tighter they would heat up, wear out, and give her lousy gas mileage.
Two years went by. The rear disk pads are still fine, but I decided to take one more shot at tightening the emergency brake shoes. Well, despite their ineffectualness, they have worn a groove in the drum and the disk-drum will not come off. The first time I had tackled this job 2 years ago I bent the E-brake shoes getting the Rotor/drum off, so I gave up.
This is a terrible example of engineering, and its sad because none of the technology is very new. We've been putting drum brakes inside disk rotors for years. Why is it so hard??
(This is not so much for the OP, but for future generations of Explorer owners)
Thanks for reading.
EXPLORER04
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this is what the ford service manual states:
Using a caliper, measure the inside diameter of the drum position of the rear brake disc. Adjust the parking brake cage clearance of 1.07 mm less than the inside diameter of the drum portion of the rear brake disc.
Using a caliper, measure the inside diameter of the drum position of the rear brake disc. Adjust the parking brake cage clearance of 1.07 mm less than the inside diameter of the drum portion of the rear brake disc.
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