Rear parking brake shoes. Seriously.

[broncojunkie]

Ok, I can't for the life of me figure out why it is so hard to find a good video or thread on replacing these things. Mine are shot. I have done brake shoes before, so I know the basics...but never done a pair of these parking brake shoes. I know it is going to be a pain because everything is hard to get to.

I found a great thread here on the forum:
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=147823&highlight=parking+brake

Problem is, all of the pics are now missing (I think...or am I having browser problems?)

Can anyone point me toward a good video or how-to link with pics so I can get a better idea of what I'm about to get into? By the way...I am working on my '02 XLT Explorer.

Thanks!

 

[LONO100]

ive been needing to do the same thing for a few months now. i cant find any either. ill be watching this thread to see if anyone chimes in. if i find anything, ill post it here.

 

[broncojunkie]

ive been needing to do the same thing for a few months now. i cant find any either. ill be watching this thread to see if anyone chimes in. if i find anything, ill post it here.

Good deal. I am going to pick up my brakes here in a few. I would put up a how-to thread, if I thought I knew how to do it the right way.

 

[xlt03]

Just a tip for the spring on the parking brake shoes.
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=270833 Seems to work well for most people here.

 

[JoshMcMadMac]

They are a pain to mess with, and there is no single "right" way of doing it. I did mine awhile back out of necessity, as I was replacing the rotors and the pads literally fell apart when the rotor came off.

It is helpful to have a drum brake tool, which is like a big, funky pair of pliers with a few useful bends and tools built into it. Otherwise it just takes patience and a few hand tools like pliers and a big screw driver or small pry bar. Take it apart and put everything back together in reverse, as it is really just a few springs holding everything together. Oh, and screw the adjuster back down all the way.

 

[Exproblems]

but never done a pair of these parking brake shoes. I know it is going to be a pain because everything is hard to get to.

!

Just a tip when you install the old or new parking brake "adjuster/star wheel". Lube up the star wheel adjuster thread bolt(the threads themselves) with anti-seize compound, this will keep it from rusting up into place and you will be able to adjust the parking brakes in the future if needed. On the picture links you couldn't see in the old posts you found, that happens, it isn't your browser. After a certain amount of time, the pic links are no longer available to view for some reason, not sure why that is. BTW, I agree with the recommendation to get a drum brake tool, makes life a little easier than trying to install the brake hardware with pliers and screwdrivers.

 

[broncojunkie]

Just a tip when you install the old or new parking brake "adjuster/star wheel". Lube up the star wheel adjuster thread bolt(the threads themselves) with anti-seize compound, this will keep it from rusting up into place and you will be able to adjust the parking brakes in the future if needed. On the picture links you couldn't see in the old posts you found, that happens, it isn't your browser. After a certain amount of time, the pic links are no longer available to view for some reason, not sure why that is. BTW, I agree with the recommendation to get a drum brake tool, makes life a little easier than trying to install the brake hardware with pliers and screwdrivers.

Funny you should mention the tip about the adjuster. Both of mine were completely froze up. I had purchased the hardware kit for the shoes, so I just replaced the adjusters with new ones from the package, adjusted, and the parking brake is good as new! Now, while I admit that the shoes (mainly on the drivers side) were definitely not in great shape, there was still enough material left to make the parking brake hold. With it adjusted, if feels like brand new and holds great on a hill. There's no shortage of hills where I live (WV) so it was pretty easy to test, lol!

I have an auto-zone right down the road that just opened a couple days ago. They had the hardware kit for $12.

After taking a good, long look at those brake shoes, I'm thinking that if I ever do end up replacing them, I'm just going to pull the hubs. It would make life a lot easier, I think.

Here's a couple pics of the adjusters:

Old one that I took off. You can see how bad it is. When I tried to adjust it, the teeth just pretty much disintigrated.

With the new one replaced. The star wheel seems to be made a little beefier on this one. It still looks like the whole thing would be prone to rust, though...so I agree with you. Difinitely use some anti-sieze on it:

Note: It was easy to replace these by using a screwdriver to pry on one of the shoes to spread them apart. Just pop out the old one and stick the new one in there. Once it's in, just adjust it out to where it needs to be.

 

[Exproblems]

Funny you should mention the tip about the adjuster. Both of mine were completely froze up.
Here's a couple pics of the adjusters:

Old one that I took off. You can see how bad it is. When I tried to adjust it, the teeth just pretty much disintigrated.

With the new one replaced. The star wheel seems to be made a little beefier on this one. It still looks like the whole thing would be prone to rust, though...so I agree with you. Difinitely use some anti-sieze on it:

.

Yeah, those adjusters were shot! I live in area that has long, snowy winters and they use road salt to clear the ice and snow off of the roads and those adjusters always rust solid around here after a few winters of driving, unless you anti-seize them. I anti-seize nearly every nut and bolt I remove off of my Ex. or vehicles. Glad you got everything done and working good!

 

[bigmiketino]

Just replaced my shoes and hardware set the adjustment all the way down rotor slipped on fine. I took it for a test drive and they are making a grinding noise I am pissed offf. Any help maybe adjust the star out more.....Thanks in advance

 

[ponkotsu]

Just replaced my shoes and hardware set the adjustment all the way down rotor slipped on fine. I took it for a test drive and they are making a grinding noise I am pissed offf. Any help maybe adjust the star out more.....Thanks in advance

Drive it a while with the parking brake on to wear down the high spots. If it still makes noise after that, then its probably some hardware dragging. I had mine apart when I did the bearing. It was a piece of cake sitting on the bench with the hub off! I can't really think of anything that might be causing a grinding noise unless you totally installed something wrong.

 

[caspian65]

I've done these before and they are a pain without removing the hub. I ended up attaching the spring to the 2 shoes, put the tops in place and then spread the shoes out. It was damn near impossible to get the spring on when the shoes were installed.

 

[ponkotsu]

The shoes on my 2000 Mounty were completely worn down to the backing plate. I assumed that some prior owner regularly forgot to release the brake and fried them. Then I bought an '05 Aviator, and the shoes are full thickness and the inside of the drums are rusty. Like they never once used the parking brake.

Amazing how much driving style can affect the condition of a car. Both vehicles had almost exactly same mileage when I bought them. 144k.

 

[caspian65]

Mine had the material separate from the shoes at about 150k miles. They were rattling around inside the rotor.