Replaced '07 park brake/shoe

[Jc79]

My rear brakes were shot on my 2007 ex so I decided to that I might as well put in some new parking brake shoes as well. They didn't really need to be replaced, but since I was there I figured I would do it anyway since the parking brake gets set on any kind of incline. New rotors, pads, and why not some new park shoes.

I have read that they are a pain in the rear to do, and they are! Of course removal was easy, but install was a bit different until I figured out that I needed to make my own "special tool".

Embarrassingly, I spent 2 hours trying to get the first set on! I was just about to give up. But I couldn't. I tried pulling with needle nose vice grips, prying with a flat screw driver, installing the spring on both shoes and stretching them over the axle, etc. Nothing was working.

Then I had this idea. I got my dremel and made a slot in a cheap flat head screw driver. Not the best looking tool, but wow, it worked perfectly! I did the other side in about 10 minutes. I should have taken pics or video but I didn't. Here's what I did.

1. Set both shoes in the pin/clip.
2. Starting with the top spring, I hooked one end of the spring into the shoe slot.
3. Used my "special tool" and pushed the other end of the spring into the same slot of the other shoe.
4. Put the bottom spring on and adjuster.
5. Adjust as needed.

This may have been covered before, but I didn't see it. So maybe this might help a few folks out.

 

[autobahn]

Hi,
Good job, congrats! I've been there, felt the pain, and finally gave up, especially because the original shoes still looked fine and the quality of the replacement was disappointing. So I just cleaned and adjusted them, and hope to not have to touch them again to soon...
Cheers,
Andre

 

[michael loibl]

Is there an adjustment for the parking brake shoes? I haven't had the need to do mine yet but I was planning on it over Christmas week off if anyone can tell me any tips on adjusting I will try that before I try replacement

 

[Jc79]

When you take the rotor off, you'll see the adjuster on the bottom between the shoes. It's a cylinder with a nut in the middle that looks like a sprocket. Just use a flat head screwdriver to turn it as needed.

Also, there is a knock out behind it that you can knock out. If you do that, then you can adjust them without removing the wheel, rotor and caliper.