Parking brake shoe adjustments revisited

[Stranger in the Black Sedan]

Hi guys, I had posted a while ago about how to adjust the parking brake shoes when new rotors are installed. The answer I got was the legit way to do it -- using a special brake shoe/drum measuring tool and setting the clearance from the shoe to the drums. I didn't get any answers on how people without this tool do it.

I hope people aren't just changing rear rotors without checking the adjustment on the parking brake shoes? From what I have found, the drum ID on the rear rotors varies greatly depending on what brand rotor it is. My new rotors drag the parking brake drums slightly, with the OEM parking brake adjustment. No matter how much I bring the shoes in, and keep pushing on the parking brake pedal to reset the shoes after each adjustment, the passsenger's side parking brake drum seems to still drag a little in one spot. The rotors are low mileage.

I hate parking brake drums so much!! You'd think there would be a better way to have a parking brake than the system we have on these cars.

Thanks

Steve

[Stranger in the Black Sedan]

Ah I adjusted them kinda like an Acura manual had me adjust rotor hat p'brake shoes once. With the wheels on but up in the air, I took the rubber backing plate plug off both sides and brought the star adjuster to the point that I had forced the shoes to contact the rotor, and the wheel would not spin any more. Then I backed off 10-12 clicks. Good to go. I am still going to buy a brake drum/shoe measuring caliper on ebay so I can set these per the book next time.

[MENINBLK]

Ah I adjusted them kinda like an Acura manual had me adjust rotor hat p'brake shoes once. With the wheels on but up in the air, I took the rubber backing plate plug off both sides and brought the star adjuster to the point that I had forced the shoes to contact the rotor, and the wheel would not spin any more. Then I backed off 10-12 clicks. Good to go. I am still going to buy a brake drum/shoe measuring caliper on ebay so I can set these per the book next time.

Doing it this way is perfect.
You don't need the caliper to measure the shoes.
Just expand the shoes until the rotor won't go back on.
Back off the adjustment until the rotor can go on a spin freely.

When the wheel is mounted, lift the rear and spin each wheel
(with the Transmission in N) while adjusting the shoes
until there is enough drag to keep the wheels from spinning freely.
Set the parking brake once and release.
If the wheels still drag, then you can back off the adjustment
until they are free.