Automotive Problem

[sgtspector]

I need some help form the motorheads in the group. My daughter's 2000 Accord SE. was parked of about 10 days in the garage. When we returned from vacation the right rear wheel wouldn't turn. It just skidded on the garage floor. I pulled the wheel and after a battle with the brake drum I finally got it off. Inside the drum was in pretty good shape although the outside was rusted and falling apart. The shoes were not in bad shape either, barely worn at all. The emergency brake was not stuck and didn't need adjustment. I decided to change the shoes and drums anyway along with the hardware except the star adjusters. After putting everything back together I can't get the drums back on. The wheel cylinders are all the way in and all the hardware is in the right place. The shoes are an exact match and the drums are the right ones. Even the old ones won't go back on. Any ideas as to what the heck is going on would be helpful.

[HAL9000]

Silly question, but you didn't mention it... I assume you cranked the self adjusters back in???

[sgtspector]

No ask any question. I may have missed something just that simple. But I did crank 'em all the way in.

P.S. I have considered getting the drum cut on a lathe but I want to know why it won't fit normally.

[HAL9000]

You shouldn't need to do that... everything should fit....Parking brake is off?

[sgtspector]

As off as it can get.

[FLG]

Make sure the emergency brake actuator on the shoe isnt loaded (it might be even though the emergency brake appears to be off). Give it a pry and see if it gives any.

[sgtspector]

It isn't. The arm (I that's what you mean by actuator) is as far back as it can get. Getting it towed to a garage in am. Let them fix it. Hopefully for my money I'll get the answer too. Thanx anyway guys.

[MaxRat]

I am betting on the E-brake also...

If the cable got a little rusted the ebrake wont go all the way off...

you can tell by looking the shoes as they are on the backing plate and carefully looking at the ebrake pivot arm...there is a flat piece of stock that goes between the shoes just above the axle...this flat piece should be seated against both shoes fully...if it's not thats a problem..

even a 1/8th inch gap will expand the shoes a 1/4 inch...

Also aftermarket brake pads are thicker than OEM and if you used brand new drums they may not fit until you sand the pads a bit...

They do this on some aftermarket shoes to compensate for drum wear and keep the adjuster within tolerance of travel...food for thought...

[David M]

Originally Posted by sgtspector It isn't. The arm (I that's what you mean by actuator) is as far back as it can get. Getting it towed to a garage in am. Let them fix it. Hopefully for my money I'll get the answer too. Thanx anyway guys.

Good idea...there is no sense in placing your daughters life at risk by monkeying with something that is best left to a professional.

[HAL9000]

It's kinda funny when you think about it... brakes, the one job that many people repair themselves, but it's the one part that is responsible for stopping a ton or more of weight in a controlled manner.

[David M]

Sure, some people can do their own brake jobs. Personally, I would not touch the brakes on my car because I have no idea what the hell I am doing. I know how brakes work in theory and might be able to fix it myself but I have no experience other than what I learned in high school auto shop. So if I did know what the hell I was doing and I did come across a problem that I could not solve then I would not try to guess at the problem, I would take it to a professional. Even though the rear brakes are used roughly 30% for slowing down a car, you certainly would not want a back wheel to lock up potentially putting the car in a spin. Sgt did absolutely the right thing for something relating to safety.

[HAL9000]

I totally agree, if one is not confident in their ability, a professional is the only way to go. As for the rear being responsible for 30% of the braking, a lot of people don't realize just how much 30% is. I had the rear brakes totally fail on my first car as I was coming up to a red light.. 30% is a HUGE loss and I'm surprised that I got the thing stopped in time. The pedal went to the floor, the brake light came on (oh goodie) and I was pumping the brake pretty hard and fast to build enough pressure to stop.

[sgtspector]

Well after banging my head on each wall in my garage I finally surrendered today and had it towed in to a garage. The mechanic was just as befuddled as I was and told me I had everything right. The problem was the shoes. He got a different brand (not from Autozone where I got mine) and viola! Thanks guys.

[Brad the best]

#4 rule for being a mechanic , make sure you have the right parts .before you do anything take the old one and compare it with the new one , if its not right then go have a conversation with the parts person .

[HAL9000]

Makes me wonder if the shoes you got were some kinda cheap knockoff or counterfeit.

[sgtspector]

Before installing them I compared them against each other to make sure they were the same. The only difference I could see was the finish on the shoes. The Autozone brand had a black textured coating, possibly powder coat, as compared to the ones that were on it which had what appeared to be paint, but was probably an epoxy coat. I was sure the difference was inconsequential. I never would have imagined that the finish would be the difference.

[MaxRat]

Originally Posted by HAL9000 Makes me wonder if the shoes you got were some kinda cheap knockoff or counterfeit.

Nope...just aftermarket shoe...Autozone is big on that...as I mentioned in a earier post they make the shoes/pads thicker to compensate for rotor/drum wear...

OEM pads are the same thickness...Advanced Auto also has these (Checker)

[HAL9000]

I always have doubts at discount auto parts store... I remember one place here in town that sold AC-Dalco (GM), Motorcare (Ford) and Mopower (Dodge) parts. All of them had VERY similar decorations on the boxes and were cheap crap. People I know that were suckered by the stuff had things like brake shoes that wore out after 10,000Km.

[David M]

Parts are (not necessarily) parts.