I just installed new parking brake shoes to replace my old worn shoes. The install went perfect. I have a lot of experience in brake and working on cars in general so trust me when I say they are installed right. However when I tried putting the rotor back on, it won't fit. The rotor is hitting the lining of the new brake shoes, however the new lining is not abnormally thick, it looks exactly as thick as how it should be. The star adjuster is already 100% tightened back in, so I figured maybe the ebrake adjustment under the center console can be loosened. So that's what I did, but it didn't make any difference, the rotor still cannot fit. It's probably a good 2mm from fitting I think. My car is on jack stands right now and cannot be driven. Any help?

The new shoes I got are Wagner perfect stop, part number PSS782

 

new rotor or old one?

 

Old

 

oem or aftermarket pads?

 

Stupid question but is your e-brake handle up?

 

Please read my OP more carefully again. This has nothing to do with pads.

Most definitely not. It was one of the first things I did. I even loosened the adjustment nut inside the center console

 

Take the set of shoes you have not installed & place them inside the drum & see if the radius is about the same, put the old shoes in the drum & compare to the new, may be wrong shoes. OEM or after market?

 

Sounds like the install wasn't perfect. I would suggest using a manual to help you.

It's been a while since I've messed with parking brakes but isn't there an adjustment on the shoes to make it wide enough to fit the rotor?

Also consider that the shoes aren't for your car---"buy and return the oem version and see if it fits".

 

Hard to see in the installation thread, but the new linings are only about 3.2mm or .126" in thickness, not including the shoe thickness, no thicker. Make certain the top of both shoes are against the anchor pin, tap the shoes gently to see if they retract/reposition slightly.

 

I have looked at the alldata manual couple times to double check but I cannot find anything wrong with the install. I got my mechanic friend over to look at it and he couldn't find anything wrong either. We concluded the shoes are probably just bad fitment. I will be exchanging these for another brand and will report back.

 

Many years ago I had a Vette in the garage with what was supposed to be the correct brake pads, no good too thick. The fellow brought the pads in with the car, so I fixed them in a hurry, took a grinder to the pads and they slide right in.

 

That would probably work but I figured it's too much work for my parking brake. I got new brembo rear rotors(kinda needed to replace then anyways) and switched from the wagner shoes to centric brand shoes. Problem was still there, install is 100% perfect, perhaps the lining is just too thick. I ended up switching out 1 shoe on each side and leaving the other stock one, so at least for now it'll fit. I'll run it like this for awhile and in couple months down the line when the oem one is worn down even further I will replace it so all 4 will match.

 

As it was mentioned the stock shoes have very little material. If I didn't know any better I would replace brand new stock shoes thinking they were worn out. Drum service brakes have a lot more lining. I wonder if aftermarket fits some other application where they're used more heavily.

How did you wear out the parking brake shoes anyway? In theory they're only used when the car is sitting still so no wear occurs. Mine weren't even broken in before I purposely broke them in around 70,000 miles which should be done. Pulling the ebrake gently while moving until they start grabbing better with less lever pressure is enough.

 

No, I wasn't suggesting to grind down the shoes, it was just a humorous sidebar. If you, or your mechanic has inside mics, I would check the diameter of the new rotor to make certain that it's within factory tolerance.

 

not sure to be honest, but one side was worn out a lot more than the other, and one of those was worn down severely. I have a feeling maybe the adjustments on both sides werent perfect.


It's a brand new oem rotor, came in a sealed brembo box with the OEM acura part sticker on it. One of my friends suggested maybe my old rotor was out of spec on the inner diameter, so I thought I would replace my rotor while I'm at it, but unfortunately it's the same situation. Could my new and old rotors both be out of spec? I think it's unlikely but anything is possible.

I wonder, if I had ordered the brake shoes from acura, if they would have fit perfect?

 

Which way do you turn the adjuster to move the shoes out towards the rotor. up or down

 

well since you said it has nothing to do with pads, you fudged up the install so guess what? you get to start all over again......I bet if you compare the shoes you will find some differences but hey, what do I know? lol...I've only done this job twice on my CLS and never had any issues.....

 

I think they do, the oem and aftermarket part numbers cross over with a couple other hondas and acuras

 

up

btw I said it doesnt involve pads because brake shoes are not brake pads, just wanted to point that out.
Im no novice when it comes to installing brakes. But since there are always doubters, I had one of my mechanic friends double check my work and he found it perfect. My install is 100% perfect, I took pictures before and during since I was making a DIY for this forum. I also did one side at a time to have the other side to double check.
I took the old shoes, and new shoes(both centric and wagner) compared them all side by side in front of me. Only difference I can see is slightly thicker brake lining.
I did the install 3-4 times, with old and new rotor, with all the same effect. The moment I put back 1 OEM shoe, the rotor slid back on.

 

Read these and check, you may have missed something small and stupid. If not the service limits are posted.

 

^Thanks for the post, really appreciate it. I read over it carefully however it is the exact same steps I took. I really wish it was a simple install error that I made, but it really does seem like the TL cannot fit new aftermarket brake shoes. I am currently using 1 new and 1 old brake shoe on each side in order to slide the rotor in. Once they wear out enough, I will put the other new shoe on. It'll probably take like a year though lol

 

As long as you verify the shoes aren't dragging and the drum spins freely they should have practically zero wear 100,000 miles from now. Try the break in procedure, the ebrake will gain a lot of additional holding power without having to pull so hard on the lever.

That wear was not normal. I was thinking a wheel bearing at first but it's hard to tell from the picture. Were both sides worn the same?

 

I have verified by jacking up the rear from the tow hook, and spun the wheels by hand. With the star adjuster 100% all the way in, it was just enough to clear it with 1 old shoe and 1 new shoe on each side. I was thinking I might try to use my parking brake a bit more often to speed up the wear lol

I agree the wear is not normal. I think maybe my star adjuster wasn't even on both sides. Basically my passenger side was worn quite a bit, and the driver's side had a decent amount of lining left. I admit I've been guilty of pulling the ebrake a couple times while driving though. Compare this with my previous picture:


I couldn't think of any other reason for the uneven wear except for the star adjusters being adjusted differently on both sides.

 

this thread had a similar problem as mine: https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-problems-fixes-114/06-tl-rear-brakes-e-brake-fix-824781/

 

I've also pulled the ebrake several times when moving, especially in the rain. I stopped doing it once I saw how little material the stock shoes have. Nothing wrong with a little fun.

I've only seen your pictures on my phone and at work they're blocked. From what I could see it's worn unevenly but I can't see how bad it is. I'll have to check it out on my home computer when I get home.