So I tightened my handbrake yesterday and today tested it out, I Did it while moving slowly and the car started to turn right slowly, meaning only the right side is working. What are my steps in fixing the other one? Check the pads? I'm not really sure about mechanical brakes, never really had a problem with them.

 

Probably done with the shoes. If there was something disconnected or terribly wrong with one side it would take all the slack and nothing would happen on the other side, either (that's how mine is, it's fun to freak out people with.)

 

yea i think i need to replace both shoes, the functional one is probably about 1/4 " or less away from just rubbing on metal. how do i replace the shoes and where do i even get them? i looked for a DIY but everyone just says tighten the cable... so i did and this is where im at lol

 

Yeah same. I basically took it all apart myself and ended up losing stuff (hence why disconnected and removed).....so a DIY would be nice. But new system for me eventually.

 

I just changed my brake shoes this past weekend, its a pain in the ***. You can get brake shoes on rock auto, theyre very inexpensive, just a pain in the *** to install. Once I was done tho, the car would stay put on a hill even without me leaving it in gear, that was only a test though, of course I always leave it in gear + the brake.

 

can you elaborate on the PITA procedure?

 

Taking them off will come as a breeze, just remember everything you do. The Top 2 springs that hold each shoe to the top anchor are not much of a problem putting them back into place, they're just very stiff. The bottom spring, which sits behind the adjuster screw is also not too bad. The 2 side springs that sit at 3 and 9 oclock are the worst of them. They have a stud running through them, 2 washers at each end of the spring, so that the washers sit on the brake shoes, giving the tension of the spring unto them.

One of those studs is U-shaped, so that it may curve around the shrimp-shaped hook or anchor (not sure of the proper name). This shrimp anchor is the thing that is actually attached to the e-brake cable. The shrimp anchor also has a pin on it, this pin is used to attached just 1 of the shoes to it. When the pin slides through the shrimp and the new shoe, there is then this little horse-shoe shaped clip that secures the pin in place.

To remove this pin, you basically have to try and open the horse-shoe shape a little bit. To secure it, you have to close it up again. All my stuff seemed to be in great shape no rust at all so I reused everything and nothing has come/broken off yet. Although they do sell the all new hardware kit.

The problem I had with putting this pin through the shrimp and the shoe was that the hole on the damn shoes weren't big enough. So I had to bust out the drill and widen it a bit to get it to fit. I lubed the pin with red wheel-bearing grease before I secured it, since it does act as a bearing as the shoes expand. Just for reference, the shoes I purchased were centric's c-tek shoes. I trust centric as they are a great company for braking needs, but that was just one little mishap.

When putting the rotor back on, the only way it would fit was that I had to adjust the adjuster screw to the fully-closed position. Even at that adjustment, the rears would lock up with a very hard yank after depressing the clutch.

P.S. - wear gloves the damn springs and such cut my hands up pretty bad.

 

Forgot to mention, there are tools specifically for this stuff, But I just used a flat head and a needle nose plier for everything.

 

sounds like a total pain, very detailed description too. flat head and nose pliers can do pretty much everything.

 

indeed they can, hmmm idk if i should just forget it since my car is an auto anyways, or if i should actually fix this. first i have to get some new rotors, mine are warped and probably out of spec to be resurfaced so i'll be getting some new rotors first. how much are the new shoes and where can i buy them?

EDIT: nvm found them on rock auto, 20 bucks not bad!