Loose Handbrake / Parking Shoes

McShmoopy · August 20, 2023

Hi everyone, I've changed up my brake discs and pads and re-greased my calliper pins however with the old seized up brake pads I manage to get them off using the M8 Bolts. Upon yanking them off I noticed that two springs , 2 clips faces came flying out and the handbrake shoes seemed to be just loosely hanging behind the rotors.

From what I can tell there seems to be some riveted long clip and the clip face goes over it but for the life of me I was unable to get them back on. Getting the brake disc on as a result was a nightmare as I had to reshuffle the position of the loose hanging shoes for both the left and right rear brakes. I just wanted to know is this a common issue and is this a major safety issue? I'm thinking to take the car to the garage to get these parking shoes looked at and fitted properly but don't know if this warrants a replacement. I've stuck two photos in of how it's looking and how it should look when I've pressed it in. One of the riveted long clips has been pushed back somewhere into the void but I've retained all the other bits for this in a box.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

J Henderson · August 20, 2023

Looks like the hold down pins have broken off.

In the top picture, that hole in the middle of the brake shoe...there should be a small pin protruding there. Upon which, a small coil spring and a cap fit over it and keep the shoes snug against the backing plate.

These are the part numbers to replace them.

Pin - 47447-10020

Spring - 90501-16118

Spring cap - 47449-30030

Did you slacken off the parking brake before removing the disc?

McShmoopy · August 20, 2023

5 minutes ago, J Henderson said:

Looks like the hold down pins have broken off.

In the top picture, that hole in the middle of the brake shoe...there should be a small pin protruding there. Upon which, a small coil spring and a cap fit over it and keep the shoes snug against the backing plate.

These are the part numbers to replace them.

Pin - 47447-10020

Spring - 90501-16118

Spring cap - 47449-30030

Did you slacken off the parking brake before removing the disc?

That seems like better names than what I came with, thanks for sharing the part numbers and advising mate! By slacken do you mean disengaging the parking brake? I left it on while taking off the disc so I imagine I didnt

EDIT: Would this be anything to be concerned about and should I avoid driving the car til I get the hold down pins replaced?

J Henderson · August 20, 2023

That'll explain why they're broken! Don't worry, I made the same mistake...hence why I know those part numbers. 😀

For future reference, have the parking brake OFF. And, also remove the rubber plug on the disc to reveal the adjustment cog for the parking brake. You can turn it with a flathead screwdriver. You need to loosen it off a little so the disc comes off without grabbing the shoes.

You can drive the car fine until you get it repaired. Just avoid using the parking brake.

McShmoopy · August 20, 2023

1 hour ago, J Henderson said:

That'll explain why they're broken! Don't worry, I made the same mistake...hence why I know those part numbers. 😀

For future reference, have the parking brake OFF. And, also remove the rubber plug on the disc to reveal the adjustment cog for the parking brake. You can turn it with a flathead screwdriver. You need to loosen it off a little so the disc comes off without grabbing the shoes.

You can drive the car fine until you get it repaired. Just avoid using the parking brake.

That'll explain it then! Thanks for that John thats put my mind at ease haha

boyo · July 24

On 8/20/2023 at 11:12 PM, McShmoopy said:

That'll explain it then! Thanks for that John thats put my mind at ease haha

did you get it fixed?

J Henderson · July 25

If your looking for advice, I just replaced my whole parking brake assembly last weekend. An extremely fiddly job!

But, I think through my trials and tribulations, I learned a lot and could now do it again in a fraction of the time that I spent.

When I was fitting a new set of discs, I noticed that on two of the brake shoes, the linings had separated from the metal, and they fell out of the disc along with a pile of rust and debris. Plus, all of the springs etc were looking very fragile and rusty, so I just decided to replace everything whilst I had the opportunity.

I got a new set of shoes, plus a hardware kit that includes all the parts needed from Rockauto.com

Was around £55 including shipping and they arrived in about 3 days.

Linas.P · July 25

9 minutes ago, J Henderson said:

If your looking for advice, I just replaced my whole parking brake assembly last weekend. An extremely fiddly job!

It is okey if one is born with 5 hands and ideally 7 fingers on each hand as well, 3 of which are left thumbs nonetheless, otherwise be prepared to curse a lot. The retaining caps are such a stupid design as you trying to compress the spring whilst trying push and twist the cap onto the pin that is just danglin in the air.

I believe Lexus has special tool for it, but any design that requires specialty tool is bad design in my view. When I did my parking brake I spent probably 10 minutes total removing all the old crap ... and then 3 hours of slave labour to put damn caps back. I remember almost jumping up in the air and screaming "yeah" after I put last cap on... felt almost like scoring goal during final... just much more difficult to do of course!

Basically the trick that worked for me was to compress the spring with the cap on the pin (but you need to hold the pin in place somehow maybe with screwdriver), then grip the end of the pin with pliers and then try to turn the cap in position and release the pliers. 1 time out of 5 you don't get hit with the cap in the face and then you know you did it right.

J Henderson · July 25

Yes, definitely much easier if you can get a 2nd person to hold the pin in place, leaving you free to compress the spring and rotate the cap.

I was just by myself, but found a solution of jamming the handle of my ratchet in the area behind the pin. It was just about the right size to stay there and prevent the pin from moving too much.

Linas.P · July 25

4 minutes ago, J Henderson said:

Yes, definitely much easier if you can get a 2nd person to hold the pin in place, leaving you free to compress the spring and rotate the cap.

I was just by myself, but found a solution of jamming the handle of my ratchet in the area behind the pin. It was just about the right size to stay there and prevent the pin from moving too much.

That is right... it wasn't screwdriver, it was indeed handle of the ratchet for me as well! I just remember jamming something there after having lost the pin for like 5 times and struggling to put it back in. Bottom one is less of an issue, but putting the top one back is real nightmare also much harder to hold it in place.

J Henderson · July 25

Yeah, the bottom one, you have that access hole in the knuckle which can make things easier.

Worst feeling for me was when I managed to put the top cap in place, but thought it looked like it wasn't seated properly so tried to rotate it a bit, and the freaking thing popped back off... 😅

Linas.P · July 25

That is exactly the thing - it seems you finally put it back on but it is little bit at angle, try to straighten it and it pops-off. Can't understand how same thing can be so hard to put on and it slips so easily off.

I reckon maybe compressing the spring with thin zip-ties would work, then when you get it in place just cut them. Will need to try next time.

McShmoopy · July 25

21 hours ago, boyo said:

did you get it fixed?

Did get it fixed in the end by taking it to KAM servicing down the road, given how everyone seems to have ALOT of trouble with parking brake I opted to let it be someone else's problem haha

steve2006 · July 25

Here’s the exploded diagram, remove the rubber bung and turn the drum so the hole is in the 3 o’clock position, a torch helps locate the adjuster shone through the hole.

I can’t remember which way to turn it but if the drum locks up that’s the tightening direction.

Loosen the adjuster then after refitting the shoes turn ( flip with a flat blade screwdriver) until the drum locks up then turn the opposite way until it allows rotation.