[ProjectMangler]

I've been hearing scraping noises from the rear for a couple weeks, after searching the forums I figured it was probably the pads not retracting due to rust on the pins. Inspected them yesterday, and aside from rusty rotors everything was very clean.

Turns out it's the parking brakes that are scraping. The drag is minor, I can turn the rotor by hand, but you can hear the shoes scraping the drum. I didn't have the time to pull the rotors/drums and inspect the e-brake, and I'm not very thrilled with the thought of dealing with drums (been a long time, and the memories aren't pleasant). Is it normal for these brakes to drag a little, or should I be worried? The fact that both seem to be dragging (although the driver's side seems worse) makes me wonder if the problem may be outside the drum, in the cable run.

Any advice or words of wisdom would be much appreciated. It's an 07 AWD with 41,000 miles.

 

[ramblerdan]

No, the parking brake should not drag at all. Inspect your cables for damage or rust, and check for smooth motion. If that checks out the problem could be internal, but more often than not a cable is the culprit.

 

[ApriliaGuy]

I'm guessing cable too.....especially if you don't use it very often.

 

[Gilboy]

Rear pads

My guess is it's one of the rear pads worn down to the steel backer. (Normal on snowbelt E's.

 

[ApriliaGuy]

rear pads worn down to the steel backer. (Normal on snowbelt E's.

My first thought too, but by ProjectMangler's post it seems that has already been checked.

 

[Tim Vance]

You can adjust the shoes without having to take off the drum/rotor combo.

With the wheel off, looking at the drum, you should see a rubber grommet. This covers an inspection hole. remove the grommet, and turn the drum so it's at the bottom - about 6 o'clock.

You may need a flashlight to see in. There is a wormgear type adjuster (standard brake adjuster) horizontally at the bottom of the shoes. The adjuster has 'teeth' on it that you can adjust, up or down with a flat head screw driver. I don't know which way you need to adjust it, but I'm sure that once you manage to fiddle a screwdriver into that little hole, and find the gear, you can figure out which way to turn it, by giving it a turn or two, then rotating the drum, and feeling the drag. If it increases, then back the gear off a bit, and try again...

Lather, rinse, repeat, until the drag goes away.

Have someone pull the Ebrake on, while you try to turn the drum by hand to give yo a good indication if you got it right...

For what it's worth, the drums are really easy to take off. 2 Phillips head screws, and then you need to slowly and evenly screw in two 8 mm bolts into the two small holes. The manual calls for 8mm X 1.25 bolt. We actually used 5/16 coarse by 2 inch (it's what we happened to have)
as long as you screw them in a couple of turns at a time, alternating, then the drum pretty much 'pops' off.

 

[ProjectMangler]

Thanks for the tip on the grommet, Tim, I'll check that out if the cable's OK.

I have to call BS as far as the hubs coming off easy, Honda should be shot for using Phillips screws. Tried using an impact driver but they still stripped. That's when I decided to call it a day and consult the wisdom of the intrawebs.

 

[ApriliaGuy]

, Honda should be shot for using Phillips screws. Tried using an impact driver but they still stripped.

Just drill the heads off. Use a 5/16" bit (it should pretty much self center in the phillips "X"....if you're nervous about being off center use 9/32" or even as small as 1/4"). After drilling about 1/4-3/8" deep to where the screw meets the drum the head should just spin off leaving the screw "studs" in the hubs. Vise gribs will take them off after the rotor is off. No need to replace the screws at reassembly btw. ;-)

 

[jesbecause]

Cup holder

Don't know what year he has , but what about removing the cup holder between the seats . Isn't there an adjustment located there also @ the beginning of the cable . I think I saw it somewhere , that this is where Honda recommends for a quick adjust ! Instead of removing the rears and all ?

RUBY

 

[Tim Vance]

Thanks for the tip on the grommet, Tim, I'll check that out if the cable's OK.

I have to call BS as far as the hubs coming off easy, Honda should be shot for using Phillips screws. Tried using an impact driver but they still stripped. That's when I decided to call it a day and consult the wisdom of the intrawebs.

oops...
My mistake...we're pretty used to Phillips up here...
the trick is to make sure you have the right size head screwdriver, centre it in the slots, and 'tap' it with a hammer. You want to hit it hard enough to ensure the screw head and screw driver are 'mated'. The screws will loosen out by hand after that (as long as the person who put them in was smart enough to put anti seize on the threads). If it still won't budge, repeat step one a couple of times until they do. The screws are quite short, and are really only there to make sure the rotor is lined up, and doesn't slip during installation.
Never use a power tool when taking Phillips heads out, cause they will strip really easy. A good set of 'easy outs' works for stripped heads.

Drill them out as a last resort...

Don't know what year he has , but what about removing the cup holder between the seats . Isn't there an adjustment located there also @ the beginning of the cable . I think I saw it somewhere , that this is where Honda recommends for a quick adjust ! Instead of removing the rears and all ?

RUBY

If I'm not mistaken, that adjustment is to take up the slack that happens over time, and the cables become 'stretched'. I don't think loosening it off will do much more than put more slack in the cable. Dragging shoes need to be adjusted at the shoe itself.