Handbrake shoes?

[Zedtastic]

Hi folks,

I just need a bit of advice. I'm in the process of replacing my rear brake discs, and I don't know whether its worth doing the handbrake shoes at the same time. I have no idea how much material there is on a new set of shoes, and if mine are close to the end. There's about 4.5mm of material there. They're probably the original ones from the factory (car has done 87K miles).

PC230043b.jpg (122.47 KiB) Viewed 638 times

I know they don't cost a great deal, but are they a PITA to fit?

[firebobby]

They look like they have plenty of meat on them. The hand brake only holds the car when the HB is applied. Unlike cars that have rear brake shoes which are part of the foot brake system.

[mr nurburgring]

Look ok to me. If I were you I would just remove the adjuster and clean all the threads and maybe apply a touch of grease and refit.

[patriot66]

Plenty of lining left on those. Just give them a light sanding and the inside of the drums. Refit the discs and adjust the hand brake shoes with the little adjuster wheel alongside the spring in your photo. This has to be done through a wheel stud hole with a screwdriver and can be a bit tricky so familiarise yourself with the procedure before refitting the disc. You will need a torch/inspection lamp also. I did mine last April when I fitted new discs and the handbrake is now awesome

[Zedtastic]

Thanks for your good advice guys .

Is there a special type of grease for the adjustor? Copper grease maybe?

[mr nurburgring]

Copper grease will be fine, you don’t need a lot, they don’t often need adjusting so the threads may be a little tight when you come to adjust and it makes life easier in the future.

[dhobbs]

What’s the procedure for adjusting the handbrake shoes?

Do you need both wheels off the ground at the same time?
Is it 3 clicks in the handbrake, then adjust each wheel so they don’t turn?

Or are BMW handbrakes simply rubbish!

[patriot66]

What’s the procedure for adjusting the handbrake shoes?

Do you need both wheels off the ground at the same time?
Is it 3 clicks in the handbrake, then adjust each wheel so they don’t turn?

Or are BMW handbrakes simply rubbish!

This is the guide I followed to do mine
https://www.pelicanparts.com/techarticl ... usting.htm

[Ewazix]

If you have trouble getting the lock under the handbrake leaver to release, this is the shape of tool required, it's a simple but frustratingly fiddly job without the BMW tool and drove me potty for a while

braketool.jpg (18.22 KiB) Viewed 572 times

[dhobbs]

Cheers. Seems a bit more work than just adjusting the shoes then.