Parking Brake Adjustment

I just finished replacing the entire rear brake system on my '93 Sentra. It stops just fine, but my parking brake handle will max out and the shoes can barely hold the car in place. When I put the drums on, the shoes had to be adjusted all the way in, and even then they barely fit (you could hear a slight drag when spinning, which was what I was told I should have).

Is there anything other than an out-of-adjustment cable (or shoes) that could cause excessive handle travel and weak parking brake action? The normal service brakes seem to be working properly, or I would suspect the shoe adjustment. If there is air in the hydraulic system, the cable brake should still work fine, right?

If the parking brake worked prior to replacing the shoes, double check you got the parking brake levers in the correct position. If it didn't work before, there is almost always an adjustment. On most GM vehicles, it is where the single cable splits off to the left and right. It is a nut on a stud that takes out slack as the nut is tightened. I'm sure yours has something similar (at least in principal), but it could be anywhere from the hand lever to the backing plate. You may want to ask in the forum specific to your vehicle for the location if you have any trouble finding it.

If it is a early 90s Nissan I would look for a cover in the center trim, behind the hand brake lever, inside the car.
The Japanese like to adjust their hand brakes with out getting out of the car.

It worked fine before I changed the shoes, which is why I'm confused. Should I try adjusting the shoes out a little bit just to be sure?

You could try it, but they should be loose enough that you can spin the drum and it will complete one revolution once you let go.

I would pull the drums off and see if you got the levers into the right spot. Follow the cable in, the lever it's attached to should be able to pivot against something, whether it is the bar that goes across the top between the shoes (may also be part of the starwheel), or it could pivot against part of the backing plate. I havn't done more than a couple Nissan brake jobs, so I can't really think of what they look like, but the principal will be the same.

I just finished replacing the entire rear brake system on my '93 Sentra. It stops just fine, but my parking brake handle will max out and the shoes can barely hold the car in place. When I put the drums on, the shoes had to be adjusted all the way in, and even then they barely fit (you could hear a slight drag when spinning, which was what I was told I should have).

Is there anything other than an out-of-adjustment cable (or shoes) that could cause excessive handle travel and weak parking brake action? The normal service brakes seem to be working properly, or I would suspect the shoe adjustment. If there is air in the hydraulic system, the cable brake should still work fine, right?


you mentioned that on both sides you had to adjust the shoes all the way in.....this means something is wrong like wrong or defective brake shoes had this happen to me , they put shoe material on the wrong area of the shoe ...can you guess what store?????


auto zone !

My shoes were Wearever silvers (super cheap) from Advance. I had the same problem with my sister's Maxima (4 wheel disc), if it matters at all. Her car stops just fine, but the e-brake sucks.

My shoes were Wearever silvers (super cheap) from Advance. I had the same problem with my sister's Maxima (4 wheel disc), if it matters at all. Her car stops just fine, but the e-brake sucks.

if the brake shoe material is mounted on the steel radius to high this is what happened to me....compare location and radius of old to new for errors..

I already returned them as cores.