2005 Honda Accord Drums Star Wheel Adjuster

[dbbyleo]

Have any of you been able to make adjustments using the start wheel in the drums from the access hole?? My Haynes manual says to put the drums back on and adjust the star wheel until the shoes are dragging the drum and then back off the adjustment until the drums are no longer dragging the shoes.

But it seems awfully tight back there to get a screw driver to adjust the star wheel. Is there a special tool I need to use ... the Haynes manual just says to use a screwdriver, but again, it's so tight back there.

[inafogg]

good luck they can be a bitch when trying from the back.i adjust with drum off make it snug & put drum on.never had too much luck doing it through the baking plate when your working on your back.

[jeffcoslacker]

Yeah assuming the drum doesn't have a really pronounced lip on it, you can do just fine by adjusting to a very slight rotating drag and leave it at that...

Operating the e-brake will ratchet them up the rest of the way if you don't feel they are tight enough...

There is a "spoon" type tool with a curved shank that allows for better access, but it's probably still hard to work with on that one.

[inafogg]

no drums are always cut!! makes it work out fine.

[dbbyleo]

Thanks guys... I figured that what most people would do - adjust with drums off.

I've run into another situation. This may be put into a new thread, but it's related, so I'll just contnue it here.

So I had the drums looked at my local NAPA. I was suspecting they were not very true, and sure enough, the guy at NAPA says they were pretty off. So he turns them.

I put on new shoes.

I put on the drums.

I adjust the star wheel.

I put on the wheels.

I press of the brakes a few times to seat the shoes.

With the rear end still on jacks, I spin the wheels.

As the wheels spin I notice that the shoe are dragging, but not evenly. What I mean is ... it seems like there's a high spot on the drum ... so that the shoe rubs the drums only at a paticular spot of the revolution.

Is this normal?? I mean, could my drums not have been machined right?? Should the shoes drag the drums evenly after they have been seated when I pressed on the brakes???

[jeffcoslacker]

Make sure there's no rust scale on the hub flange between it and the drum, even a small amount can make the drum roll off-true...it there's any inside the drum on the mounting surface and they didn't wire wheel it before chocking it up on the lathe it can be machined out of round also...the cut is only as good as the setup on the lathe.

A very small amount of variance is not too alarming, like if it's adjusted just tight enough you can hear, but not really feel the drag, and you notice a bit more sound at one point in the revolution than another...but if you feel it getting tight and loose as you turn it, something is not right.

You could try it on the other side, if that one seemed fine...if it runs true over there, then you have some issue with the hub flange mating surface like I said, or even perhaps a slightly bent hub stub axle...which is not uncommon either...

[dbbyleo]

Well... I guess it's kinda like you said about "a small variance". I hear it rub at only one point of the revolution. I assume that a small rub like that will eventually go away as the point being rubbed is worn down? I read another thread that said something about "letting new shoes bed in". I assume this is what they were talking about ... but I could be wrong ... as in letting the new shoes be broken in. Is this what that means and is this very common?

Both drums are doing the same thing BTW. I'll look at the drums mounting surfaces. I know I didn't do anything about the possible rust before taking it to the shop and be lathe. I really doubt the shop did anything either.

Let me ask you about adjust the e-brake. My manual says that it should only take 4-7 clicks for the e-brake to fully engage, but even before I changed out the shoes, it was up over 11 clicks. Should e-brakes be adjusted at the e-brake equalizer or should I primarily be making adjustment at the drum (star wheel)?

See heres that thing... the manual says to adjust at the equalizer by pulling up the e-brake 1 click. Now tighten the equalizer until I feel the shoes rub the drums. If I go by the slight rubbing I'm feeling, then the e-brakes aren't adjusted right, cuz I would still have to pull up to 11 clicks before the brakes fully engage. But if I keep tightening the equalizer until I get a consistent rub all around, then when I lay down the e-brakes, the wheels would be rubbing at that one point more than slightly.

[inafogg]

i dought the machine shop cut them wrong but its possible.to adjust make sure you adj wheels 1st,then to adj e-brake you can set e-brake to the clicks you want & tighten ''equilizer'' until brakes are locked.remove e-brake & your done.good luck