Help! Rear Brakes 2002 Mountineer

[raiderlb321]

I have 2002 Mountineer and this is my first attempt to replace the rear brakes. I have removed the caliper but the rotor will not come off because of the emergency brake on the inside of the rotor. And no its not on! The rotor will move a little but the pads on the inside is holding in place. Any ideas on how to remove the rotor?

Thanks

[shorod]

There is probably a little bit of a rust lip that the parking brake shoes must either break off or slip underneath to allow enough clearance for the rotor to slide off. You will want to make sure that the parking brake cable is releasing completely though before getting too rough. If the parking brake is not used regularly, the cable can rust inside the cable sleeve and cause the parking brakes to not release completely once set.

Are you replacing the rotors or just planning to have them machined? If you are planning to replace them, you could use a rubber mallet and tap on the back side of the rotor through the area where the caliper mounts while pulling out firmly with your hand on the opposite end of the rotor. This may allow you to slide persuade the rotor to slide over the shoes. It does not appear that there is a self adjuster assembly in the parking brake assembly. That is probably taken care of in the parking brake cable system rather than at the wheels.

-Rod

[raiderlb321]

Rod,
Thanks for your reply. From what I can see there is no rust on the brake cable and it moves freely. I believe you are right there is a lip that is holing them back. I did purchase new rotors so I will try to persuade them off. I also did some searching on the net and someone mentioned that the parking brake shoes are adjustable and you can do this buy removing the plug where the 2 arms go inside the rotor and using a brake spoon to release the tension. Does this sound right?
Thanks
Raider

[shorod]

Originally Posted by raiderlb321

I also did some searching on the net and someone mentioned that the parking brake shoes are adjustable and you can do this buy removing the plug where the 2 arms go inside the rotor and using a brake spoon to release the tension. Does this sound right?

I honestly don't know. From the factory service manual, it appears that the adjuster is not a self adjuster. However, it's hard to see much detail from the manual and I haven't had the rear brakes off my 2000 yet. I'm not sure if it's the same as your 2002.

-Rod

[fmlman]

Originally Posted by raiderlb321

Rod,
T I also did some searching on the net and someone mentioned that the parking brake shoes are adjustable and you can do this buy removing the plug where the 2 arms go inside the rotor and using a brake spoon to release the tension. Does this sound right?
Thanks
Raider

On my 1999 Mountaineer the emergency brake is basically a mini drum brake. You can access the adjuster from the slot and adjusts the shoes in. The adjuster is just like that on a normal drum brake.

[raiderlb321]

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to let everybody who left me a reply to my question that I finally was able to remove my rear rotors. There is a dust plate on the backside of the rotor and at the bottom of that plate there is a metal knockout. Remove that knockout, which isn’t easy, and you will have access to the adjuster for emergency brake shoes. Even after adjusting them all the way in it still took some persuading because of the rust that had built up on the inside of the rotor but eventually was able to remove them.

Thanks again,
raiderlb