Parking Brake Shoe Replacement

I'll skip the question of how you even manage to wear out parking brakes. That I have no idea, but at any rate, I had to change mine today. This doesn't warrant a detailed write up because anyone with any automotive knowledge can figure it out, but I'll save you a little time. You need two tools-- needle nose pliers for the retainer springs and bottom spring, and vise grips for the top spring. Just about everything is hidden behind the hub so at first glance it looks more difficult to get to everything than any other regular drum brakes I've changed . Took some trial and error to find the right tools and method. Quick job once you realize those are what you need.

Stick-shifters use parking brakes. And I'll admit, I'm guilty of completely ignoring the parking brake on my AT H3. Probably to the point where the cable seizes to itself (like 95% of AT-equipped vehicles)...so that after its ten years old it's completely useless anyway.

I should give the pedal a push from time to time...just to keep it working. Thanks for the reminder.