My rear axles are out to replace my rear gear, my park brake shoes got gear oil on them from when the rear was leaking so I thought I would just replace stuff so the park brake actually holds the car. The boots are also torn. There used to be a kit for the shoes, boots etc and it is discontinued. Anyone know where to get a kit now that includes the hardware and boots? Is it possible to get these parts any longer?

 

I got some of those rubber boots off ebay.......they are hard to find

found em....

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1998-2002-C...s/113212296083

 

NONE of the parts in the parking brake assembly see any real wear because nothing moves. You should be able to separate all the parts (including the screw adjusters) clean what you have up with brake cleaner, lube with brake grease, and you'll be good-as-new. (I think I saw kits at Rock Auto a while back, but - IMO - buying these parts is just throwing money in the trash.)

The only item that needs replacement are those boots. BTW - The ebay price up there is a rip off. The other year, they were for sale for around $8...

Either way, I no longer recommend the stock boots. They are just crap. In 18 months, the new boots will just be shredded again. I've found that rubber nipples are a much more durable replacement. I started with them 3 years ago as an experiment and they are still going strong! (already outlasting the stock part by a factor of 2) https://ls1tech.com/forums/suspensio...xperiment.html

So, if you want a factory car - get the ebay boots and keep them in a drawer somewhere and pull them out a NOS when you go to the sell the car. (The price will just go up in the meantime!) While you are driving it - use sometime more durable.

 

^^^ that. I've cleaned up many. Brake cleaner does a good job on the shoe material.

 

If you want new shoes, . I had to replace them on my car, as the previous owner drove with the parking brake engaged for at least long enough to remove 50% of the shoe material, which made properly adjusting the parking brake impossible. They are cheap enough that if you want to do it, just go ahead. Otherwise, probably a bunch of brake cleaner will be sufficient to remove any grease. The boots, you have to buy separately (I got the overpriced ones above).

 

nipples FTW !!!!

who does not like nipples ????

 

Hopefully, this is a one-in-a-million occurrence. Were they drifting?


The only downside is when you get pulled over, "Officer, I need to inform you that I have an unloaded rifle in my trunk and that my car has nipples."

 

Just as suspension components come in either black or red,I guess we need to find black and red baby bottle nipples.

 

It was a long-distance commuter car, so my guess is they just drove to work one day with the hand brake on. Mondays. AmIright?!

 

Must have been one hell of a Monday!

It's impossible to drive with the hand brake on, but the pad could wear down with one or two clicks on the handle. In this case, just a small layer would wear off and those first two clicks would not contact the drum ever again. (Since the mechanism isn't self-adjusting.) They must have been purposefully "using" the handle.

If you ever see this again, maybe you should weld "This car has been ridden like a mule" on the rear end? (For the next pour soul that inherits the car. If they drive like this, I'd hate to see what else they do to it!)

 

Someone has got to make them, although it was a little challenging to find oval ones that fit the car!

 

It is possible to drive with the hand brake on if they aren't adjusted right and/or the shoe is covered with gear lube! Which is exactly why I am looking to replace at least the shoes. I was hoping to get a kit so the parts could be all shiny and new... I haven't inspected real well the parts, but even though they don't wear so much, they do rust! The car is now just an Autocross car so it doesn't see rain so much or many miles.

Thanks for the responses. I guess I'll buy some shoes and the rubber grommets and see how long they last with my low usage.

 

The metal is high quality and cleans up well after the brake cleaner. The crap and gunk you'll clean out protects all the wear surfaces really well and if you see any rusty spots on the non-wear areas, you can use penetrating oil and a wire brush to tidy them up.

 

I recently swapped out my axles and found that I needed shoe maintenance. I just wanted to say thanks for the part recommendations above

 

I agree! I ordered both that shoe kit and those boots. Parking brake will hold the car now.