I'm thinking about tackling the rear rotors soon but I'm just finding out about the adjuster wheel on them. Do these need to be adjusted? Or just take off the rear rotors and slide on the new ones if they come off easily? Trying to figure out whats the point since most videos remove the rotors by loosening the adjuster wheel if its caught on, then tighten and loosen a notches again after installation.

Anybody have any advice?

Thanks

 

Search on parking brake. Old drum brakes had a similar set up and there should be plenty of videos on it. The star nut pushes the pads out or away from the drum surface. If too tight they cause a drag and if too loose, when you apply parking brake they do not provide enough braking. I generally take a rubber mallet and strike the outside of the drum all around to help settle the shoe mechanism evenly inside the drum.

Very likely the rotor will come off easily (if they do resist usually they get hung up on the center). Just make sure you release the parking brake.

Q? What is the issue with the rear rotor. They do not get punished by braking unless the pads wore down and the metal started gouging the rotor.

Salim

 

 

I have only once in my life needed to use the "Auxiliary Brake" in an emergency situation .... and I can tell you it should not be called "emergency brake" . Right term would be "Parking brake".

I did nearly 1/4 million miles in 19 yrs on my first gen RX and never had to even adjust the parking brake, let alone replace them.

Salim

 

Have to admit on not having to do the rear brakes on my RX yet so someone correct me if I'm wrong, but from working on my other cars (which for some reason all seem to be the Japanese ones that are setup this way), the problem you will face is even if the rear pads are loose enough to get everything off, you will not be able to put the new pads on and get the caliper back on again. The pads that are coming off of the car are worn down and thinner that the new ones that are replacing them and the caliper has self adjusted itself closed.

Because of the design of the self adjusting caliper, you can't just put a clamp on the thing and push the piston back farther. You need to back them off using the adjuster. On some vehicles if you manage to put enough pressure on the caliper piston with a clamp to get it to move, you will wreck the caliper.

I say do the work yourself, just keep the following in mind:

1. Work on the thing one side at a time, always have the other side assembled and there to use as a reference.
2. When installing or removing the old or new pads, adjust the thing to the minimum amount of clearance you need, don't just keep cranking on the thing to see how far out you can get it.
3. After you get your new pads on, go to the other side and turn the rotor by hand to get a feel for how tight you want to adjust the new pad. This part is not an exact science as most manuals recommend adjusting to a very slight drag on the pads which you may not observe on your reference wheel. When doing this just remember a little too tight is better than too loose. You might loose a little bit of pad life, but at least you know you can stop

 

Thanks, hopefully my rotors will come off easily too. Please confirm if the rear pads has self adjusting caliper like tus said below. I did the front rotor and brakes but pushing in the pistons on the caliper wasn't a problem.

Is that right? I don't remember the rear calipers being self adjusting- I vaguely remember just releasing the reservoir cap and pushing the pistons in with a c-clamp.

 

There are two sets of brakes in the rear.

Hydraulic ... pad-rotor kind ... which operate the same way the front [much smaller piston and pads]. Release of the hydraulic pressure lets the pads float and and pushed out by rotating disc. A self adjusting mechanism which fails when the fluid does not move freely in the tubes or floating part of the caliper hangs on the glide.

Parking brake which are housed inside of the drum [the rear rotors look like a hat]. They are adjusted in-or out by the star nut and the foot brake cable has adjustment too. Before the popularity of the disc brakes, drum brakes were standard. They had self adjusting pawl and ratchet which would keep adjusting the star nut if the travel was long. Last I checked RX does not have this self adjustment as the wear is expected to be non-existent. Warning chime would let you know if you drive with the parking brake on. If some one had cranked up the star nut in the past to adjust for wear of the shoe and you are installing a fresh shoe pads, you will have to turn down the start nut.

I hope I have not caused more confusion in my attempt to clarify.

Also RX has a free piston which can be pushed in with C clamp. Just be carful that you dont damage the rubber boots.

If your parking brake works fine, dont mess with the shoes and drums. Just change the pads. Now if the rotor is messed up and you have to get it machined or replaced, then you will have to take the rotor off.

Salim

 

Maybe I missed it in here but before you compress the piston to get the new pads on, make sure you remove some of the brake fluid out of the reservoir and leave the cap off. Otherwise the piston will not compress (cap on) or you will spray brake fluid all over the engine compartment (cap off and fluid not removed). Once the job is completed, add/remove brake fluid as needed to put at the full mark. Re-check the level after some driving and top off as necessary.