Caroline wrote:
> "SoCalMike" <mikein562athotmail@hotmail.com> wrote
> Abeness
>
>>>much sense to me, I'm guessing the guy just doesn't know the brakes on
>>>this car. Figured I'd ask here to be sure.
>>
>>does it have rear discs?
>
>
> Aside for original poster: Majestic says the EX with ABS brakes has rear disk
> brakes. Without ABS, the EX has rear drum brakes.
>
>
>>wouldnt hurt to adjust the cable. i found mine
>>was too slack on the passenger side, so i had to adjust the little star
>>thingie inside the drum... (drum brakes).
>
>
> Yes, if it has drum brakes, I'd say go for the star wheel adjuster inside the
> brake drums.
>
> www.autozone.com (see free repair guide link on right) has directions on
> adjusting the rear brakes, which also ends up adjusting the parking brake,
> though it's a little vague on what exactly you do to find and rotate the star
> wheel adjuster.
>
> Here's my post from July 11 on how I did this with my 1991 Civic (with a lot of
> nudges and clues from folks here) a few weeks ago: http://tinyurl.com/4m374
>
> There is also a second, separate procedure for adjusting the parking brake cable
> at the console (next to the driver) itself, but this procedure says to adjust
> the rear brakes first.
>
> I only adjusted the star wheel adjuster and never went into the console.

i went into the console, but thats when i found the "saddle yoke"
thingie was moving wayyyy too off centered. i gave it a turn to tighten,
anyway, then took the passenger side rear wheel off and used a small
screwdriver to push the gear between the shoes "down".

did a few times until i noticed the drum was getting harder to
reinstall, then backed off a bit. put back on and spun... felt a light
drag. not bad considering it wasnt being held on by the wheel and lugs.

first thought i had when the ebrake got too slack was "my shoes are
toast". not the case... they still have over 50% of the material left on
em, and are up to spec.

it helps to have a micrometer from harbor freight to measure stuff like
this. its in inches, but the helm manual gives both english and metric
specs.
>
> Try www.harborfreight.com for some good deals on tools, but you do get what you
> pay for. There might be a Harbor Freight store near you.
>
> Otherwise, I buy my tools from Home Depot, Lowe's and once in awhile Autozone
> and Sears (Craftsman!).
>
>