Rear Rotor and E-brake fit

[8pack]

I just replaced the Knuckle on the drivers side and also replaced the e-brake and pads and rotors on both sides. As an aside I thought the knuckle would be an easy bolt on. Not so, getting all the pivot points to line up with the mounting holes in the knuckle was a struggle due the fact that the new bushings were, well new. Lots of tugging, pry barring and adjusting and tie straps to pull things in place but got it.

The passenger side rotor and e brake pads went back together no problem, rotor slid right over the pads. However I cannot for the life of me get the rotor over the e-brake pads on the drivers side. I need another 1/16-1/8” of space to get it to slide over.

I have done the following:
I loosened the parking brake cable all the way
Made sure the pad notches were all identical in depth
I made sure the cable was properly seated in the back of the knuckle
I checked the hook on the expander to make sure it was properly seated in the cable retainer
I made sure the shoes were fully seated in both the expander and the solid spreader.

What am I missing? I sure would like to get this back on the road and this is one of those things that should be a no brainer. I have done these before with no problem.

As an aside had my first really poor experience with FCP Euro which kept delayed the repair almost 2 weeks. Very dissapointed. My sense is they have changed management or something.

[Xfingers]

I replaced my rear rotors/pads over the summer but kept the parking shoes as my parking brake was working fine. I had a very difficult time getting the old rotors off. They separated from the hubs no problem but were hung up on the parking brake shoes. After trying to finagle the rotors off, I finally said screw it and stuck a long screwdriver down in where the rotors were getting hung up on the brake shoes and pried and cranked all around the rotor, figuring if I mangled the brake shoes I'd just have to deal with the damage. Well, the rotors came off with some forceful prying in the right spots.
Putting the new rotors on I don't remember having any real difficulties and the parking brake still works fine despite the abuse the shoes received. Maybe you could try to lever down on the brake shoes with a screwdriver if you only need 1/16"-1/8" to fit the new rotor. Or you could take the rotor off the pass side, take a picture of your e-brake setup, and then check to see if you have identical placement of e-brake parts on the driver side. Also, would the new knuckle install have any bearing on the fitting of the rotor (in my head I can't really visualize the knuckle with respect to rotor)?

[8pack]

Thanks.

Just some perspective. I have had the linings separate twice from the shoe backings. The first time it was not a big deal I heard them rubbing and changed them out right away. This time however when they broke free they bound up and broke the centering tang off the knuckle which is why I had to replace it. My advice is no matter how good they look you should replace them when you replace your main pads and rotors.

I was finally able to get it back together. I took it all apart again and made sure the tang in the expander was fully seated. I also went to e brake adjustment under the lever and pushed on the cable to make sure it was as loose as possible and wasn’t bound up. I was able to force the rotor on and then once I spun it a few times everything seemed to seat nicely and it spun freely.

I guess it just required some brute force and reinstallarion to make sure it all seated properly. What a PITA.