New guy here and pleased to be a member.

i am replacing the rotors and pads on a recently acquired 08 coupe, 35k miles

The parking brake pads look like they are worn down to nothing but yet there is a fairly tall step of metal or metal/pad that is coated on the outside and I'm not seeing the pad.

I really don't know what to make of it, there wasn't that much dust and the pads actually have a good amount of meat on them.

I have included some photos to get some opinions on what I have here.

I have no reason to believe that these are nothing but OEM from 2008

The rotor looks OK inside the mating surface.

Thanks for any answers you can give me.

 

I see what you mean. It appears they may have been painted as an assembly at one time. I wouldn't touch them if they hold well on a hill.

James

 

they work very well, I cant imagine the height if there had been a pad on top of what appears to be metal

 

The surface area that contacts the drum appears to be lining. Scratch the sides and see what you find.

 

Never took my drums off before but these look a lot different from any drum brakes I ever seen. Research what new ones look like, these brakes should not have worn down to an unserviceable point unless someone drove many miles with the brake engaged while driving. Before I removed them, I would be certain they are in fact worn. A comparison with new shoes would cement your decision.




.

 

These are completely normal parking brake shoes (not pads). Everything I see looks nice and clean and new, as it should at 35k miles.
The raised portion is the lining and there is plenty of material visible. Yes they look like they are painted. There is nothing wrong with them. If the parking brake holds the car in place they are functioning as they should.

 

Those shoes are perfect, if there was a lot of dust visible then you would know that the car had been driven with the pads in contact with the drum, you would possibly have damage to the rotor as well due to excessive heat being generated. The paint would also show heat damage.

 

I appreciate all good thoughts on this.
I just finished doing what James1549 suggested last night, and that was to scratch the side.
I took a single edge razor blade to it, thta coating is TOUGH!
The attached photos speak for them selves, it is like ZX2 Nick said "there is plenty of material visible"
They are not painted but coated with some kind of metallic substance.
Anyway, situation solved, thanks all for your 2 cents it was all good.

 

All good info revealed in this thread
I stickied it to the top for future reference

 

One of the emerg brake shoe hold down springs let go on my 05 xfire. Made a horrible noise. I put it back but I ended up ordering new shoes and springs. This job is a nightmare! You have to work behing the axle. So after much swearing and sweat, here is my version of getting these things back on. 1) Take a picture to make sure you dont get the spring orientation wrong when re-installing. Note which way the adjuster sits.
2) Back off the adjuster, remove hold down springs. I used a small socket that just fit over the spring-push and turn til they unclip.
3) Wrestle the shoes off the best you can. Set adjuster aside, lubricate.
4) Loosen and lubricate BOTH pivots of the emerg cable actuator till they flop around easily. Note where the shoes fit into the slots.
5) Attach small upper spring to shoes.
6) Rotate shoes so that upper spring is on the bottom, open the shoes and fit aroung axle.
Yes at this point the shoes are on upside down.
7) Wrap shoes around till they come close at the top and attach bottom spring.
8) ROTATE shoes with both springs attatched, and fit bottom most shoe into actuator mechanism slot.
9) This part is difficult.........Grab pliers or vice grips, get a good hold of the upper shoe edge and wrestle over the top part of the actuator. Make sure it sits in the slot properly. (see #5)
10) Install adjuster at top of shoes. Set one end into the shoe, pry the other shoe away until you can mate it.
11) I marked my hold down springs with a dab of red nail polish so i could see if I did a 1/4 turn. This is a little fussy so you should note the orientation of the slots on the backplate, they match the shoe. I stuck a small screwdriver in through the shoe to kind of align the shoe with the hole. Use the small socket and wriggle them in.
12) Centre the shoes, install the brake rotor, turn it to make sure it goes runs free.
Work the emerg brake up and down a few times to seat the shoes.


After finishing the other side, I found I did not need to make an adjustment of the shoes. It held the care fine, I will adjust it when the shoes wear in a bit. PS. Pay attention to that emerg brake light, these linings are super thin and wont last long driving with them on. On a sour note, this style of emerg brake is outdated and mickey mouse in my opinion.