So is there a trick to reaching the adjuster starwheel?

I can't remove the drum on 2007 GD, Bolts reach the hub plate and stop, hammer didn't help either. The Haynes manual suggests adjusting the starwheel but that opening is kind of hard to reach, I can't see or feel the starwheel through it.

BTW Awesome DIY, thanks!

 

Are you attempting access through the rubber plug on the drum? That should allow you to adjust the star wheel (located at the bottom of the assembly, IIRC) to allow removal.

If there is a Rusty Ridge on the drum's braking surface, they can be difficult to remove. On one car we owned (Isuzu) I needed a Drum Removal Tool every time.



Notice the hammer in the picture, LOL. It's a LOT smaller than the one I used!

PS, see if an auto parts store near you loans the tool.

 

Yeah that's what I'm trying to do. On my car the rubber plug is on the top front part of the backplate (about 11 o'clock if looking from the drum side, or 1 o'clock from the axle side). But the coil spring is in the way so it's hard to reach and I can't find that starwheel anywhere. Even with mirrors and phone camera I can't see the starwheel through that opening.

 

OK, I looked up the parts list. My memory was faulty, too many car repairs I guess!!!!



The star-wheel (#17 or 24) is accessed thru the rubber plug on the backing plate. I agree, it is difficult to see or access.

 

Is very difficult to put them back in, and if you replaced your rear brake with new pads, chances are you can set them back to the "loosest" position, otherwise your new pad will most likely be touching the drum otherwise.

Man, i would make sure my next Fit won't have the freakin' drum brakes!!! They are nightmare and PITA to work with.

 

Ok so copious amounts of PB Blaster and the 8mm bolts did the trick! One thing I learned is that the rubber plug is a joke. The starwheel is offset by about one inch towards the back, not a chance it can be adjusted from the outside with standard tools.

 

Is this the Standard Tool that you need? It's called a Brake Spoon or Drum Brake Adjustment Tool.



PS, I don't have one either.

 

Yeah I tried that, the one I have came in the kit with the brake spring pliers and it was too big to reach there. The one in your picture actually looks a bit smaller so it might work assuming one knew where the darn starwheel was. A hook or a pick with about 75 degree bend might work too. Still surprises me why was it positioned so far off that rubber plug. Makes no sense I've not seen such a bizarre design in any other car.

 

Nice tutorial. However I have always found it best to remove the top spring first. Although not recommended to use a diagonal cutters a rather dull one performs this task nicely. This allows both shoes to be drawn out the bottom once the backing plate clips have been removed. The diagonal or side cutters (Dykes) can be used through out the rest of disassembly. A beefy expanding circlip tool makes easy work of spreading the pin clip, just do not over do it.

 

According to earlier post, to remove the drum one needs to tighten a (one or two?) bolt(s) into the holes in the drum. However, no info is provided as to the size of the bolt(s). I tried several and none worked. Can someone advise about the pull-bolt size?

 

The Bishko Honda factory shop manual (page 18-29) says and I quote: "If the brake drum is stuck to the hub bearing unit, screw two 8 x 1.25mm bolts (D) into the brake drum to push it away from the hub bearing unit. Turn each bolt 90 degrees at a time to prevent cocking the brake drum. " My experience tells me many other Hondas including Civics, Del Sols etc. have the same size setup for rear drum removal threads.

I think I understand why some people on this and other threads are saying sizes larger than 8mm bolt for removing the drum. Some people mistakenly talk about bolt size by mentioning the size of the wrench to fit the bolt head. That's a common misconception. Bolt sizes are measured by the outside diameter of the threads. Most 8 mm bolts have a head which is 13mm across the flats. If you are deep enough into working on your car to be reading this, you should own a metric Vernier caliper or micrometer. Harbor Freight sells a digital Vernier caliper which can be set for either Metric or English for under twenty bucks so it's a handy thing to have. Or at least have an SAE Vernier caliper and a calculator nearby so you can convert from English to Metric. Simply take the English measurement for example 0.75 inches and multiply by 25.4 (which is the millimeters in one inch). Thus, 0.75 inches = 19.05 mm. That means a ¾ inch wrench is close enough to 19mm to fit just fine.