As the title states, I accidentally left the parking brake on while removing one of my rear drum brake rotor. I got it off by using an M8 x 1.25 mm screw. Luckily I caught my mistake on the remaining rear wheel and of course had no problems with removal on that side.

Did I cause any bad damage? I test drove it afterwards and I hear some faint squeaking when I release the parking brake before I drive off but not much else. Any thoughts? Trying to get some insight. Thanks.

 

Do you mean that you pried the drum off with a screwdriver?
Every drum I've ever removed (Midwest and Northeast rust zones) has required significant hammering, prying, and cursing, so if you were able to get the drum off with the parking brake engaged that suggests to me that your parking brake was/is out of adjustment and not really doing anything.
Would you say that prior to this incident the parking brake worked well? Would it hold your car on a slope?
I know you don't want to push the brake pedal when the drum is removed as you can blow out the wheel cylinder. If the wheel cylinder is still good then you're probably fine. Everything else inside a drum brake is just pins, clips, and springs.
I would definitely check the adjustment on both rear brakes. I find this easiest to do with the wheels removed. You should be able to spin the drums with just a bit of drag. If they spin freely or if you can't spin them by hand your brakes are not adjusted correctly.

 

Hi Drew. Thanks for taking the time to respond. Let me clarify some things so hopefully it paints a clearer picture...

I was able to remove the rear drum rotor yes using two screws but also attached a socket to the end of the screw and began to tighten them evenly until the rotor eventually came off, with the parking brake on. I did this b/c I assumed the rotor was seized and many people do this when seized. Unfortunately, the only reason the rotor wasn't coming off was b/c the parking brake was on not b/c of seizing; a dumb oversight by me.

I can see what you're saying about the parking brake potentially not doing it's job but in my case, the parking brake is just fine. Works fine. Works fine even on slopes, uphill etc. The drums do spin with some drag while tires were off (parking brake off), so that's a good sign.

I didn't inspect the wheel cylinder closely but everything else you describe is on point.

I'm a bit of a worry wart but just wanted some clarification. Thanks for the insight. If there's anything else you can think of or anyone else who sees this, I'm all ears. Thanks again.

 

Thanks for the information.

I'm still thinking that if the parking brake was fully engaged you would not have been able to remove the drum unless further clarification reveals that you're built like Terminator-era Schwarzenegger. Even then, I don't think you would have been able to remove the drum without destroying internal components of the drum brake as they're not meant to take force in that direction.

I understand about worrying that you've messed something up. I'm a bit OCD myself. For your peace of mind it might be worth having a mechanic check it out, but if it all went back together and the brakes and parking brake are working I suspect you did no harm. If you're worried about the wheel cylinder you could pull the drum back off to see if it's leaking. If it's dirty, clean it, drive for a few days, and check again. Since you just had the drum off it should be easy to remove for inspection... once you disengage the parking brake!

 

Much appreciated for the help. I drove pretty much all day and haven't felt/heard any problems (fingers crossed). I'll keep monitoring closely and I know for a fact I'll never make this mistake again! I'm sure I'll make some others along the way but I guess that's how you learn, lol.

 

Drum brakes have drums. disc brakes have rotors, never the 'twain shall meet. No such thing as a "drum rotor". Just a minor point ;-)

I agree with Drew, if parking brake was properly adjusted and working ok, there's no way you could get the drum off with it engaged without damaging components. Once it was all back together, you'll need to adjust the parking brake. Sounds like it was very loose and if car holds on a slope, that would have been because the other side was working ok.

 

Sounds like some folks are unaware of the method gumby used to extract the drums. If you look at the face of the drum between the wheel lugs, there's two holes across from each other. The holes are threaded M8x1.25, typical Honda 12mm head bolt. The holes go all the way through the drum face, behind which is the face of the hub.
Threading a bolt (old A/C compressor bolts are my fave) into each of the drum holes will result in (after a few turns) the bolt bottoming out against the hub face. Continuing to turn the bolts will start putting bolt threads between the drum and hub face, putting progressively more outward force against the drum and inward force on the hub.
The hub, being designed to withstand all forces put on the wheel while driving, is quite stout and able to withstand these forces. As is the wheel bearing, axle stub, etc. The path of force then comes to the drum backing plate with shoe-retaining features at the bottom, the vertically notched pistons of the wheel cylinder, and spring-loaded brake shoe retaining pins. Applying enough force with the extractor bolts will drive a battle of friction between the shoes against the drum, vs those last three structural elements. This kind of battle usually results in the drum slipping off the shoes, but if the drum is deeply worn (has a lip that is catching against the shoes) it can continue to breaking components.

There's those abominations that put a drum parking brake inside the rotor hat (raised hub area) of a disk brake.

 

My 2007 Fit Sport has rear drum brakes, so didn't think "drum rotor" was appropriate. Maybe later Fit's have rear disks? and could then have the parking brake drum within the rotor. I've used the 8mm bolt trick to get the drums off the hub time and again. I live in Rochester where they salt away snowfalls less than 6" and drums often rust bond to the hub. Nevr-Seez helps. The bolts are a much nicer way to remove rather than slugging at it with a hand sledge. You mention the ridge from brake shoe wear and you're correct, that ridge can be make it a real pia to remove. To avoid that, every time I remove the drum for whatever reason (cleaning with compressed air while holding breath, etc.) I always use a die grinder with a 1" wheel to remove the ridge so drum comes off easily.

 

What?? And what?? Please do not advise people to clean their brakes with compressed air. Buy a can of brake cleaner.

 

I'm a chemist, I'm used to holding my breath while taking a temperature reading over a 50 gallon kettle of hot liquid emitting vapors in a fume hood. You simply walk away a safe distance before taking a breath. I have cleaned brakes with compressed air for years, I'm totally familiar with all the hazards. I always do it on a windy day and hold my breath and walk upwind from the work at least 30 feet before taking a breath. One more thing, nobody else is around. I'm not suggesting anybody else do it this way, we're all adults. Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned it, don't want to give people unaware of the hazards any ideas :-)

 

There's a big difference between the mostly-laminar flow entering a fume hood and the chaotic environment of a driveway. The concern with brake dust is mostly about asbestos. Even if you're standing upwind of the dust plume, there will be circulating vortices in your wake that can pull dust particles against you, contaminating your clothing and sticking to your skin. Those particles can be dislodged and inhaled later. The risk is probably minimal for a DIYer doing brake work every couple of years, but it is still a risk, and just plain bad practice.

 

What? Are you still using asbestos in brake pads? It was forbidden here already over 30 years ago.

 

'MURICA

Apparently in 'murica you can't post in all caps or it will lower-case your post.