Help! Extra part in my parking brakes.

I've been working on the rear brakes on my 2001 Lexus GS430 this week, and the driver's side went alright, except for trying to figure out how the anti rattle clips go on, but that was eventually resolved, I hope.  When I moved on to the passenger side, I found a piece of metal jammed inside the parking brake assembly, where it had ground up against the rear of the of hub flange for who knows how long.  Here's a few angles of it:

S-201711240014 by lastminuteracing, on Flickr

S-201711240044 by lastminuteracing, on Flickr

S-201711240034 by lastminuteracing, on Flickr

I looked at a diagram, and could not find the equivalent part there:

2009-01-01_160247_SHOT0303 by lastminuteracing, on Flickr

So, I pulled the driver's side back apart, and found what looks to be the same part (minus the damage) loosely wedged in a retainer spring on one end, and possibly somewhere down near the tension spring on the other end.

S-201711240054 by lastminuteracing, on Flickr

S-201711240164 by lastminuteracing, on Flickr

I went looking for brake TSBs in the hope of finding some reason this is here, when it's not in the diagram, but had no luck.  Anyone know what it is, and how necessary it is?  I'm tempted to try to just bend the passenger side one back into shape and try to put it back in a similar way the driver side is in, but I'd really like to know why it's there in the first place.  It's also tempting to just leave it out as I cannot figure out what it actually does, other than possibly cause trouble.

Looking at the parking brake shoes, I probably should replace them, too, but I think I'll hold off until the spring for that.  I also checked out parking brake hardware kits online, and none of them include the part.

My first thought was that it was a handbrake cable junction bracket. Whatever it is, not only is it not in the diagram, but it doesn't look like it's actually supposed to be in there. I say leave 'em out.

My best guess is that some genius thought the hold-down springs needed to be made stiffer with some spacer material for some reason, and sorta jammed these things in there.

In reply to GameboyRMH :

That's kind of why I was thinking maybe there was a tsb.  Could be that the rear shoe or something else rattled a bit in some circumstances and this was a fix for that.  It sure seems like it doesn't need to be in there for safety reasons, as far as I can tell.  The parking brakes are too weak to hold against the incline in my driveway sometimes, but I think that is just because they needed to be adjusted, not because of whatever this was.

That looks like something that used to be spot welded to the backing plate and now it has gone sort of free-range.  Which would also be a good explanation for why it doesn't show up in a diagram.

If the shoes actuate and retract, and they don't flap around easily, I'd say that you can do without whatever it was.  For educational purposes, you could/should look at the backing plate investigationally to see if you can find a spot where something like that used to be spot welded in place.  My guess is that it used to be a cable guide.

In reply to Knurled. :

Looking at the part closer, it does appear there are circular rust spots on the opposite side of what could be spot welding marks.  I think in that case, I'll let the one in the driver's side stay for now, and leave the passenger side one out.  If I get around to replacing the parking brake shoes next year, I'll see if it looks like they were welded in, and if so, see if it makes sense to tack them back in place.

Thanks!

Looks like the spring attachment point from the backing plate.

I wouldn't leave it in. Neither of them are where they're supposed to be, they can't do any good free-ranging around in there.

I think you need a photo of a not-broken backing plate to figure out where it was supposed to be.  No question in my mind that the two circular depressions are used-to-be spot welds.

It looks like it's supposed to be welded to the backing plate and guide/support the parking brake cable.  You can can catch a glimpse of it at the 4:00 mark in this Link video.

Okay, that video helped for a different reason.  One of the tension spring is loose behind the shoe, instead of attached as it should be.  Unfortunately, I just realized this as I was watching the video, after I put everything together.  I was in a rush, since we may have rain tonight, and the Miata's top is not entirely watertight, so it needed to go back in the garage.  I will pull everything back apart this weekend, and try to replace it with all new hardware.  If it looks like I can get way without fixing/replacing the backing plates, I will.  If not, it may not happen until spring.  Right now, there is not enough room in the garage to both tear the car apart, and reweld the brackets onto the old backing plates, so if I do it soon, I'll just need to buy replacements.  With as rusty as everything is, I suspect other parts will break in the process, too.

Just to be sure, is this the piece you are thinking it is(circled in red)?

shopping by lastminuteracing, on Flickr

That appears to be what it used to be.  A lot of drum mechanisms have a little guide thingy like that to keep the cable from going wherever if it goes slack for whatever reason.  It's generally not strictly *necessary*, as noted by the fact that both of yours have been broken off for a long time and you didn't even know.

Okay, drum parking brakes are worse than normal drum brakes.  It's taken forever, but three of the brake shoe hold down springs are installed, and of course the last one is still fighting.  Instead of being in the open like normal brakes, these are half hidden behind the hub flange.  Anyone got any tricks to getting them in?  For the first three, it was a matter of trying over and over again, doing the same thing, until I was able to get it pressed in, and twist the cup so it stayed on.  Trying that with the last one, too, but at this point, my fingertips are about destroyed, since I need more dexterity than work gloves can provide.

No tricks.  They suck.  You develop a knack for popping the springs in,and an abundance of expletive techniques.

They're a lot easier with the hub out of the way, but I'm assuming this involves disassembling the suspension and destroying the wheel bearing.

Just figured out - the pin is rotating when I rotate the cup.  I need three hands to do this job.  The pin is also partially captured by the spindle, so I can't easily get a good grip on the back of it to keep it from moving.  I think I'm going to just have to keep at it until the stars align and it suddenly works.

GOT IT!  Wedged a broken flathead screwdriver behind the spindle to jam the pin in one position, so it would stop moving around. 

Getting the rest of it put together should be a cakewalk compared to that.  Hopefully, it'll be good to go for the next 272K miles.

eastside Utah Johnny Montana said:

Getting the rest of it put together should be a cakewalk compared to that.

Famous last words. 

With the adjusters all the way in, driver side the rotor drags more than it seems it should.  The passenger side, it won't even go on.  Just in case, I tried the old rotors on the passenger side, and neither would go on.  Guessing I need to search for methods to remove material off the shoes, or find a machine shop to remove some material from the parking brake drums, because I am sure not going to tear apart all my work, just to put the old parking brake shoes back on.

eastside Utah Johnny Montana said:

 because I am sure not going to tear apart all my work, just to put the old parking brake shoes back on.

More famous last words.  Did some looking around on the internet, and apparently some of the remanufacturers put too much friction material on the shoes, so I might be a victim of that.  I may need to go source another parts kit to replace the destroyed c-clips that hold the parking brake lever to the shoes, and either pick up some better shoes, or just reinstall the old ones. 

Beginning to think I should just sell off all my car stuff and buy a late model Prius with a warranty.

Parking brake shoes are a thing that need to come from the dealer, or from an aftermarket company based in the same country the vehicle was designed. Wagner park brake shoes in a Volvo will teach you new combinations of swear words you might enjoy using later.

Sometimes you can take a grinder to the shoe where it stops on the actuator and give yourself a bit more clearance.

Make sure that the brakes actually are retracting all the way.  Some people treat the cable adjustment as a shoe adjustment. 

In reply to Knurled. :

I made sure the shoes were as retracted as they could be. 

I'm back to having just one more hold down spring to put on, the same one that was giving me the most fits.  Just taking a break right now to let my fingertips recover a bit.

Passenger side appears to have been able to be adjusted correctly, but I won't know until I get the other one on, then actually test the ebrake.  The shoes are down to about 1.5mm, and min spec is supposedly 2mm.  Frankly, right now, I'm not sure I care or not if it works, as long as it stays out of the way when I'm driving. 

Some of this needed to be done no matter what, since those loose pieces of metal did a number on some of the hardware.  Its just really annoying that this was supposed to be a few hours at most to swap discs and pads.  I know I'm a bit of a hack at some of the mechanical work, but this is getting ridiculous.

"A three hour tour... a threeee hooour toooour....."

Knurled. said:

"A three hour tour... a threeee hooour toooour....."

I didn't see Ginger or Maryann anywhere, unfortunately. 

It's all back together now, but I am worn out enough I don't feel like shuffling cars in the driveway just to test drive it.  That can wait until tomorrow.  Driver side may be near the end of it's adjustment, judging by how many threads I was seeing.  Will just have to be very careful and not wear the shoes down anymore.  I don't want to ever do that again.

If it makes you feel any better, I've never had a success with doing anything with parking brakes...