Parking brake shoe replacement. Pedal on or off?
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: Apr 2014
Posts: 37
Likes: 0
2003 ML500
Parking brake shoe replacement. Pedal on or off?
Hi all,
Need to replace my rear brakes so decided to do my handbrake shoes at the same time.
Replacing the disc brakes is really a no brainer, and doing the emergency brakes look like it's not too hard either (based on the several YouTube videos I've watched). But, I did have a couple questions on the latter.
Do you need to disengage the parking brake pedal when replacing the parking brake shoes? None of the videos showed people doing that. But, my thought was maybe it would be pressed against the drum part of the rotor if I didn't.
Second question is about the auto cable adjust that's hidden way up underneath the drive shaft (talk about a PIA location to get to!!). Do I have to adjust/reset the cable once I replace the shoes? Currently, it goes pretty close to the floor, and pretty easily when I press the pedal. I haven't counted the "clicks" as I've seen people have mentioned in some forum posts.
It's certainly possible the shoes really don't need to be replaced. But, I figured that if I've got the system taken apart to replace the rotors and disc pads, I might as well replace the handbrake shoes as well. I'm not the original owner so have no idea how many miles are on the brakes, nor whether it's ever been replaced before. The vehicle is currently at a little over 153k (2003 ML500).
Need to replace my rear brakes so decided to do my handbrake shoes at the same time.
Replacing the disc brakes is really a no brainer, and doing the emergency brakes look like it's not too hard either (based on the several YouTube videos I've watched). But, I did have a couple questions on the latter.
Do you need to disengage the parking brake pedal when replacing the parking brake shoes? None of the videos showed people doing that. But, my thought was maybe it would be pressed against the drum part of the rotor if I didn't.
Second question is about the auto cable adjust that's hidden way up underneath the drive shaft (talk about a PIA location to get to!!). Do I have to adjust/reset the cable once I replace the shoes? Currently, it goes pretty close to the floor, and pretty easily when I press the pedal. I haven't counted the "clicks" as I've seen people have mentioned in some forum posts.
It's certainly possible the shoes really don't need to be replaced. But, I figured that if I've got the system taken apart to replace the rotors and disc pads, I might as well replace the handbrake shoes as well. I'm not the original owner so have no idea how many miles are on the brakes, nor whether it's ever been replaced before. The vehicle is currently at a little over 153k (2003 ML500).
Senior Member
Joined: Feb 2020
Posts: 331
Likes: 40
1998 CLK 320
I also have an '03 ML 500 and my parking brake has the same problem. I haven't fixed it yet, but I'm 99% sure you should keep the pedal fully released when you replace the shoes. I'm not sure about adjustment, but hopefully someone will chime in with the correct answer.
Junior Member
Joined: May 2018
Posts: 53
Likes: 12
00 ML
Yes replace while disengaged. Unless there's something wrong with the cable you shouldn't have to touch it behind the driveshaft. Adjustment is done with the adjustment wheels through the brake disc holes.
Senior Member
Joined: Feb 2020
Posts: 331
Likes: 40
1998 CLK 320
Even though I'm not the biggest fan of the drum e-brake, I was so happy to find out about it because I would bet that's my problem and I'd rather deal with that then running new cables like I did on my audi. Adjusting at the wheels will be so much better than some of the other terrible engineering I've had to deal with.
