Another brake shoe locking thread!

[soldave]

The putting together of the rear end of the Eclat is going slowly but surely, but I've come across a bit of a sticking point, quite literally. Got new brake shoes as one of mine was getting to the limit and the other was right at the limit. Everything was apart so I thought I may as well. Pistons all retracted and adjusters as far into the wheel cylinder as possible and on go the shoes. And then the drums, Except the drums are a tough fit over the shoes, especially on the passenger side. Both went on in the end but not without a lot of persuasion. Right now only the driver's side is back together but there's a LOT of drag in the brakes (i.e. with the wheel on it's not easy to rotate the wheel). I'm guessing the passenger side will be similar.As expected, rotating the wheel backwards allows some more rotation but there's still a lot of friction there.

I did have the car running in gear with no wheels attached. Of course because of the open diff there was only one wheel moving, but I have seen both sides moving when in gear. Afterwards there was a bit of heat in the drums; nothing too excessive, but it was only in 1st & second gear for a couple of minutes.

Handbrake has around 3-4 clicks of movement and then becomes tight. Now that's tighter than it's ever been, but there is that bit of pull in the handbrake before it gets tight. And previously, although the handbrake wasn't great (cable and tensioner are new), it did tighten the rear brakes so it does work. I guess the question I have now is whether the handbrake is under tension even at rest.

Will try to check it tonight, but does anyone else have any other thoughts? I knew that new shoes would be closer to the drum, but not this close. I'm half tempted once it's together to drive on it for a few miles and see if the first bit of the shoe material wears down, but not sure if that's a good idea of a reckless one.

[TAR]

The brakes shouldn't bind. Check you have them seated correctly and that there is no lip on the drum which maybe catching. It should've been easy to refit the drum if the the shoes are in their most retraced position  

[soldave]

Right, well once one of the brake drums was off it was clear this wasn't going to need Sherlock Holmes to figure out the problem.

Yes, I should have absolutely noticed that right away. Not sure whether to blame it on the lack of sleep and focus on new baby, the lack of confidence causing me to miss even more things than usual, or just complete ineptitude! So yeah... the handbrake was adjusted waaay out of kilter. Loosened up the nuts on the adjustment rod going through the tensioner and bingo. Clearance minimised, no brake drag on either side, and once I pick up the new hub carrier I'll be able to get the car back together.

I know a lot of my issues seem to be quite simple, but hopefully down the line it will help someone else and show that people aren't alone when they make simple mistakes

[EXCEL V8]

You're not the only one who makes these mistakes - I've just created a further 3 days work on my daily driver by fitting a clip onto the anti roll bar the wrong way round when I recently reassembled the rear suspension!!  The only way to fit the clip is with the whole suspension/sub-fame/diff/exhaust off the car.  It's a mind-bogglingly stupid design, but my error - and I'm furious - both with myself and with Mercedes for such a f**k-wit design!!  

Pete