Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting 1998 Contour SE rear brake adjuster

I never knew about this site, but realy glad I found you folks. Some really good info here. I went to replace the rear brakes shoes on my car, and walked away confused. I have never seen a brake adjuster like this one before. All of them I have ever seen are the star wheel type at the bottom, not a big black piece of metal on top like these. I am going to get the Haynes manual, but I was wondering if there are any tricks to getting this crazy thing back in just right?

Thanks in advance.

to ajust the rear brakes out you need to turn the piston, the proper tool should only be a few $ at a parts store

you're talking about rear brake shoes, right ?

If so, there's a wheel type adjuster at the bottom which you can access with a screw driver from the back.

When I did mine some time ago, I rememebr having a hard time putting back the drum on one wheel.

iougs-

On this model, the adjuster is located on top, right under the piston. It is not the normal star wheel like we are used to. Getting it to fit in between the brake shoes is what is causing all the problems.

I was suprised by it also. There's a right side up. Once one forgets about the 'star' style , you'll learn to hate this style.........

Too late..I already hate it...lol

Just be sure it's seated properly in the slots of the shoes.

Formal name is Rear Brake Strut and Quadrant.

Getting it to seat is the problem. Hard to figure out where the pin on the brake fits into the adjuster. It's just weird.