Parking Brake Adjustment DIY

After changing my pads and rotors last month, I noticed that my parking brake seemed a little loose. I had to pull the brake handle up like 10 or 11 clicks to get it to fully engage.

Thanks in large part to what I've learned here on this board, I went ahead and adjusted the parking brake yesterday. The only problem I had was that I wasn't able to adjust the parking brake shoes by removing one lug nut from each tire and accessing the brake shoe adjuster through the lug nut hole as described in the Bently manual. Maybe with some more practice I could make it work that way, but this time around I ended up just pulling off the wheels and rotors so I could see what I was doing.

I documented the procedure in this Parking Brake Adjustment DIY. It's a pdf so you'll need a copy of Acrobat Reader to view it. If you don't have Acrobat Reader, you can download it here.

I hope others find this useful. I've certainly benefited from the many good DIY write ups here, so I wanted to contribute to the cause. Enjoy

hey thanks for the post...i too have had difficutlies with my parking break ever since i purchased the car this summer...not that it doesn't work or anything...as long as ur on a flat level surface it works just fine anyways i'll be sure to read ur acrobat file and hopefully i'll learn something about the adjustment and resolve the park break issue...thanks for the post

My parking brake is so tight, I couldn't get my rear rotors off to replace them when I did my brakes last week.

Originally Posted by alpinewhite325i

My parking brake is so tight, I couldn't get my rear rotors off to replace them when I did my brakes last week.

you did remember to disengage the parking brake before attempting to remove the rear rotors right? You'll never get them off if the parking brake is engaged.....

Originally Posted by ChrisF

you did remember to disengage the parking brake before attempting to remove the rear rotors right? You'll never get them off if the parking brake is engaged.....

I did disengage it.

I wonder if I loosen the bolts under the p.b. handle will give me enough clearance to get the rear rotors off???

Excellent "diy" BTW.

In the past, I thought to adjust the rear pads you simply drive in reverse and firmly step on the brakes. Doing this a few times is suppose to adjust the rear pads. Steven

Originally Posted by Stevies3

In the past, I thought to adjust the rear pads you simply drive in reverse and firmly step on the brakes. Doing this a few times is suppose to adjust the rear pads. Steven

No, you need to turn the barrel adjuster in the hub through one of the wheel stud holes.

Thank you Chris!

I must say that I read a LOT of articles on E39 brakes before finding yours on the parking brake adjustment.

Too late for me, I hope others find your DIY before they complete their job wrongly (like I did).
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...hlight=bluebee

In my case, I followed the Bentley instructions, but, methinks most people don't even touch the settings. When they put on the new rear rotors, their driver-side parking-brake lever only changes by a couple of clicks, I guess.

Originally Posted by bluebee

I must say that I read a LOT of articles on E39 brakes before finding yours on the parking brake adjustment.

This is a good html link for parking brake adjustment and replacement
http://www.zeckhausen.com/E39_BMW_Re...arking%20Brake

Nice write up Chris

Perfect lesson to all of us. Thanks a lot mate.

Just finished up this parking-brake install with the Pagid kit. Also replaced pads and rotors. I didn't have much luck counting the number of clicks I turned the star wheels when adjusting the e-brake shoes so I just bolted the new rotors on and tightened up the adjusters until I could not longer spin the rotors by hand.

The rotors I've installed are new Zimmerman zinc-coated, and that coating comes off really fast at the friction points. After getting everything back together, I have great parking brakes now ... compared to almost nothing ... at 150K the Jurid shoes were bare metal....

In my case I was able to adjust the brakes without removing the rotors, but only because Chris's write up made it so clear what was what.

Fantastic tutorial, Chris!! Great photos and readable text. Where can I buy your tech manual on disc?!? If it's not ready yet, what is the best one you've seen and would recommend?
Anyone else have a tech manual suggestion for an '04 E53 X5 3.0 man. trans?

So clear and concise! I want to read it again, because I learned something. Great job.

Does it go without saying that the transmission should be in Neutral (so that the wheel can spin)? Thanks again, great write up!

Anyone know how to remove the dust boot on a 2006 530Xi wagon?

One of the more organized write ups I've seen on here, complete with powerpoint text, awesome! thanks again. rotorbrain23

Hi I'm Anthony and I own a 320i E90 model 2007.
I've got the vehicle for 2 years now and had endless problems with the agents regarding repairs, I've decided to do all repairs myself and found your site very valuable and informative, thank you very much for your support. Oh I'm from South Africa.
I have one problem though.
The right rear brake is binding and getting very hot.
How do I solve this problem, do I need to change the shoes or is it just a matter of adjusting the shoes, please help my daughters getting married this weekend (26/01/2013) and I need the car to be fixed before this date. Thanks Guys.

Originally Posted by antsnaidoo

Hi I'm Anthony and I own a 320i E90 model 2007.
I've got the vehicle for 2 years now and had endless problems with the agents regarding repairs, I've decided to do all repairs myself and found your site very valuable and informative, thank you very much for your support. Oh I'm from South Africa.
I have one problem though.
The right rear brake is binding and getting very hot.
How do I solve this problem, do I need to change the shoes or is it just a matter of adjusting the shoes, please help my daughters getting married this weekend (26/01/2013) and I need the car to be fixed before this date. Thanks Guys.

Use the procedure in this thread to adjust your parking brakes but make sure all the parts and cables are moving freely. I've noticed the mechanism in the rear rotors' drums getting rusty over time. You may have to remove the rear rotors and disassemble, clean, and lubricate things to assure smooth operation of all the moving parts.

Thank you very much, I've managed to adjust it through a wheel nut hole.
Thanks for your help.

Hi guys can anyone tell me what is the the service intervals for a bmw 320i exclusive E90 2007. My vehicle is under warranty and they refuse to pay for repairs on the diff, saying the vehicle was not serviced on time. As far as I know the intervals are 25k to 30k, that's according to the specifications.

I have a 2002 540iT, and recently spent a couple of frustrating hours poking around with a flashlight and screwdriver and scouring BMW forums to learn that, on my E39, the parking brake mechanism isn't at 6 o'clock, as stated in many of these posts, but rotated 90-degrees to the rear.

So the adjusting gear is at approximately 3 o'clock on the left/driver side, and 9 o'clock on the right/passenger side. I assume this is just for the Touring/Sport Wagon, but am not sure. I also can't remember which way to turn it to tighten, but think it's toward the front on the right side, and toward the rear on the left side. If you turn the gear it to the extreme and the wheel won't move, it's tight - then back it off by the recommended 12 notches.