Hi all, I have a 2002 Escape 4wd 3.0 rear drum. After replacing the rear shoes and drums, I now have a sometimes faint sometimes loud clicking noise coming from each side when pressing the brake pedal and rolling to a stop. I was very careful on reassembly and am certain I have the hardware installed correctly. I even swapped out the drums triple checked the shoes by doing a close comparison to the factory parts. I tried adjusting the e brake cable a few times. Still no luck.

I'm stumped, any help or prior experience with an issue like this would be greatly appreciated.

 

Brakes can be a PITA. The way some of the aftermarket stuff is mfg'd, and not to mention coming from places outside the U.S., quality of replacement parts can be an issue. Springs installed correctly? Remove drum to see if a spring is rubbing on drum. Adjusted shoes to fit drum when you installed? Shoes intalled correctly? Usually one shoe is shorter than the other and MUST be reinstalled the same way!! Adjuster installed correctly, not bound up, lever arm moves freely against star wheel, and star wheel is not worn out? Backing plates not worn out at point of shoe contact, and lubed? This can make shoe bind when you step on pedal, and only a portion of shoe can come in contact with drum, and will cause the shoe to vibrate, and will sound like clicking. When you remove drum again to inspect, look at contact point of shoe to the drum. Is there scrapes and gouges in the shoe material? Does the shoe have sharp "edges"? I usually take some 100 grit sandpaper to take down the edges of the shoes a little bit before I install. Is the inside of the drum "clean" as to excess metal where it is not needed? Sometimes when these are mfg'd, a grinding process being used can miss some material, and not caught at final inspection. Just some food for thought. Let us know what you find.