I have a 98 accord 4-cyl with 186k and have shoes for rear brakes.

1) How often should I adjust my rear shoes?

2) When adjusting the shoes, do I need to:

a) apply emergency parking brake several times while in park?
b) apply brakes while traveling in reverse several times?
c) manually adjust the brakes by turning the star on adjuster on shoes?

I am getting conflicting information from dealerships and repair manuals. Will a & b do the trick by itself or do I have to take the wheels off and manually adjust?

 

Does anybody have a clue to how to answer my questions? I don't think it's that trivial!

Thanks to all who do respond.

 

Take the drums off. Adjust the star wheel. Parking handle should not go to the sky and not engage with just one click. Somewhere between is just fine.