Parts for your 2007 Subaru Forester-Brake shoes

2007 Subaru Forester Brake Shoes — What They Do and When to Service Them

According to the Subaru 2007 Forester factory service manual and OEM parts catalog, this model runs four-wheel disc brakes for stopping, and a separate drum-in-hat parking brake inside the rear rotors that uses brake shoes. Technical guides such as workshop manuals and reputable parts references for the SG-series Forester confirm that these are dedicated parking-brake shoes, not service-brake linings.

On the 2007 Forester, the brake shoes live inside the “hat” of the rear brake rotors. When the handbrake is pulled, the shoes expand against the small internal drum to hold the vehicle still. They’re not used for normal braking while driving, that job’s handled by the disc pads and rotors. Because the shoes see light, intermittent duty, they often last a long time, but they can glaze, wear thin, delaminate, or get contaminated by grease or a leaking hub seal.

Good servicing practice in Australia and New Zealand is to inspect the parking-brake shoes any time the rear rotors are off, or at least every 40,000–60,000 kilometres. Look for cracked or oil-soaked linings, uneven wear, tired springs, and seized star-wheel adjusters. Clean with proper brake cleaner (never compressed air on dusty linings), and lightly lubricate the shoe contact points and adjuster threads with high‑temp brake grease—keeping grease well away from the linings and drum surface.

When replacing, it’s smart to fit shoes as an axle set, renew the hardware (springs, pins, clips), and check the rotor’s drum surface for scoring or ridges. Adjust through the backing-plate slot: turn the star wheel until the drum just drags, then back off slightly so the wheel spins free with a faint whisper. After refit, bed the shoes in with a few gentle handbrake applications at low speed on a quiet road. If the handbrake won’t hold on a hill, there’s a scraping noise at low speeds, or the lever pulls up too high at WOF/rego time, the shoes and adjustment are due for attention. Chock the wheels, support the vehicle safely, and if the adjuster is seized or the linings are contaminated, a professional repair is the way to go.

• Typical signs: weak holding on hills, grinding/scrape from rear, high lever travel, failed WOF/rego brake test
• Service tips: renew hardware, free and lube the adjuster, set slight drag, avoid contaminating linings

Popular questions

Does a 2007 Subaru Forester have brake shoes?
Yes. It uses brake shoes for the parking brake inside the rear rotors, while normal braking is handled by disc pads.

How often should the parking-brake shoes be replaced?
There’s no fixed interval, replace when worn, glazed, or contaminated. Inspect at every rear brake service or every 40,000–60,000 km.

How do you adjust the handbrake after new shoes?
With the rotor back on, turn the star-wheel adjuster through the backing-plate slot until there’s light drag, then back off slightly. Check lever travel and recheck after a short bed-in drive.