I had the back wheels off the car this weekend to re-check the torque on all the bolts that hold my axle on. (Lost a panhard bolt while driving, stupid stupid!)

I've been having this problem with "no" emergency brake.. the pads apply, but don't squeeze enough to stop the car. In fact with the handle pulled all the way up, I can push the car in neutral. If I come to a stop, put the trans in park, apply the e-brake, and let up on the real brakes, my car rolls until the trans stops it.

Anyway, so I was looking at my calipers with the wheels off. I noticed that on the caliper I rebuilt (rear passenger), with the e-brake off, the pads were touching the rotor, kind of like the front calipers do. With the Pep Boys remanufactured caliper (rear driver's), the inner pad was 1/4 inch away from the rotor. Is -this- why I don't have an e-brake??

How should I fix this? Should I remove the cable from that side, and work the parking brake lever until the pad touches the rotor? Or is my caliper not sliding on the bushings? OR, did Pep Boys give me a crap caliper? I knew I shoulda rebuilt that side too!

Oh and yes, I adjusted the parking brake by the book: Move adjuster nut until both levers barely move off the stop, then unscrew the nut so they touch the stop. Apply the parking brake lever 3 times, then play with the adjuster nut over & over again until nothing changes.

Thanks!

-Tom P (Hot rodded 1986 Firebird 2.8l) from http://www.f-body.net/mailbag/3rd/3rd_mailbag.html message boards

 

Back to top... anyone?

 

Hi Tom! Check out the stuff I wrote on the FAQ about this matter. In addition, you can look at my brake page: http://www.isthq.com/~dan/1LEbrake.html

There is a procedure that you can use to adjust your caliper. You have to remove the lever arm, turn the worm gear to push the piston out against the rotor, then reinstall the lever arm. (It's not as straightforward as that but covers the essence.) Your adjuster has failed inside the piston, and the only way to truly fix it is to get the redesigned piston and install it in the caliper. I'd expect that most rebuilt stuff has the new piston design in it, but you never know... I'm not sure GM even offers the rebuild kit anymore. FWIW, the part numbers are listed on my page.

Hey, I'm still looking for that plenum!

------------------
Daniel Burk
http://www.isthq.com/~dan/fcar.html
'84 Trans Am WS6/L69
KB SFC, Moser axles, Torsen Diff. PST suspension, Braided stainless brake lines,
5-point racing harness, Koni struts, 11-inch rear disks,Spohn Adj. torque arm,
Ported 305 heads w/1.94"intake valves, Comp Cams XE262H, Griffen alum. radiator,
Speed-sensitive steering conversion, underdrive pulleys, Crane Hi-6 & more. 1.05g skidpad verified.
New best E/T! 14.400 at 98.6 MPH in 88 degree air at Stanton, Michigan.