Parking brake

[PvtJoker]

Drove with my parking brake on about 3 clicks, so 1/4 on, about 6 miles, the wheel wells were emmitting a slight stink and slight amount of heat. Did I screw anything up that I should replace? I don't really use the brake, I didn't even realize it was on.

[mfpmax]

You shouldn't have, should've only wore the shoes down a little...

[Matt82GT]

how do you adjust those darn things?mine goes all the way up and still doesnt hold the car.

[FoxChassis]

The self-adjuster is supposed to work when you apply the brakes while driving in reverse.

If it doesn't work that way for you, there's a slot on the bottom of the backside of the backing plate to make a manual adjustment. Remove the plug (if there is one) and use a flat-blade screwdriver to turn the 'star' portion of the self-adjuster until the wheel makes one full-rotation and then comes to a stop.

[Matt82GT]

inside the drum....and i thought the adjustment was made to the cable lol,that must be a lot of turns since my handle goes all the way up.

[tfs2121]

inside the drum....and i thought the adjustment was made to the cable lol,that must be a lot of turns since my handle goes all the way up.

no your right the adjustment for the cable or for how far up the handle goes is under the car above the drive shaft right where the handle would be in the car

[Matt82GT]

i'll give that a try,thanks.

edit: i didnt find any type of nut or anything to adjust the "j-hook" bolt to tighten it...is it under the center console? or are those star wheels just waaaaaaaaaaaaay off?

[v8only]

pull up on the ebrake handle, and look under it, there is a nut there that I "think" is the adjuster for the ebrake.

Fox CHassis, on the 86's to the best of my knoweledge there is NO self adjuster that would function in reverse. Nothing is connected that would function this way. could you explain a little more?? I've never seen this to be the case, and just have had to adjust myself every couple of months, complete PITA!

[Matt82GT]

thanks

this may be a dumb question,but how does an e-brake cable get so out of adjustment?

[Ricky C]

The cable gets stretched out.

Oh and ever since I rebuilt the rear brakes on my car, I have only been able to lift the emergency brake 2 clicks and it locks the rear wheels perfectly.

[Matt82GT]

The cable gets stretched out.

Oh and ever since I rebuilt the rear brakes on my car, I have only been able to lift the emergency brake 2 clicks and it locks the rear wheels perfectly.

haha sweet.....something i may do in the near future.

On a side note,thanks v8only,i now have an e-break.

[FoxChassis]

I'm talking about the self-adjuster for the brakes themselves. If the brake shoes aren't adjusted to the drums properly, that's all the farther you're going to have to yank on the parking brake handle to get the shoes to engage the drums. Adjust the rear brakes properly and THEN adjust the parking brake ratchet/catch.

[Matt82GT]

I'm talking about the self-adjuster for the brakes themselves. If the brake shoes aren't adjusted to the drums properly, that's all the farther you're going to have to yank on the parking brake handle to get the shoes to engage the drums. Adjust the rear brakes properly and THEN adjust the parking brake ratchet/catch.

will do thanks.

[Ricky C]

The cable gets stretched out.

Oh and ever since I rebuilt the rear brakes on my car, I have only been able to lift the emergency brake 2 clicks and it locks the rear wheels perfectly.

haha sweet.....something i may do in the near future.

On a side note,thanks v8only,i now have an e-break.

Correction, I set my parking brake today because I was about to get my car ready for emissions testing. Well, it only went up 1 click and those rear wheels aren't going anywhere.

[frdfandc]

The "adjusters" you are talking about are the little tubular things that have a star wheel on them. They are supposed to adjust the service brake (your normal brakes) every time you back up and apply the brakes. More often than not, you have to manually adjust the adjuster to keep proper rear brake adjustment.

[v8only]

frdfandc, i've heard of this before, and always wondered how mechanically it is supposed to work??

I understand the star mechanism, and the latch that hangs right over it and keeps the star from going up. When you back up, does the whole brake shoes somehow rotate a little when you press on the brake, causing the star to go down and be held by the catch?? I've always wondered how this works and never really given it much thought until now.