Tell me if I am on the right track here guys......Have I correctly diagnosed this????

Went to roll the car across the garage today...wanted to work on the OTHER car but I guess the Vette is feeling lonely and it wants attention AGAIN. It did not want to roll backwards without a LOT of effort. The other day when I backed it up I thought I heard a "pop" back under there somewhere as I let the clutch up.

So here are the test results. Jacked each corner up and rotated the tiresCCW and CW. All move easily when rotated CW. When rotating CCW the right rear sometimes will move with the same amount of drag I get from the other three. Other times it will get very hard to turn. I can turn it by hand when the drag is a this higher level but it is a big effort.

The parking brake has never been used since i got the car. I heard that they get rusty and since it was not causing trouble I just ignored it not wanting to risk it locking up. Now guess I HAVE to do something. Can't have that little sucker lock up on me.

Am I on target with the diagnosis? If so what special tools or potions and incantations are required to get this thing apart? I suspect that the drums have never been apart. This car had the ORIGINAL shocks on it when I got it so I gotta believe that the parking brake is likely original GM issue. I know I gotta drill some rivets out somnewhere but is that it????

FWIW I should add that the car is a non posi and I don't hear any undue racket coming out of the rear when I am rotating the wheels

Thanks for your help.



[Modified by TheOman, 12:45 PM 5/2/2003]

 

Here's a good article on replacement that I used when I did mine.
It include some good tips to simplify the process. http://www.rowleycorvette.com/corvette_repair.html

 

Thanks that article is gonna be good to have. Done a lot of brakes on A-Body cars but never took one of these apart. I guess I could have blundered my way thru it but having this will help with the little Vette specific stuff.

 

:thumbs:

 

Before you drill out the rivets, be sure and mark a lug stud and the hole it comes thru so you can re-install the rotor in exactly the same orientation it was in originally on the spindle, to maintain the same lateral runout you have now (the rotor surface was originally machined/finished after it was riveted to the spindle to achieve .002" or less lateral runout). :thumbs:

 

Hi John!

Amazing ....my car had been serviced back there in the parking brake department. Rotors were marked as was a wheel stuf. First time a prior repair on this car appears to have been done by someone other than Bubba! I guess there is always hope.

The actuating lever.......one set of instructions I have says cut the old one off another set I have says "It is hard to remove the lever' well yeah I guess it is! Anyway I am thinking a little file / fremmel work on the dust shield / plate will allow the cable end of the actuator lever assy easier passage thru the plate. What do you think...cut the old one then enlarge the hole in the plate so the new one can pass thru?