New to the C3 world. My 75 looks like it has been nicely rebuilt; all under carriage components looking quite new and well adjusted.

The parking brake does not hold though. There is only about 1" left on the adjustment rod and I doubt that will be sufficient. Are there further adjustments that need to be made at the wheel end of the PB? Have not had the wheels off this car as of yet and thought I would ask here before poking around.

Tx

vetfever

 

Yes there is. If you have ever adjusted drum brakes before this is pretty much like adjusting drum brakes. There are 2 small shoes inside the hub or "drum" of the rotor. You should adjust these first then adjust the cable. I would pull the rotor to make sure you have some pad left and inspect the assembly then go and adjust them.

 

Glad that you are a part of the Corvette experience.

This can be either an easy fix...or a problem waiting to happen.

There is an adjustment process at each wheel that has to take place in order for the cables to work within the allotted amount of adjustment area given on the front cable.

Remove your rear wheel...and re-install eh lug nuts and snug them. Re-installing the lug nuts makes the rotor stay seated against the spindle...and that is if the 5 rivets have been drilled out for the rotor to be serviced or turned for the brakes. IF you have all 5 rivets holding the rotor to the spindle...then do not worry about using the lug nuts.

NOW...there are 2 holes in the rotor that should be correctly lined up with holes in the spindle so you can gain access to the roller adjusting wheel.

You have to turn your rear wheel while looking into the hole and you will see a star wheel CLOSE to the bottom of the wheel or 6 o'clock position-ish.

NOW...if your rotor is not aligned properly so you can see through these 2 holes...you can not adjust the parking brake because someone in the past did not position the rotor correctly.

IF you can...great....now release the tension on eh front cable quite a lot by backing off the nut..


NOW...with a flat blade screwdriver...go into the hole and by RAISING THE HANDLE of your screwdriver AWAY FROM THE FLOOR....do this until you feel that you cannot do it many more...which should make the parking brake shoes set against the rotor and make it so you can not turn the wheel. WHEN you have done this...NOW...back that star wheel off 7 to 9 TEETH!!!!...and then check on if there is any significant binding on the wheel when you turn it. DO the other side the SAME WAY....then adjust the nut under the car so you have full park brake in the 14th click.

NOW...not knowing if you have new park brake shoes or not...I can not tell you if your need to go through the burnishing process.

Many things in this repair can stop you in your tracks.

MAKE SURE that the spring on the park brake cable is correctly installed. It is made on the cable and is should go front the end of the cable where the ball is staked onto it and rest against the white plastic guide. AND NOT....REPEAT NOT...be between the white plastic guide and the rubber boot where the cable is clipped onto the training arm itself. The white plastic guide is attached to a small bracket that is welded onto the trailing arm basically under the brake caliper.

DUB

 

Tx GordonM and dub - time to check it out

 

To add to DUB's info also make sure the springs inside the drum are not broken.

When I removed my rotor one of the springs was snapped in half.

 

I have once tried to adjust my rear parking brake as well in my 81 after getting the trailing arms rebuilt... Of course I did this after I had everything assembled... One thing I noticed is it's very hard to turn the rear rotors to check for proper friction..

So after reading a few other write ups on the subject, next time I try to adjust mine, I'm going to disconnect the half shafts from the outer hubs ... That way I can tell if I'm getting proper friction and not just fighting trying to turn all the shafts, posi, and trans...

And the adjustable star wheel isn't exactly at 6 o'clock... It's a little more like 5 o'clock... But it's down there... These star wheels can be tight/locked up at first... But once you get em spinning it's easy sailing from there .. And they don't have an 'automatic' adjuster like some cars... So they won't self adjust ... But, once you get it, it should stay good for a while...

 

No need to check for proper friction.... Actually I prefer the shoes to scrub a little bit....and WHY do you ask.....BECAUSE you have to burnish the shoes (especially if they are new)...and in doing so.....it will wear and seat the shoes and then...after that.... is when I check to adjustment to make sure the parking/emergency brake is functional. Then when driving....I get it up to speed on a basically level roadway...and put the transmission in neutral and see if it immediately starts to slow down....if it coasts for a good distance...I am done.....and that is after obviously making sure the parking/emergency brakes holds.

For those people who are installing NEW shoes...I purposely make sure the shoes have a bit of drag on them...and if you do this...when you do get done in burnishing the shoes...you should not have to re-adjust the parking/emergency brakes at the wheel. I kinda have a 'feel' for it after doing countless e-brakes.

Parking/emergency brake should hold on the 14th click of the handle.

DUB

 

tred here lightly ,dragging shoes make mucho heat and stress bearings.hot day ir gun reading on bearing 120*,dragging shoe reading,over 200*.you have been warned.

 

I'm just guessing that a couple of hours of spirited driving will raise the brake disk/drum temp well above 200 degrees. There should be a fairly high tolerance for heat, no?

 

I’ve installed all new brake shoe hardware for the two rear hubs, including star wheel adjusters. Went to adjust them today to make the recommended tightening adjustments and bent my screwdriver trying to turn the star wheel. Is this correct that it would be that difficult to adjust or what else could be a root cause?

 

JCNST1,
No you should not be snapping off tools. When I adjusted mine with all new hardware I was able to move the wheel freely but firmly to tighten or expand the shoes against the rotor.
If you are that tight get in there with adequate lighting and see what is binding.
Marshal

 

Check that the adjusters are installed on the correct side.
When you insert the screwdriver and pull UP on the handle the adjusters will expand.



Next time start a new thread and you'll get more answers.