C3 park brake shoes
Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 26
Likes: 0
From: Sawyer MI
C3 park brake shoes
I'm sure this has been asked before, but I can't seem to find it.
What is the trick to installing the park brake shoes? There's not a lot of room in there. Any tips?
What is the trick to installing the park brake shoes? There's not a lot of room in there. Any tips?
Tech Contributor
Joined: Aug 1999
Posts: 15,175
Likes: 3,990
From: Connecticut, USA
Get 2-4 six packs of your favorite beer, tool box, and shoes. Jack up the car, lay down with your head on the tool box and drink until out cold. When you're awake , out the car on the ground and drive it.
Or you could jack up the car,pull the tire,caliper,rotor. Drill out the rivets if still there,mark the rotor to stud so you get it back to the right location, use needle nose on the hold down springs, remove the old shoes and rusted springs. Don't use SS shoes only the SS hrdw kit.
I use dental floss to hold the hold down springs and RTV to hold the pin in place. This job just plain sucks and adjusting them I find to be the biggest PITA by hey what's a vette for?
Gary
Or you could jack up the car,pull the tire,caliper,rotor. Drill out the rivets if still there,mark the rotor to stud so you get it back to the right location, use needle nose on the hold down springs, remove the old shoes and rusted springs. Don't use SS shoes only the SS hrdw kit.
I use dental floss to hold the hold down springs and RTV to hold the pin in place. This job just plain sucks and adjusting them I find to be the biggest PITA by hey what's a vette for?
Gary
Drifting
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 1,345
Likes: 3
Originally Posted by gtr1999
Get 2-4 six packs of your favorite beer, tool box, and shoes. Jack up the car, lay down with your head on the tool box and drink until out cold. When you're awake , out the car on the ground and drive it.
Don't use SS shoes only the SS hrdw kit.
Gary
Don't use SS shoes only the SS hrdw kit.
Gary
Tech Contributor
Joined: Aug 1999
Posts: 15,175
Likes: 3,990
From: Connecticut, USA
The SS shoes I used were not made correct and I had to machine them to finally get them to fit. The steel replacements fit without any problem. It's the hardware that causes the problem and the SS kits are fine.
Gary
Gary
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 5,752
Likes: 4
From: Austin Texas
Originally Posted by gtr1999
The SS shoes I used were not made correct and I had to machine them to finally get them to fit. The steel replacements fit without any problem. It's the hardware that causes the problem and the SS kits are fine.
Gary
Gary
Race Director
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 10,362
Likes: 5
From: San Diego - Deep Within The State of CONFUSION!
Originally Posted by StickShiftCorvette
What's wrong with SS shoes if you use riveted facings?
Last I had the rotors off was this past summer, and when I inspected them, I saw the lining on the parking brake shoes crumbling and looking like that job will be coming up again soon.
This time though I'll use regular steel shoes...NOT SS ones.
Race Director
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 11,874
Likes: 263
From: Arlington Va Current ride 04 vert, previous vettes: 69 vert, 77 resto mod
Originally Posted by gtr1999
......This job just plain sucks....
Gary
Gary
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Intermediate
Joined: Jun 2005
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From: Dhahran
Safety Car
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 3,503
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From: Raleigh NC
Originally Posted by zamika0a
This is one of the most difficult repairs we have done on Corvettes. One should allot two days for its undertaking. It requires a degree of patience and dexterity above that of most repairs.
I think I'll just save up and buy new trailing arm assemblies when mine fail.
Premium Supporting Vendor
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 4,312
Likes: 70
From: Clearwater FL
Originally Posted by gtr1999
The SS shoes I used were not made correct and I had to machine them to finally get them to fit. The steel replacements fit without any problem. It's the hardware that causes the problem and the SS kits are fine.
Gary
Gary
They are junk.
Drifting
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 1,270
Likes: 4
From: Celeste Texas
The brand and temperature of beer matters as well. Cheap beer has to be very cold or you get mad while doing the brakes. When you get mad you break things and then have to spend more money. First on parts then better beer.
Go slow and be patient because it will not work the first few times. It's not hard just very frustrating. Put the back end of the car up on jackstands and not the jack. Before you do it call you local corvette shop and ask what it would cost for them to do it. That way, when you do it yourself, you can spend the extra money you saved on other projects.
Good Luck
Bill
Go slow and be patient because it will not work the first few times. It's not hard just very frustrating. Put the back end of the car up on jackstands and not the jack. Before you do it call you local corvette shop and ask what it would cost for them to do it. That way, when you do it yourself, you can spend the extra money you saved on other projects.
Good Luck
Bill
Le Mans Master
Joined: Apr 1999
Posts: 6,134
Likes: 46
From: Raleigh North Carolina
I've had issues with the SS shoes as well.... I don't use them anymore.
The shoe material is typically less "sticky" or "harder" than OEM material. The rivets have come loose chewing up the rotor, the arching has been off, the material has disintegrated etc etc.
On the install... get a cheap screwdriver and cut a V in the end- it helps to hold, locate & install the non-pinned springs. A small pair of needle nose pliers helps with the pinned (hold down) springs. I use 2.... one to push the spring/retainer down, the other to pull the pin up & twist it. The dental floss trick is easier.
Making the adjustment-
Cable loose
With the pads removed (unwanted drag),
Funky pad insertion tool to hold the pistons (two of them).
Two lug nuts reversed to hold the rotor tight against the spindle.
Disconnect the half shafts to make the adjustment. Too much drag to get it right with the shafts attached.
Tighten adjuster until the rotor cannot be moved with a screwdriver in the rotor web (leverage). Then back off the adjustment per spec.
Adjust cable
Repeat until it actually works. ha ha
The shoe material is typically less "sticky" or "harder" than OEM material. The rivets have come loose chewing up the rotor, the arching has been off, the material has disintegrated etc etc.
On the install... get a cheap screwdriver and cut a V in the end- it helps to hold, locate & install the non-pinned springs. A small pair of needle nose pliers helps with the pinned (hold down) springs. I use 2.... one to push the spring/retainer down, the other to pull the pin up & twist it. The dental floss trick is easier.
Making the adjustment-
Cable loose
With the pads removed (unwanted drag),
Funky pad insertion tool to hold the pistons (two of them).
Two lug nuts reversed to hold the rotor tight against the spindle.
Disconnect the half shafts to make the adjustment. Too much drag to get it right with the shafts attached.
Tighten adjuster until the rotor cannot be moved with a screwdriver in the rotor web (leverage). Then back off the adjustment per spec.
Adjust cable
Repeat until it actually works. ha ha
