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Gotta pay someone to fix my parking brake so I can pass...and I'm going to do a full rearend rebuild within the next 6 months, which means this money is basically throwaway to pass inspection. :mad
Chris, you have an inspector who does not understand that 90% or more of the vettes out there can't pass the parking brake test, that goes from solid axels up, unless the C5 has a ratchet piston setup on the rear brakes...if it has the small drums, than it can't either.....
the only way to pass is tighten living hell out of the brake cable and or the adjustments ...and drive really slow to the station, maybe even do it around the block out on the street/parking lot to minimise travel....
then release it again when the idiots are done with their 'work'....
I still maintain that E brakes are an anachronism of the past, nearly useless for much of anything...
Gotta pay someone to fix my parking brake so I can pass...and I'm going to do a full rearend rebuild within the next 6 months, which means this money is basically throwaway to pass inspection. :mad
We Floridians are lucky! No inspections at all in Florida!!!
mrvette, many actually do pass, but yes, I agree. The problem is, and I agree with the inspector, that it's the law. I have no problem with him following it.
I would have no problem with him fudging it, but I can respect him for following it.
Oh, well...I'd like to have a working parking brake. We'll see what the repair places can do... :crazy:
I did the tighten 'em temporarily thing on my old '78, even had to add a couple of nuts to the adjustment screw to get it tight enough. Got it home, took it off. Worked just fine.
I'm kinda nervous about getting the '69 tested. It's parking brakes are fairly good, but the test for the '78 with an auto tranny was to put it into drive and take your foot off the brake. If it didn't move, you passed. They can't do that with a standard tranny, of course, and if the guy revs it enough to keep it running while he lets the clutch out on my 4-speed, I don't think the brake's gonna hold. Dumb, dumb rule.
You could be like me and just not get the car inspected till you get stopped. Then just have inspection done before court date and no fine.
Do you remember the Bluebonnet sticker from the mid-80's. I had that on the car for 5 years. When I was finally stopped and the officer pointed it out and asked why, my response was my car was blue and so was the sticker and I wasn't planning on changing till the next blue one came out. He wasn't sure if he should laugh or smack me up aside the head. But being as original as the answer was, I didn't get a ticket.
In case it doesn't come thru I feel inspection stickers are pure Meadow Muffins (Taxation with representation ain't so great either). Just another way for politico's to STEAL more of your money.
It *is* possible to get the parking brakes to work, it's just a major PITA to do the full process. What you have to do is make sure all the hardware is intact (ie. the cables move like they're supposed to.) Once you've done that, then you actually disconnect the axleshafts, and do each side independently. What this does is minimize the error of getting only one side done properly and not the other. It disconnects the two sides (since it IS a positraction unit) so you can adjust them both to be as tight as they need to be. THEN you would probably pass without a problem. It's a PITA, but it should do the trick.
The problem is, and I agree with the inspector, that it's the law. I have no problem with him following it.
I would have no problem with him fudging it, but I can respect him for following it.
Chris,
This is from the State web site as to when to fail a car for the parking brake:
Parking brake will not hold the vehicle in place when, with the engine running, the vehicle is placed in forward gear and the engine is accelerated enough to cause a pull on the braking mechanism.
The do not define what a "pull on the braking mechanism" is. :(
Go out 620 towards Lakeline Mall. Once you pass the mall entrance you'll see a you-spay-off car wash to your right. They do inspection and don't even check the parking brake. That is where I got mine inspected last year. My wipers didn't work unless you pressed the wash button so as I drove the car in I ran the wipers like that and the guy gave me the thumbs up. Its a real po-dunk place. They'll even detail your car for you. I recommend them.
John
That would be my recommendation--with my old '82 chevy half-ton, I sometimes have to go to two or three stations to get a pass. Drives me nuts, to tell the truth. A place that passes it one year won't pass it the next. And I keep getting flunked for the absolutely dumbest crap--last time it was because the little purple light on the dash that says your brights are on didn't work. To fix it, I would have had to drop $200 for a new circut board on a truck that probably isn[t worth $600 altogether (I love her, though!). So I went inspection station hopping & finally got her passed. It's a stupid system where basically the minimum wage yahoo who does the inspection decides what hoop he wants to to jump through to pass. I have yet to see any consistency whatsoever from station to station on what they check.
Tom73/theandies, I thought you had to get your car inspected in the county you live in?
I'm considering trying another place just to see. They didn't put me down as a failed inspection today, the just cancelled it.
You are in Williamson Co.....with a Round Rock Address???? I think the place I am talking about is in Williamson Co. I may be wrong. If is in Travis then you should be OK because I lived in Cat Hollow (Williamson Co) and they inspected mine last year. Give them a try.
John
Ken73 has the miracle cure... that is exactly the way I get them all to work correctly... half shafts disconnected, one side at a trime, follow the procedure, repeat until fixed.
Even if you do have to rebuild the parking brake, it is a job you can do yourself. It just requires patience to complete. I would think if you just adjusted them per Ken and Tom they would probably work.