emergency brake question
Drifting
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 1,607
Likes: 1
From: San Francisco CA
Yes, but GM decided it was cheaper to leave the access hole to the star wheels off the backing plate so you must remove the rear rotors to adjust. You can also try cycling the parking brake up and down, which will take slack out of the cables 
Safety Car
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 4,743
Likes: 0
From: Omaha Nebraska
St. Jude Donor '06
Originally Posted by SFVetteman
You can also try cycling the parking brake up and down, which will take slack out of the cables
Yeah, but you gotta back up to do this... otherwise you're just jacking the thing up and down.... Lol.. did I say that?
Back up and pull the e-brake several times just like you used to do to adjust the brakes on a drum-shoe car... you backed up and applied the brakes firmly, it adjusted the star wheel a little at a time...
You do that on a Vette too, to adjust the e-brake. I need to do this myself!!!
Drifting
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 1,607
Likes: 1
From: San Francisco CA
Backing up doesn't make a difference. In other drum shoe cars there is a lever that is tied into the linkage inside the drum that adjusts the star wheel in the drum when you back up and apply the brakes but the Vette doesn't have that, which is why you have to remove the rotors to adjust the star wheel for the parking brake shoes.
There is a mechanism in the parking brake handle that will adjust the cables enough to take excess slack out.
There is a mechanism in the parking brake handle that will adjust the cables enough to take excess slack out.
Safety Car
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 4,743
Likes: 0
From: Omaha Nebraska
St. Jude Donor '06
See, again, you learn something everyday... I was told you needed to back up... Was sure I'd even read that somewhere... in the same detail I wrote...
Must be the Altzhiemers... Dang...
I've been lazy and hadn't really looked into it. Next time I'll keep my mouth shut unless I really have done it.
Thanks SFVetteman!
Must be the Altzhiemers... Dang...
I've been lazy and hadn't really looked into it. Next time I'll keep my mouth shut unless I really have done it.
Thanks SFVetteman!
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jun 2000
Posts: 6,904
Likes: 6
From: Long Valley NJ
St. Jude Donor '03-'05-'06-'07-'08,'11 thru '17, '21
Originally Posted by SFVetteman
Backing up doesn't make a difference. In other drum shoe cars there is a lever that is tied into the linkage inside the drum that adjusts the star wheel in the drum when you back up and apply the brakes but the Vette doesn't have that, which is why you have to remove the rotors to adjust the star wheel for the parking brake shoes.
There is a mechanism in the parking brake handle that will adjust the cables enough to take excess slack out.
There is a mechanism in the parking brake handle that will adjust the cables enough to take excess slack out.
He speaks the truth, as I found when I had mine apart. No auto-adjust mechanism in there. I find it interesting that a Tech-Tip still exists on this forum describing the nonexistent backing-up autoadjust mechanism. I also found that my cable-slack adjuster worked better after I aprayed some wd-40 down in there. There was slack, and it wasn't getting taken up. I assume something was just gummed up.
I've considered drilling a small hole in the backing plate to allow access to the adjuster star wheel in the e-brake drum. Has anyone done this?
