Parking Brake Rebuild

[minifridge1138]

Hello everyone,

I parked my car today, put on the parking brake, and it rolled down my driveway. How difficult is it to rebuild / replace shoes on the parking brake of a 1982 Corvette?

I have tons of service manuals, so I know how to do the job. I'm just wondering if it is a difficult job.

Thanks!

 

[JohnZ]

The calipers and rotors have to come off, and assuming you're not going to remove the rear spindles, there's a tech article on the Rowley Corvette website on replacing the park brake parts with the spindles in place.

 

[GTR1999]

This will help as well.

 

[LVMYVT76]

Have you tried to adjust them???? They won't hold too well when adjusted.

 

[minifridge1138]

I didn't know they could be adjusted.

I'll look in my GM Shop Manual and see the process.
For all I know, it could have the original shoes.
I know a lot of people that don't bother with a parking brake on an Automatic transmission.

 

[fine69]

I didn't know they could be adjusted.

I'll look in my GM Shop Manual and see the process.
For all I know, it could have the original shoes.
I know a lot of people that don't bother with a parking brake on an Automatic transmission.

See that torpedo shaped device in the lower portion of GTR1999's photo?

Take notice of the little gears/cogs. You will use these to turn the barrel of the device - in doing so, it adjusts the mini drum brake. There are holes in the rotor that provide access to the gears. I use a small scewdriver to turn the gears, but I believe there may be a special tool for the job. I hope this makes sense.

 

[petes74ttop]

Hello again, You might just need an adjustment:
To do that install the rotor and secure with the lug nuts, then insert a screwdriver and lift the handle away from the floor. When tight back off 7 to 9 teeth, the rotor should spin without serious drag.
Then adjust the cables for final hold which is 14 clicks on the parking brake handle. Hope that helps, PG.

 

[jims427400]

My experience w/ the 67 and 68 was that once I exposed the parking brake calipers, they were totally rusted and dissfunctional. If your at all mechanical you should do fine w/ a good set of directions. And if you need help, just ask..