Question: Parking Brake

[berry1133@bellsouth.net]

My parking brake operates well in reverse however, when placed in drive, the car continues to roll. Any suggestions on possible adjustments?

BBerry

 

[Hib Halverson]

The factory service manual for whatever model year Corvette you're working on will cover parking brake adjustment procedure.

 

[bill81vette]

Is it the original E-brake,or has it been changed??

 

[berry1133@bellsouth.net]

It's the original.

 

[6880 Mike]

Could I ask why you are attempting to drive the car with the ebrake on?

 

[berry1133@bellsouth.net]

Not trying to drive with e-brake on. Just want to make sure it performs as intended.

BBerry

 

[bill81vette]

Mine hasn't worked since I bought my vette...
BUT,I never have used an e-brake on any car/puck-up Ive owned...
When I rebuild the rear trailing arms,I will rebuild my e-brake...

 

[berry1133@bellsouth.net]

E-brakes are always good in emergency. If you've ever had a master cylinder go bad, your e-brakes become invaluable.

BBerry

 

[Yoda]

BBerry

To answer your question about adjustment

Let me get my Shop Manual out to get the direction right

Page5-10 Shop Manual:
1. Place parking brake lever in fully RELEASED position.
2. Raise vehicle on hoist, or as I've done on jack stands (rear end)
3. Remove rear wheels
4. Loosen brake cables at the equalizer check nuts until the parking break lever moves freely, (usually a few turns to loosen it )
5. Turn the disc until the adjusting screw can be seen through the hole in the disc, (as I recall the hole in the disc lines up with the hole on the bottom closed to ground)
6.Insert an adjusting tool or screwdriver through the hole in the disc and tighten the adjusting screw by moving your hand AWAY from the floor on both left and right sides. (the screwdriver will engage the spoke tooth of the adjusting with the screwdriver point .. pointing upward to cause you to lift your hand to make the adjustment)
7. Install rear tires.
8. Place parking brake handle in the applied position 13 notches, (I set mine at 10 notches)
9. Tighten the center check nut, (taking slack out of cable) NOTE: Check spinning the rear wheels to make sure the cable is not adjust too tight, it cause drag on the wheels because the E-Brake is dragging
10. Lower car and enjoy

It really is not a tough job, just take your time. The adjustment screw on the brakes through the hole in the disc is similar to the old shoe type adjusters

Bud

 

[Peer81]

Quick answer. E-brake is a bad design and will never work as a proper emergency brake. What it will do is keep your Corvette in one spot when parked.
When I adjusted my ebrakes I had two options. First, the brake will not slide against the inside of the rotor when the ebrake is off, but then the ebrake will not work properly when it is on.
Second, the brake will work as intended.... but when the brake is off it will still slightly press against the inside rotor which isn't good.

Beside that, what you're doing is testing the engines torque against the ebrake power. That could be a good idea for a small 1.2 liter engine but not a 5.7 liter engine. The best way to set the ebrake is to park the car at a flat spot, put the ebrake on and try to puch the car. If it starts rolling you need to tighten the ebrake. From the moment you can't push the vette the brake is perfect if it doesn't rub when it is off. You could also try to change the ebrake pads for new ones but as mine are almost new I don't think that is going to help.

I think the problem with the ebrake is the brake lever, it doesn't attach to the brake cable directly but indirectly. This means the lever moves more then the steel brake cable does, so the levers travel is to short for the ebrake to tighten.

Btw. Here in Holland the Ebrake has to be tested at the annual check. C3 brake are known to fail that test!

Greetings Peter

 

[berry1133@bellsouth.net]

Thanks for that input Peer81.

BBerry

 

[Hib Halverson]

Thank "Yoda" for keying in the service manual procedure.

Keep in mind that adjusting the parking brake on a 65-82 is a two step process....
1) Do the parking brake shoe adjustment
2) Do the parking brake cable adjustment

If you don't do both and do them in that sequence, the parking brake system will never work properly.

Finally, comments made by "Peer81" and others about the C2/C3 parking brake being just that and not an "emergency brake" is well taken.

 

[LannyL81]

Common Failure Part

What usually breaks in the parking brake is the spring between the top of the shoes. The parking brake lever will move and you can adjust the cable until out of travel but never get any resistance.
Now if you have had the rear rotors off, it is easy to slip off the wheel and rotor and replace the spring. But if the rear rotors are still riveted on....it will take a bit of time to drill through all eight rivets.
Then the little spring will be found, in two pieces. Simple to replace, if the spring alone can be found.

 

[Whiteshadow89158]

Just wanted to add that if the cables are original, they can stretch over the decades and you wont get the full function. Obviously they wont stretch like rubber but every bit counts.