| Modifications, Repairs, & Upgrades |
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Parking Brake Adjustment - [return to main mods page] If your parking brake goes to the floor everytime you use it, then it may be time for an adjustment. It is a pretty easy procedure wich only requires 2 tools and you don't even have to jack up the back of the car.Tools Required
1. 5/8 open end wrench Background Information The parking brake system work by utilizing a parking brake lever on both rear brake assemblies. This parking brake lever engages the brakes by mechanically activating the piston, instead of using the hydrolic brake system. It only engages the rear wheels so if they are lifted off the ground the parking brake will do nothing for you. The rear brakes are self adjusting so when they wear past a certain point the calipers compensate for this so the parking mechanism is always calibrated for you. This adjustment is typically only done once. Procedure: Chuck the rear wheels and disengage the parking brake. Crawl under the rear of the car and locate the parking brake linkage. It is located just behind the rear independant suspension. You will see 2 cables. One runs from the foot actuator on the driver's side and the other cable connects the two brake assemblies. You are looking for the location where all the cables come together.
There is a nut attached to the cable assembly. It is a 5/8. The other end of the adjustment screw where the passenger side cable attaches to will accept the 1/4 wrench. This is to keep the whole cable assembly from spinning while you are adjusting the nut. You want to adjust the nut to shorten the distance between the nut and the end of the threaded rod towards the drivers side.
If after adjustment the rear brakes seem to be sticking, you have adjusted the parking brakes too far and you need to ease off on the adjustment nut. Likewise if you can't push hard enough to engage the brake you need to back off the adjustment a little bit. Once the adjustment has been made your parking brake should no longer hit the floor when you use it. |
