rear brakes
96tsport
11-12-2008, 06:39 PM
Wrench said he did the rears ~ 2 years ago when I bought the van. Put on ~ 50 clicks now & main brake pedal seemed to be getting a bit soft. Checked the fronts (had them done last year) & they're ok.
Decided to try out the parking (emergency) brakes to see if they worked (they did :grinyes:) but pedal went almost all the way & braking was poor. On my gm 1 ton, I can easily lock up the rears with the emergency brake. Pressed the E pedal a ton of times but main brake still felt a bit soft & E brake action remained poor so figured the self adjusters were seized.
Had a look & plenty of brake left, cleaned/lubed 'em & adjusted the clickers ~ 6 to 9 clicks per side. There was a bit of a ridge on the drums & rust there so cleaned it up with sandpaper.
Emergency brake cable is now very tight, rear brakes engage after a few clicks when pushing the E brake pedal but braking is still not great.:screwy: Hmmmm, maybe normal for this van.
Maybe I should turn the drums (look real old), get rid of the ridge & tighten 'em up s'more.
Prolly end up getting some drums.
Decided to try out the parking (emergency) brakes to see if they worked (they did :grinyes:) but pedal went almost all the way & braking was poor. On my gm 1 ton, I can easily lock up the rears with the emergency brake. Pressed the E pedal a ton of times but main brake still felt a bit soft & E brake action remained poor so figured the self adjusters were seized.
Had a look & plenty of brake left, cleaned/lubed 'em & adjusted the clickers ~ 6 to 9 clicks per side. There was a bit of a ridge on the drums & rust there so cleaned it up with sandpaper.
Emergency brake cable is now very tight, rear brakes engage after a few clicks when pushing the E brake pedal but braking is still not great.:screwy: Hmmmm, maybe normal for this van.
Maybe I should turn the drums (look real old), get rid of the ridge & tighten 'em up s'more.
Prolly end up getting some drums.
Jeffrv
11-12-2008, 08:13 PM
Given the age of the van, you might want to check if the rear wheel cylinders are seizing up. Mine did a couple years ago, put new cylinders in and brakes worked much better
Jeff
Jeff
96tsport
11-14-2008, 04:09 PM
Ok, had 'er out for a drive today & can report a huge improvement. Pedal was a bit soft before on initial application (good bet cos the rears were way out of adjustment), but beatiful now. Only tried it quick initially after fiddlin' with them & when I asked the boss, she said she couldn't tell much diff. Funny how she doesn't notice when you do something right.:lol2:
Big improvement too with the parking brake that is nice & tight, but nowhere near being able to lock up the rears like I can on the one ton.
Good to clean up the rears even if not worn out cos with ~ 50 clicks of driving, they was a filthy with powdered & caked on brake dust.
Dunno what type job the wrench did originally (on the rears ~ 2 years ago) but when I had him do the front pads last year, only realized after I left that he didn't lube the assembly (I watched him swap the pads), so maybe did the same quick type job with the rears. Adjusters definitely weren't adjusting.
It is so nice to be doing my own stuff again :biggrin: ..no more guesswork & whatnot..
Big improvement too with the parking brake that is nice & tight, but nowhere near being able to lock up the rears like I can on the one ton.
Good to clean up the rears even if not worn out cos with ~ 50 clicks of driving, they was a filthy with powdered & caked on brake dust.
Dunno what type job the wrench did originally (on the rears ~ 2 years ago) but when I had him do the front pads last year, only realized after I left that he didn't lube the assembly (I watched him swap the pads), so maybe did the same quick type job with the rears. Adjusters definitely weren't adjusting.
It is so nice to be doing my own stuff again :biggrin: ..no more guesswork & whatnot..
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