tomf

My emergency brakes continue to rub on my rotor and is causing me some serious headaches and poor gas mileage.

Is it a bad idea to just remove them all together ? I have never used my emergency brakes on any of my vehicles. Any input would be appreciated.

01tl4tl

OMG DO NOT REMOVE the park brakes
if the disc brakes ever failed you can still stop with them-seperate cable operated system

they are `parking brakes` to take the load off the J hook that holds car in Park `gear`
not emergency brakes in design but will help you in a life or death,

lets back the story up
you recently replaced the rear drums? and now the park brake rubs?
to adjust the park brake shoes to the new rotor- its inner hub is the drum part of the park brake/drum brake system

car in the air rear wheels off
turn the rotor until the rubber plug is at the bottem- remove plug
Inset small flat screwdriver or use $5 drum brake adjustment tool from parts stores
its bent on each end and makes the job easier
You back off the star wheel- adjuster wheel (same as any drum brakes)
then tighten until there is slight drag heard
test park brake handle- 6 clicks should make the wheels hold tight against car movement
in gear running

if you have the center console type handle there is an adjustment in there too.
sometimes shops will tighten that up to restore `good feel` but is hasnt done the actual adjust at the wheels (to my knowledge, I have floor park brake 01TL)

if that isnt your situation, please explain whats going on with your car,recent work etc
and we will try to get you fixed up,,need more details

01tl4tl

other possible probs in general

Most people dont realize there is an auto adjuster on the park brake
It needs to be cleaned and lubed or can get stuck
remove caliper, bracket and rotor--do a full brake `service` whether it needs pads or not

Also there can be a lot of brake dust inside the drum- I know its odd for a system that doesnt move
BUT
but I think it comes from people who owned the car before you = must have backed down a driveway/driven off with the p-brake on....
it can happen when brake is not adjusted right- or you would know its on!

few know how, or the need to adjust, since many cars use the regular disc brakes as the park brake too--we are special!!

tomf

Thanks for all the help - I also just jacked the ds rear to feel if that tire spun freely. It rotated just fine.

I just jacked up the front ds to see if that wheel is spinning freely. I put the car in neutral and it takes some serious force to spin that wheel.

2 months ago that wheel had a new wheel bearing put on and a new rotor. ( rotor was warped ) When they put on the new rotor, they also put on a right rear caliper - and did a full brake line flush ( in the rotation you recommended ). I'm wondering if maybe the front left caliper is the culprit - maybe it got crud in the line from the flush and damaged it ? What is strange is - there is not a lot of heat on the wheel after driving it. When my right rear caliper froze up, the entire wheel was very HOT after driving. Could these be tranny related ( Noob question ) ?

Do both front tires need to be in the air to rotate freely ?

Thanks in advance for all your help !!

tomf

I repaired the rear rotor first, then the rear caliper went bad. Never replaced the brake shoes ( parking brake )

tomf

ok, so i took the front right rotor off and replaced the ( pin boot ) It had a tear and the pin was not going in and out. That helped it a little bit.

if the front 2 tires are in the air and the car is in neutral will the tires spin as freely as the rear tires would when the car is in the air ? I'm concerned that this may be a bigger issue than brakes ? Any insight would be great !!

01tl4tl

the rears are free spinning on a bearing, when park brake applied it should not turn

After you replaced the rear rotor, then caliper after heat issue-
you need to ck the park brake shoes for any damage and MUST adjust them to the new rotors same as any drum brake job,, new shoes or drums = adjust.
the inner diameter of the hub/brake drum will vary by maker
a little bigger than the last one and you get no park brake without adjusting a few to several clicks-
you are supposed to loosen park brake before rotor removal- or rotor gets stuck on the edge lip of brake shoes, maybe tech did that and didnt adjust?
No big deal to take care of in the garage or driveway

the fronts still have to move thru the trans so they are more difficult to turn by hand, especially with one on the ground

the brake lines dont send crud to the entire system during flush- its all downhill-
if something bad was in the LF its contained to that area, and sent out the bleeder nipple,
not spread during the flush
Crud should all be washed out by a good job on the flush
the problem is when crud gets stirred and shaken in the caliper during a brake job
and not flushed at all!! then debris gets in the oring inside and tears it

Or when the caliper piston is fully compressed from a fully extended (way worn out pads)and the crud backwashes in the system

A sticking caliper in front would be freaking out the ABS and traction control systems

tomf

Thanks ! I guess i will just upgrade the entire system. Get new 95 legend calipers - EBC slotted rotors, EBC pads and call it a day. Thanks for all the insight and help !!!

01tl4tl

rebuilt legend calipers not new
referance numbers: raybestos frc10627 frc10628
thats left and right with new bracket- you strip the new bolts and slider plates of the bracket and use them on the original TL brackets
everything else stays TL

SS lines make the pedal `feel better` and dont swell with heat and pressure

ck out racingbrake rotors and pads from MrHeelToe in our sponsored sales area- they stop like nothing I have driven before

01tl4tl

ck something out tomf

you replaced rear pads- were they aftermarket?
if so look under car at inside of rear rotor

Everyone with aftermarket pads do this ck!!!

If there is shiny on one half the rotor width and rusty on the other half, you have an inner pad with the 3rd nipple. That hits the piston first and cocks the pad sideways creating funky braking and half pad wearing at an angle, and half used/not used rotor surface

hawk and even rb had this middle tab- RB has since resolved but many many others have not changed pad or listing in book
the pad backing plate is for the RL which uses it for the park brake actuator
but for us- its the right size,,, except middle tab -

you can grind the tab off if found on new pads or recent installs
too much angle wear on the inner pad and you should toss them and start over

01tl4tl

when one rear caliper fails the other is usally not far behind
old fluid contamination is one cause, but not the only one

they should be replaced in pairs

rcb2000

no they don't have to be replaced in pairs huge waiste of money. With your logic if one is bad then they all will be bad in a short amount of time and that isn't going to happen unless the car as sat for years and the piston is corroided and caused the problem to start with. You change pads and shoes in pairs but you don't when it comes to calipers.


Your not going to get the front wheels to turn freely if at all unless both are off the ground, has it is going through the tranny and the wheel opposite of the one you turn will spin in the opposite direction that you are tuning the one.

Adjusting the E-brake isn't going to do shit unless the E-brake is all ready dragging causing the problem which is easy to figure out by feel as it will heat up the rim and you'll be able to tell as you rotate the tire while jacked up it will drag.