Hi all,

I've just had new pads/rotors fitted to the rear of my '98. Before, you could set the parking brake firmly with 3 clicks of the pedal ratchet. I thought that was too tight, so I asked them to set them with more slack (7 notches on the adjuster is what the book says IIRC).

And yet now, it's more like 2 clicks! Plus, on measuring the rotor temps with a laser thermometer (in equivalent places), there's about a 3 or 4 degree difference between sides.

I'm guessing one side is so tight it's binding.

How many clicks on the pedal for a properly-adjusted system?

Many thanks,

Rich

 

the parking brake utilized brake shoes (not the pads on the calipers).
there is actually a separate "drum" brake inside the hat of the rotor which the shoes lock onto.
to me 2-3 clicks is actually normal application.

also brake biasing is done left to right as well as front to back so the car is not upset during hard braking.
in other words brake pressure left to right is not symmetrical!
it could be like this: front is 82% left 78% right, and rear is 22% left and 18% right for instance.
your seeing temp differences left to right is proof of this.

 

Many thanks Timmy,

Obviously this was a difficult question so I didn't expect too many answers. But clearly you alone in the world understood what I meant and had time to reply - for which I thank you

Now sorted anyway. I took it back and insisted they did it by the book, which in fact says 8 notches on the ratchet back from lockup. (Yes I could have done this myself, but having paid a lot for this and other work at the same time, I was not inclined to.)

Now parking firmly on 4 clicks. Perfect.

(Haven't measured rotor temps as yet.)

Rich

 

glad to help!
I understand taking it back to the shop especially after paying for their service.