Have to pump the pedal after a rear disc brake install?

[xjbubba]

And what does he do for a street-legal parking brake?

 

[Stumpalump]

And what does he do for a street-legal parking brake?

The Caddy uses a unique set up that actually pushes the regular break pads against the rotor. I talked to him last week and he is waiting for the weather in Salt Lake to break so he can crawl under and rig up a cable to it. From reading here he thinks that somhow evertime you enguage the parking break it adjust the pads. Kinda like a self ajuster on drum breaks. So without the self adjusting going on his pads walk back into the calipers too far causing him to have to use too much pedal. Make sense?

 

[xjbubba]

And what does he do for a street-legal parking brake?

My questione was for XJ_mike.

The Caddy e-brake calipers have a slip-clutch built in that senses more than .030 movement in the E-brake lever; it then engages and moves the caliper piston out to compensate. If the e-brake is not used regularly, the pistons are not adjusted to account for pad wear. Eventually, the built-in mechanism gets beyond its range of adjustability, and no amount of e-brake lever action will work. At that point, you have to follow a precise procedure to recover the adjustability function. Another problem that can occur with lack of consistent e-brake application, is the internal adjuster can freeze up, requireing a rebuild.
Here's a good write-up on rebuilding the Caddy caliper e-brake mechanisim:


http://classicbroncos.com/reardiscs.shtml

Another good site for general trouble shooting: http://www.classicperform.com/TechBook/BrakeTroubleshoot.htm

An excerpt from that site specifically discussing adjusment of the Caddy E-brake lever:


"----Rear Disc Brakes and Parking Brake Adjustment
This is another critical item that many people miss when upgrading to rear disc brakes. Our rear disc brake calipers that are equipped with an parking brake are self-adjusting. Every time you use the parking brake they adjusts themselves for pad wear by clicking to the next stop on the internal ratchet. If you do not use your parking brake during normal operation of the vehicle, over time the pads will wear and there will be insufficient contact between the pads and the parking brake mechanisms. When this happens the parking brake will never engage.

To adjust the parking brake while installing or servicing the calipers, use the following directions. Failure to adjust the parking brake can result in no parking brake, brakes dragging, overheating, premature brake wear or ineffective rear brakes causing excessive front wear and overheating.

If you are adjusting the parking brake after the system has been bled, remove the master cylinder lid and make sure that the fluid level is no more than 1/2 full, this is so that in the following steps when the caliper piston is pressed back, fluid does not overflow the master.
With the caliper in place on the wheel, remove the parking brake spring and lever arm. Remove the seal and nylon washer from the adjusting screw and place them in a clean location.
Turn the adjusting screw counterclockwise to tighten it and collapse the pads until the pads are tight against the rotor.
Note that the adjusting screw clamps the pads closed when tightened counterclockwise. When the adjusting screw is turned counterclockwise past a certain point, it turns the internal ratchet. This is how it is adjusted. Adjusting the screw can be tricky because when the it is tightened all the way, its hex head recedes into the caliper body and you can't get a wrench around it.
Turn the adjusting screw in counterclockwise by hand until there is resistance.
To push the adjusting screw back out to provide access to it's hex, use two channel-locks to squeeze the rear brake pad and compress the caliper piston. Place the wrenches on either side of the pad locating the jaws on the pad bracketry and the body of the caliper.
Then use a wrench to turn the adjusting screw counterclockwise to change the position of its hex and slip the internal ratchet.
Back the adjusting screw out by turning it clockwise, place the lever arm over the adjusting screw hex and apply a medium amount of hand force clockwise to the lever arm to push it past the lever stop on the caliper. Once the force has been applied, the lever should be located within 1/4" of the lever stop and should be easy to put on the adjusting screw head. There should also be mild contact between the pads and the rotor when properly adjusted. It is highly likely that this will need to be done a number of times before it is properly adjusted.
Remove the lever arm and replace the nylon bushing and seal, then replace the lever arm and secure with the nut.
Replace the return spring and parking brake cable

(The article has pictures that did not come over with the "cut & past").

.

 

[jeeperguy21]

I thought that I would update anyone with this similar problem as to what exactly was the problem. First of all, I had bought the '79 El Dorado rear disc calipers from an auto parts store, and all they had were remanufactured calipers, so I bought them. I had to e-brake cables installed, but the calipers would not adjust at all when I would set the e-brake, so the calipers were not functioning properly.

The reason that I was so motivated to get this repaired was because the local shop would not let my Jeep pass the annual safety inspections without a functioning e-brake. So I was desperate to find a solution. I ended up doing a google search and found a company called TSM that knew exactly what the problem was because they specialize in making the rear disc conversion using the El Dorado calipers. Apparently the problem was that the remanufactured calipers that I bought were not rebuilt properly, making it so that the e-brake adjusting ratchet didn't function.

They carried brand new calipers that were guaranteed to work, so I purchased them. The web site, in case anyone is wondering, is http://www.tsmmfg.com/. The calipers came in 2 days and I installed them, and they work wonderfully! I finally have a functioning e-brake and no more soft pedal! I couldn't be happier. So if anyone has this rear brake setup and is having issues, feel free to ask me or ask the guys at TSM. I have read that a lot of guys on here aren't a fan of the TSM setup, but I would have to disagree. It's a beautiful setup for my rear Scout dana 44. Let me know if you have any questions. I'd love to help. Here's a couple of pics with the new setup installed:

 

[Sierra Drifter]

......I had bought the '79 El Dorado rear disc calipers from an auto parts store.....
Here's a couple of pics with the new setup installed:

I have El Dorado calipers installed on my D60 rear and mine are orientated different than yours. Yours actually look low to me, and your brake line attaches at the bottom? Mine caliper mounts up high near the top of the rotor. My brake line attaches near the top, and my bleeder screw is at the top also. Yours looks about 45 degrees low. If you flipped your bracket over would it mount up high, and then swap calipers left to right, seems that would put the brake line attachment point up high..... or are the leaf springs too close to allow the caliper to mount up high?
Maybe your kit is just very different, but it looks strange to me.

 

[jeeperguy21]

We must have different kits my man. Mine is off of a '79 Caddy, but your calipers look different than mine, possibly from a '78, which I know are bigger. My brake lines attach at the bottom and the bleeder valve is at the top. I've looked at others with the same setup as me and the calipers sit much lower than the setup you have. Here's an example: http://jeephorizons.com/tech/xj44part3.html

Changing the configuration of my kit is out of the question. There's only one way that it will fit right, and it's the way it's on there now. But thanks for your input!

 

[xjbubba]

I'd be concerned about catching your brake lines on a obstacles.
My calipers are also mounted higher than yours, (on a D44), but lower than the D60 set-up shown.
However, I do have a problem removing the calipers, due to interference between the upper caliper bolt and the spring. This only happened after installing higher lift rear springs.

 

[xjbubba]

Sorry about the picture sizing; it should have come through re-sized?? Tried to edit, but couldn't.
Just a note on the F150 rotors--they're for 5 on 5.5 axle bolt pattern--not sto
New picture:

 

[xjbubba]

YIKES!! TWICE IN A ROW< AND NO DELETE??

SORRY

 

[xjbubba]

Try for new "sized" picture:

 

[xjbubba]

New image:

\

Third time's a charm.

 

[waxer]

<sarcasm>
All of you running rear discs better be careful of all the rocks and pebbles that will get into your pads and destroy your brakes.

Drums are much better. They keep all the stuff out. They stop way better.

</sarcasm>



I installed a set of rear discs off a 2000 Ford Crown Victoria onto my D44 and I couldn't be happier.