Brake system issue...

[Akimbeau]

Originally Posted by joyridin'

You are talking about adjusting the e-brake lever. I am talking about adjusting the rear brakes to give yourself a brake pedal. The 2 are different.

What you would need to do is back off the e-brake until the lever on the caliper is as far back as it can go, then hit the brake pedal while pulling on the lever.

As stated, there is a ratchet mechanism in the caliper piston that is used to adjust the brake pedal feel. When you crank up the e-brake handle, you are bypassing this mechanism.

Sorry, Joyridin' I wasn't clear. I meant I was adjusting the e brake lever(arm) AT THE CALIPER. The procedure I've been using is to remove the arm(lever) and reinstall so there is some play, then with the return spring installed and a pair of vice grips firmly attached to the arm I pull the vice grips and arm to the fully on position and then quickly release so the arm snaps back to actuate the internal adjusting mechanism. The desired result is for the arm to be 1/4" from the stop for the e brake to lock up. This is all per a tech bulletin I found on line. I'll try your procedure for adjusting the calipers and see what happens.

Thanks everyone for all your ideas!

[Akimbeau]

So I tried the adjustment procedure mentioned by Joyridin' with no change in symptoms. I also tried shimming the outer brake pad to compress the piston further into the caliper body, no change. Should I consider a 10lb valve like is used on drum brakes?

Kim