North American Turbocoupe Organization



parking brake adjustment
EricVH Offline
Member
#1
OK, I can't be the first with this problem, but I couldn't find anything on the board about it. Just this half-answered thread....

A few months ago my parking brake got to the point where it couldn't apply the brakes any more, no matter how hard I push. I finally actually looked at what's going on, and the problem is that the bracket (or whatever it's called) that the end of the parking brake cable fits into on the caliper (that also has what I guess is the parking brake release spring) is rotated all the way up against the bolt that the release spring hooks onto. So while I'm pushing harder and harder on the parking brake pedal, I'm just forcing that bracket harder against the bolt.

Is there some way that I can adjust the parking brake mechanism inside the caliper to get the bracket back away from the bolt?
stock (mostly) '88 TC, slowly deteriorating....
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BirdJunkie Offline
Senior Member
#2
Adjustment for the e-brake is on the threaded rod under the middle of drivers door. That will make up for slack in the cable, but your rear brakes should adjust themselves automatically. Somebody please correct me if I am wrong.
88 TC 5SPD BLACK MY BABY ORIG.OWNER(garage queen)/06 GTO 6SPD RED WIFES CAR(cop magnet...lol)/2011 TAHOE WHITE (wifes daily driver a.k.a Fifty Cent)/2016 SUPER DUTY RED(my daily driver a.k.a BIG red)/06 HAYABUSA (SEXY BITCH)..STATEFARM LUVS ME. ----N.A.T.O Bad Boy Division President----
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EricVH Offline
Member
#3
Yes, I've adjusted the threaded rod before, but that only takes up the slack in the cable. It doesn't do anything for the position of the bracket on the caliper.

How can I adjust the parking brake mechanism on the caliper, so that the bracket doesn't run into the bolt before the brakes are applied?
stock (mostly) '88 TC, slowly deteriorating....
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Jeff K Offline
Administrator
#4
Sounds like you might need new calipers. I had a somewhat similar problem years ago, and replacing the calipers fixed the issue.
Jeff Korn

88 Turbo Coupe: Intake and exhaust mods, T3 turbo at 24 psi, forced air IC, water injection, BPV, Ranger cam, subframes, etc., etc.
86 Tbird 5.0 (original owner): intake, exhaust, valvetrain mods, 100 HP N2O, ignition, gears, suspension, etc., etc.
11 Crown Vic Interceptor
14 Toyota Camry (wifes car)
95 Taurus GL Vulcan winter beater
67 Honda 450 Super Sport - completely customized
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EricVH Offline
Member
#5
That sounds suspiciously like, "My car is broken. I should replace my car."

Isn't there some way to fix or correct it?

What is it that's worn, or out of adjustment, anyway? (besides "your parking brake....")
stock (mostly) '88 TC, slowly deteriorating....
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blackbird87 Offline
Member
#6
The calibers have threaded pistons.They rotate to adjust for wear. If your pads are not worn out.Adjust the free play out using the proper rear caliber adjusting tool. You will have to remove the pads to do it. Do you have a factory service manual?
1988 Turbo Coupe 5spd stock. 1987 Turbocoupe 5spd,Totalled.
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EricVH Offline
Member
#7
Yes I do have the manual, and no I don't have the tool.... I've always just used a pair of needle nose pliers to turn the pistons.

The manual, unfortunately, is not a big help. It says, "Adjust the rear disc parking brakes as shown in Fig 5," and figure 5 is for a Mark VII -- nothing like what I have in my TC. Figure 8, that shows the TC parking brake system, is so lightly printed that I can't see anything that might be relevant anyway.

I did read this, though -- the last step of the TC rear cable installation: "4. Adjust parking brake until cable slack is removed. Ensure both parking brake levers on the rear calipers are against the lever stop bolts when parking brakes are released." I'll have to look again after reading that, to make sure I'm looking at the correct bolt. But I'm pretty sure that the lever/bracket gets pulled in the direction of the bolt (or some bolt anyway), so if it starts against the bolt, then it can't move (which I think is my problem....)
stock (mostly) '88 TC, slowly deteriorating....
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EricVH Offline
Member
#8
OK, I finally got around to fixing this -- sorta. The main problem was that my rear 2 cables were frozen. I never really checked the RH one while it was on the car. When I took the LH one off, the adjuster rotated back to it's "home" position -- which is with the bracket against the bolt, but it's the *other end* of the range of motion that touches the bolt -- when it's rotated all the way one way, one part of the bracket contacts the bolt, and when it's rotated all the way the other way, a different part contacts it. (Which is why I was confused about how it was supposed to be against the bolt, when being against the bolt seemed to be my problem....)

Anyway, I replaced the cables, but the RH brake is frozen in the fully rotated position. When I took that cable off, the adjuster didn't move, and I couldn't get it to.

So, the LH brake works, but not the RH. It's enough to keep the car from rolling, but it sure would be nice to have the RH side working as well.

Another bonus, with the new cables there is a new adjuster, so next time I need to tighten it up it should be no problem!
stock (mostly) '88 TC, slowly deteriorating....
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