E Brake No longer holding on inclines

[TripleC321]

My 88 Reatta has developed a habit with its e brake. 
 

the e brake used to hold it still on hills when not in park, but now it seems to not hold. 
 

the car will now roll when on an incline with the e brake on (but not in park. I need the e brake to hold without being in park for a seperate issue)

 

what should I check? How does one fix this?

[2seater]

Has anything been changed recently? New brake pads or calipers? Pretty sure applying the parking brake has a self adjusting effect and may be necessary several times to get them tightened up. I think the spec is something like 3.5 pumps on the pedal to set the brakes if everything is working as it should be. When released, the cable under the car should be somewhat taut and not hanging slack. 

[TripleC321]

No changes to brakes or calipers recently. (Changed front brake pads 1.5 years ago, but rears haven’t been changed in years.)

 

it does take 3.5 pumps to set still. There is slack when cable is disengaged too (although sometimes the dash light doesn’t disengage until I pump and release a few times)

[Ronnie]

The piston in the rear caliper has a self adjusting design to keep slack out of the parking brake. Perhaps the adjuster is stuck and not working properly or the pads are worn enough that the adjuster is out of it's range of adjustment. I would start by changing the pads, making sure the adjuster screw inside the piston moves freely. Then adjust the cable to take out any excess slack if needed.

[TripleC321]

This adjuster screw is in both rear calipers correct?

[TripleC321]

What do I do if that adjuster screw does not move freely?

[DAVES89]

I am almost 67 years old and never use my parking brake [on any car]. Being in the rust belt when they get rusty they lock up and don't release.

[Ronnie]

3 hours ago, TripleC321 said:

This adjuster screw is in both rear calipers correct?

Correct.

 

The  photo below shows the adjuster parts inside the caliper. The adjuster screw is what the parking brake arm on the back of the caliper bolts to. It screws out of the T-nut to adjust the travel of the piston as you use the parking brake.

 

Since I never had any problem with it I don't know what you would need to do to get the adjuster working properly if that is the cause of your problem. I assume you would have to take the piston out of the caliper to get at it so you can clean it up.

 

Thanks to Barney Eaton for the photo.

[Ronnie]

A tool like this is used with a ratchet and extension to screw the piston in on the adjusting screw to move the piston in far enough to get the new pads installed. The piston has notches on the face of it that the tool fits into in order to turn the piston. You can do it without the tool but it makes the job easier.

 

 

[TripleC321]

I’ll check the caliper and adjusting screws in a couple weeks when I do the brakes. 
 

this is a picture of my parking brake cable released, showing the slack. 
 

is this too much slack? If so, how do I adjust?

[TripleC321]

2 hours ago, DAVES89 said:

I am almost 67 years old and never use my parking brake [on any car]. Being in the rust belt when they get rusty they lock up and don't release.

I have to use it to prevent the car from rolling when it’s not in park. 
 

my shifter cable bushing is bad, (I replaced the bushing but it didn’t last long) and the cable will often pop off when the I am shifting from reverse to park, resulting in it being stuck in reverse. I need the e brake to prevent the car from running away from me as I pop the hood and reattach the shift cable. 

Edited September 18, 2023 by TripleC321

[2seater]

That has a little too much slack but it isn't terrible. I suspect when you do the rear brakes you will find the parking brake arm on the rear caliper(s) isn't returning all the way to the stop. That part in the photo is threaded so it can be shortened if desired but I would give the rear brakes a look before trying to adjust the cable. I think the piston in the caliper doesn't adjust properly unless it gets the full range of motion. May need to carry an anchor or wheel chocks until you can get things repaired.

[TripleC321]

So is it possible I’m driving around with the rear breaks partially applied? If the adjuster and e brake aren’t working properly?

[2seater]

6 hours ago, TripleC321 said:

So is it possible I’m driving around with the rear breaks partially applied? If the adjuster and e brake aren’t working properly?

Probably not in the sense it is actually applied but the best way I know of to detect a dragging brake is an infrared temperature gun. There will be differences front to rear, but the brake temps. should be similar to each other on the same axle.