Rear Disc E-brake I have made a discovery!!!!!!

[michael.leach at lmco.com (Leach, Michael)]

I have a theory that I would like to get some discussion on ....hopefully
other people have dealt with the same issue.  I spent a week trying
everything I could think of to get my E-brakes to work.  I tried three "NEW
rebuilt" calipers and they all acted the same way.  The e-brake lever ON THE
CALIPER not the hand lever would go all the way to the stopper where the
return spring mounts and nothing would happen.  Since the lever was hitting
the stop it was not the cables.  I then measured my Rotor and it was ~.375
inches with the minimum being .315 inches so that was fine and my Pads had
plenty of life left on them.  But when I was switching calipers I noticed
that the piston was pretty far extended out of the caliper............so I
took the next leap and concluded that maybe the combination of thinner rotor
and used pads made the caliper too extended to actuate the e-brake...even
though they were all individually within spec.  I finished switching pads
Sunday morning right before I went to my first Autocross(that will get its
own e-mail....what a blast)....to try to complete this story I now have at
least minimal e-brake usage...I have yet to completely adjust the e-brake
*too busy on Sunday* so I hope I can get it to REALLY stop the car before I
take it back to the garage for the inspection sticker.

Anyway it seems that maybe the calipers are not broken when we think they
are they just do not work that well unless you have a thick rotor and
pads....I do not think they should work this way and maybe it is a
by-product of the rebuild process

anyone have any input on this?

thanks for reading

I have left some of the history of this attached 

and for Patrick
when I was talking about the lever I was talking about the lever on the
caliper itself...the one that the cable attaches to.  That lever was hitting
the stop. 


>now micheal, your e-brake handle is not supposed to climb up all the way up
>(loose) it should only click 2-4 clicks MAX before locking the rear wheels
>as per bentley. if your arm reaches the rear stop bumper, tighten them nuts
>up front some more because your cables are still loose.
>
>BTW I bbought a new pair at autozone some time back one never did come
>on...got one fron scrap yard.. it works...lol go figure.
>
>ATS - Patrick Bureau - txrocco@sbcglobal.net
>
>
=>-----Original Message-----
=>From: scirocco-l-bounces@scirocco.org
=>[mailto:scirocco-l-bounces@scirocco.org]On Behalf Of Leach, Michael
=>Sent: Friday, May 16, 2003 5:31 AM
=>To: 'Cathy Boyko'; scirocco-l@scirocco.org
=>Subject: RE: [I need more Rear Disc E-brake help!!!! and a VENT]...moreq
=>uestions
=>
=>
=>well this is still driving me nuts.......believe me it is not the
=>cables...I
=>have adjusted the crap out of those things......the big picture is that I
=>will pull the e-brake until the e-brake lever on the caliper hits the stop
=>(where the spring bolt is ) and the rotor will still turn.....my pads are
=>used but have adequate pad left on them and the rotor is ~.375 inches and
=>the Bentley says the minimum is .315 so I am good there too...the piston
=>itself does not look over-extended so what is the deal?...The guy at the
=>parts store is obviously very unsure that the calipers are
=>bad....and I cant
=>really blame him but I can not imagine what the issue is here?
=>
=>It is very funny ...I do not have Cathy's curse of the Silver Headache but
=>instead I have a curse which makes every repair of my car take at
=>least two
=>weeks....while I look at the thing in my driveway on jack stands
=>and pull my
=>hair out.
=>
=>Michael Leach
=>MH-60R Integration and Test
=>Lockheed Martin Federal Systems
=>Owego, NY 13827
=>607-751-7542
=>FAX 751-6198
=>michael.leach@lmco.com <mailto:michael.leach@lmco.com>