Btrake problems

Bristles

1992 chevy Llumina. brake pedal goes almost to the floor. I've put new pads, calipers, rotors on the rear. Adjusted the parking brake cables, blead the brakes until clean fluid came out. Still can not get the pedal to come up. What did I miss?

nap

I do not remember if the 92 had seperate e brakes or if they were integral to the caliper. If integral, you need to adjust the caliper by cycling the e brake about a million times. Bad news if the cable is frozen. You can do it manually with the actuating lever though.

a quick look at Autozone shows an integral e brake. Cycle the actuating lever to adjust the caliper.

Bristles

If I unhook the e-brake cables and work the lever on the back of the caliper. Will that work?

brokenknee

Are you sure it is not the master cylinder? Will the brakes "pump" up? Do the brakes feel "spongy" when you do get pedal? If you l have drum brakes on the rear, there is an adjusting star you turn through a slot on the back side of the backing plate.

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nap

they are disc brakes on the rear.




bristles;

yes, that would be the actuating lever. Just to be sure I am thinking of the proper set up, can you confirm this is your caliper?

http://contentinfo.autozone.com/znet.../C299/image/8/

One really big thing I did remember when brokenknee said something about the master cylinder.

Do not push the pedal down all the way. Only short strokes. If this model year has the same situation I am thinking of, pushing the M/C too far will cause one of the piston cups (seals that push the fluid) to get cut as it passes a port.

I always bled those with my other foot under the pedal and only allowed 1-2 inches of travel.

Bristles

Yes thats the caliper I put on.

Bristles

Yes thats the caliper. I can put vise grips on and pinch off the rubber lines and get a firm pedal. So I don't think a master cylinder is a problem, but I won't rule it out yet.

nap

don't pinch the hose anymore, especially with vice grips. You can actually damage a hose due to the sharp corners on the vice grips if you are a bit overly aggressive.

so, you don't even have to remove the cable. Simply find some way to grab that actuating lever (the one the nut holds on) and rotate it towards the cable entrance (to the left in the picture I linked). You may have to do that quite a few times.

what is happening is; there is a screw thread in the caliper piston that, as you rotate that arm, turns within the caliper piston to move it towards the rotor and adjust the caliper. It ratchets so it does not simply spin back and forth but screws the piston towards the rotor.


be cautious about the parking brake cables. If you live in an area like I do (michigan) where snow and salt are common in the winter, the cables are notorious for seizing. Once applied via the pedal, they never release due to the cable being seized. I cannot recall how many I have replaced over the years but it had been a lot.