Rear Disc Brakes

[DButler]

I have a 67 camaro and I have original style calipers on the back. I have emergency brakes but I have not installed them yet. I have bled all of brakes and I have all air out of the lines and. My front brakes are working perfectly but I cannot seem to get the rear brakes to grab. I have adjusted the nut where the e brake bracket goes. The fronts stop fine but I have no pedal. I was told that the e brake actually has to be hooked up for the rear caliper to work. Is this true? I have a good stream of fluid so I don't know why the piston won't come out. The calipers are new and both sides are doing it.

[Apogee]

The only original style calipers on the rear were the JL8 option which were similar to the early C3 Camaro components.

By "original" do you mean the late 70's to early 80's Cadillac calipers with the integral parking brakes? If so, those calipers can be somewhat difficult to set up properly. The parking brake mechanism is what indexes the piston outward to compensate for pad wear, so if the pads are not basically contacting the rotors then you will have to pump the brakes in order to get a pedal. While you should be able to get the brakes to work without hooking up the cables, it will only be temporary as the pedal will get lower and lower as the pads wear and the parking brake isn't actuated. The parking brake mechanism and the hydraulic system are separate, albeit intertwined, systems. The fact that you have a good stream of fluid at the calipers is great, but has nothing to do with why the pistons won't ratchet outward. TSM Mfg has some troubleshooting tips for these calipers on their website...www.tsmmfg.com I think.

Tobin
KORE3

[DButler]

I meant the old original style Cadillac s. So basically I need to adjust the nut until the pad is actually touching the rotor completely then hook up the parking brake? You are right these calipers are difficult to setup. If I would have know about the c5 and c6 conversions before I would have bought these I would have went that route. Once the pad is touching the rotor will it adjust it self somewhat?

[67 455 Bird ragtop]

I meant the old original style Cadillac s. So basically I need to adjust the nut until the pad is actually touching the rotor completely then hook up the parking brake? You are right these calipers are difficult to setup. If I would have know about the c5 and c6 conversions before I would have bought these I would have went that route. Once the pad is touching the rotor will it adjust it self somewhat?

Yes. Once set up they are self adjusting.

[MrQuick]

bye bye psyco typer....