Tightening the Parking Brake

[we_call_him_doher]

So after having my 535 roll forwards a good foot while it was parked with the parking brake on, I decided it was time to adjust the parking brake.

So me and 3 other friends consulted my Bentley manual and it says to raise the rear of the car, take one lug nut off of each rear wheel, and stick a screw driver through the lug nut hole on the wheel and "feel" for the small gear used for the parking brake, and tighten it.

So we get the car up (after much swearing because one of my rear jack points is bent), take the lug nuts off, and stick in the screw driver and feel around for this gear. Can't find it, so we take the whole wheel off. Still nothing, and as we are about to remove the brake disk to get to it, someone has the bright idea of just tightening the two screws underneath the parking brake boot. It worked.

So we spent about 30 minutes of work instead of what could have been about 2 to just tighten the screws. But hey, I got to try out my jack for the first time.

The car no longer rolls, in fact i may have to loosen it a bit because now it only comes up about 6 notches before you can't pull it up anymore. I'm happy with it, but I just want to make sure that just tightening the screws isn't bad for the cable or anything.

Thanks

[Kalevera]

It's a bit hard to adjust the parking brake for the first time without taking the rotor off to see how it works, or having someone show you how to adjust it. The shoes really should be adjusted, though.

Spec is ~ 8 clicks to the point where the parking brake will stop the car on its own, 12 clicks to where the lever won't move anymore. The shoes should be adjusted, then the lever nuts are used to set the brake to spec.

Replacing the cables isn't that big of a deal; I wouldn't worry about it unless the thing starts to make noise from being overtightened, which is sometimes only audible in turns. So, take it to a parking lot and do a bunch of tight turns with the windows down so you can hear what's going on. Don't want unnecessary drag, especially with our (increasing tomorrow) gas prices.

best, whit

[Anthony (M5 in Calgary)]

So after having my 535 roll forwards a good foot while it was parked with the parking brake on, I decided it was time to adjust the parking brake.

So me and 3 other friends consulted my Bentley manual and it says to raise the rear of the car, take one lug nut off of each rear wheel, and stick a screw driver through the lug nut hole on the wheel and "feel" for the small gear used for the parking brake, and tighten it.

So we get the car up (after much swearing because one of my rear jack points is bent), take the lug nuts off, and stick in the screw driver and feel around for this gear. Can't find it, so we take the whole wheel off. Still nothing, and as we are about to remove the brake disk to get to it, someone has the bright idea of just tightening the two screws underneath the parking brake boot. It worked.

So we spent about 30 minutes of work instead of what could have been about 2 to just tighten the screws. But hey, I got to try out my jack for the first time.

The car no longer rolls, in fact i may have to loosen it a bit because now it only comes up about 6 notches before you can't pull it up anymore. I'm happy with it, but I just want to make sure that just tightening the screws isn't bad for the cable or anything.

Thanks

Setting the rear adjustment first allows the mechanism to sit in its mechanical advantage "sweet spot" and allows stronger application of the brake with less arm effort. This is due to a cam/lever arrangement that transfers the cable thrust 90 degrees at the brake backing plate. Simply adjusting the cables cannot truly compensate for this adjustment but you apparently got decent results so stick with it.

[SRR2]

This makes a lot of sense to me. I've never quite understood why those shoes should need much int he way of adjustment since they're not wear items, assuming that you aren't misusing the parking brake. Cable stretch seems a lot more likely and as you found, is a lot easier to adjust.

[we_call_him_doher]

Thanks, ya I think I'm going to keep the cable this way unless I start hearing some weird noises or it starts slipping again, then I will take it to my mechanic and have him show me how to adjust the brake properly