REASSEMBLY - PARKING BRAKE DRUMS (Cont'd)


**Edit to previous post - delete #6. You can *not* put the rotors on at this point.

#6 (revised) - With drums off, connect all cables at rear.

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a1...ps7ae976e9.jpg

#7 - In cabin, ensure adjuster knob on handbrake is completely slacked off. Pull the cable forward and hook onto handbrake assembly. If using pliers, be careful not to damage the cable end and/or cable.

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a1...psb5fb8cef.jpg

*Author's note; I actually did the reverse; connected the handbrake first, then put in the cotter pin in the rear end. That said, I suspect it is easier as done above; as long as the drums are OFF.

A few random notes:

A) Some have mentioned that they had trouble pulling the cables out of the aluminium subframe. Galvanic corrosion is the obvious suspect here.

Suggestion; cut off the cable just before the ferrule. The ferrule, you will notice, is crimped on, and is hexagonal. (Hint, hint.)

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a1...psec9efc11.jpg

Assuming (of course) that you have doused everything with penetrating oil the day before... hammer a 15mm socket onto the ferrule, and twist away in either direction. (It's not threaded, you're just breaking it free.)

Mine were locked in solid, but yielded almost immediately to this treatment.

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a1...ps673b63db.jpg

B) At the other end of that same cable (so, the outboard end attached to the caliper housing) after prying out the U-shaped retaining washer, the other ferrule was also locked in solid. When I started using the BFH on it, I noticed (rather fearfully) that the part of the caliper into which the ferrule attaches was moving along with it.

I was really afraid that I was going to break the caliper; which is exactly what happened. The ferrule, and the surrounding caliper "collar", came off together.

The good news; the collar is just a friction fit. And, added bonus, it's much easier to punch out the ferrule on the bench, than on the car. So, long and short; don't worry about everything coming apart there. Just knock it off; if the collar comes with it, it's easy to reinstall.

And finally; just a little video of what greeted me when I pulled the left-side rotor.

http://s10.photobucket.com/user/toso...1ee57.mp4.html

Just to wrap this up...

Assembly is the reverse of removal, as Haynes would say. Once the cable was in, I tightened the gas tank back up, before reinstalling the exhaust (with a new middle hanger jerry-rigged from what I had on hand.)

I followed the break-in procedure for both the e-brake drums and the rear pads; a slow drive with the e-brake applied for the former, and a series of increasingly hard stops for the latter.

I didn't need to adjust the e-brake at all. (!) With everything hooked up and the adjusting nut all the way loose, the brake engages around the third click, and locks the car up tight around the 6-8th clicks. It will hold the car in Drive (no gas) on flat ground. Feels very solid.

No special tools were required; just the following:

- sockets (10-15mm mostly; 3/8" and 1/2" versions with several extensions and a wobble-joint)
- pliers, vice-grips (several), small pry bars
- Torx screwdrivers (T15, 20, 25 and I think 30)
- Flathead screwdrivers
- brake cleaner
- bearing grease

In all, it was a pain of a job; but doable, and a HUGE savings over what the garage (or God forbid, the dealer) would have charged. Just set aside a good couple of days just in case, get all your parts together first, and try to run the gas tank as empty as possible before starting!

In retrospect, I think the only things I would have done differently are: I would have ordered rear rotors, even though they weren't strictly needed in my case, and a new middle exhaust hanger, which I should have noticed was totally rusted through.

Speaking of the exhaust; I noticed when I dropped the muffler, that it had a couple of pinholes. One more thing to look for, the next time I'm at the scrappie! ;-) Or start saving up for...