rear caliper install

[red vtec]

Yet another question!,

I'm reinstalling my rear calipers. how do I set the handbrake is it simply a case of cliping the cable end in the holder? Or do I have to adjust the cable?

Thanks as always

[andydclements]

Yet another question!,

I'm reinstalling my rear calipers. how do I set the handbrake is it simply a case of cliping the cable end in the holder? Or do I have to adjust the cable?

Thanks as always

It depends what you've done, assuming the hand brake cable was correctly set before you took the calipers off, and you've not altered anything to do with that, including moving the cable bracket, then it should be simple.

With the piston wound in fully, pull the cable through,put the spring etc on, hold the cable with a pair of thin nose vice grips (don't damage it, then simply push the hand brake arm so that the cable goes into the slot.

Fit the cable before you press the brake pedal, other wise t's a mamoth task, as you would have to force the pads onto the disc as the handbrake itself would.

Andy

[Jonathan]

Yeah it does depend on what you've done - I put brembo rears on the GT2 (SE turbo) and made it so the cable was always pulling on the arm ever so slightly even with the handbrake off - so there is always a small amount of tension there, works perfectly.

I tested mine by stopping on the handbrake a few times and parking on a hill to see if they hold - no probs.

[red vtec]

Right got em all connected up and bleed etc. went for a test run and the rear passanger side is still binding, the wheel; was roasting hot again andteh caliper was smoking where i had painted it. Any ideas? does it need bleeding more??

Thanks as always

[RedEspritS2]

Right got em all connected up and bleed etc. went for a test run and the rear passanger side is still binding, the wheel; was roasting hot again andteh caliper was smoking where i had painted it. Any ideas? does it need bleeding more??

Thanks as always

Surely if they need bleeding, this would have the opposite effect and make them too soft and not work well when using the brake. The cable is on a rachet self-adjusting system, but you do have to get it set right at the start, ie both cables and both caliper arms need to be in the same relative position. The angle for the arms is in the workshop manual. I mentioned this to Kato and sent him a photo of the page, he added it to the appropriate page on LotusEspritWorld. These don't always return to the correct angle, I spoke to the guy at ClassicBrakes and he said these arms are not adjudtable. So if the cable pulls one arm too much, you have to adjust the cable length to compensate. It's not enough to adjust the nuts on the cable, because the self-adjusting mechanism will eventually adjust this to what it should be if the arm is at the right angle.

Obviously I'm talking about the original calipers here, if anyone has fitted an upgrade then obviously they might need to do it some other way. Not all rear calipers have the handbrake cable arms, I've even seen some set ups where the handbrake is completely seperate to the main rear caliper.

If you've still got the original calipers, then check the distance of the arm, with the handbrake off. If the end of the arms are not the same distance from the piston, then there is your problem! I've been there, it caused me weeks of adjusting the cables to no effect and many phone calls to brake specialists. The only way around it was to do something with the cable shielding, which butts up against a bar with a hole in it. The rest of the cable goes through the hole. The amount of cable it will allow through the hole has to be adjusted by the amount the arm is different from the one on the other caliper. Sounds complicated, but its not really. Its all just about balance, think of them as a set of scales, the 2 have got to work as one.

You can double check by simply jacking up the back when its binding. Then open the door and behind the sill, slacken off the nuts on the cable. If the binding brake wheel then spins freely, you know its the problem above, with the adjustment, and not the caliper itself.

Happy hunting. If I can help, just give me a shout.

[Quicker]

To check to see if the parking brake is the culprit - pull the rear wheel off and measure the distance from the cable bracket to the actuator lever - it should measure 65mm with the hand brake off.

if it's too tight - it my be dragging your pads.

[chris]

One of my new rear calipers did this. It was because the hand brake lever arm on the caliper would push the piston in but not retract it. had to send it away to get redone. no more problems after that.

[mm7770]

Hi,

i've changed rear brake pads and i need to adjust 1 to 2 clicks the handbrake. Unfortunately i cannot understand how. Kato replied to another post by posting a URL which doesn't work no more.

Does anyone know how?

minos

[andydclements]

The cable adjustment is in the sill behind (towards engine end) the handbrake mechanism.

Push the driver's seat forward, lift the sill carpet and you'll find an apeture in the internal sill trim that allows limited access to the cables.

With the handbrake off, check free length of each cable, as per the previous post with the caliper drawing. Adjst to match the specified length of free cable, to reduce it move the lock nut away from the plate, and then unscrew the hollow bolt that is the adjuster so that it moves towards the rear of the car more. Then, when it's got the right free cable on each cable, secure the lock nuts again.

Andy

[Quicker]

here a pic....

[mm7770]

OK guys thank you very much, I'll try it.

minos