I am in the process of moving so the car has to be put on a trailer. Here is the issue.....I have had the brake system emptied and the calipers off for a couple years with the intention of flushing the entire system with new fluid. The calipers are all rebuilt but I have not had time to put them back on the car and redo the brake system. My question is this......can the rear caliper emergency brake be used without any fluid in the system since it is mechanical or do I need to have fluid pressure in the system for it to work? I just needed to roll the car on to the trailer and pull the parking brake to stop so I'm hoping that I don't have to do the entire brake system. I am moving the car on the 4th of July weekend so I need to wrap this up before the end of the week. I also looked in Dave's Cave but it doesn't specify what I need to know.

I appreciate any help. Thanks guys,

Adam

No fluid needed, entirely mechanical.

quote Originally posted by olejoedad: No fluid needed, entirely mechanical.

Crap, then I have a serious issue with SOMETHING. Pulling the parking brake compresses both left and right caliper springs but the piston does not move outward. I can move the caliper back and forth on their sliders with it engaged.

[This message has been edited by IMSA GT (edited 06-29-2015).]

Have you adjusted the parking brake? Likely you'll have to take the parking brake lever off and rotate the mechanism (driver side rotates one way and passenger side rotates the opposite way...can't remember which way though ). If they aren't adjusted then they won't move the pistons.

quote Originally posted by Neils88: Have you adjusted the parking brake? Likely you'll have to take the parking brake lever off and rotate the mechanism (driver side rotates one way and passenger side rotates the opposite way...can't remember which way though ). If they aren't adjusted then they won't move the pistons.

That was what I was wondering. Do I need to remove the lever, hand turn the mechanism until the pads are just touching the rotor, and then reinstall the lever? That is the step that I do not really understand.

[This message has been edited by IMSA GT (edited 06-29-2015).]

Maybe you should forget the brakes and look into some wheel chocks.......strap-on's if necessary.

http://www.uline.com/Produc...dpK0MFQ&gclsrc=aw.ds


Spoon

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"Kilgore Trout once wrote a short story which was a dialogue between two pieces of yeast. They were discussing the possible purposes of life as they ate sugar and suffocated in their own excrement. Because of their limited intelligence, they never came close to guessing that they were making champagne." - Kurt Vonnegut

I would skip that plan. Getting then to work w/o hydraulics is hard. That if the cables are good and adjusted.

quote Originally posted by Spoon: Maybe you should forget the brakes and look into some wheel chocks.......strap-on's if necessary.

Yup... If you get them to work someone need to be in the car to work the level. Any one else can miss the level when car moves or much worse.

Uneven terrain can make problems. Car moving down even 1-2% grade is easy to loose control. More people or better a tractor or another car chained to it are needed.

On trailer... Put 2x4 or bigger at point where you want wheel to stop Then push or winch slow to get there.

Then tie/chain down the wheels or car. Winch and P-brake is NOT enough to hold even a few feet when trailer is moved.
Proper Tieing/chaining is require by law in most states. If driving to another state then maybe/likely Fed Interstate regs too.
Several methods doing this but w/o data can't help you. Doing this wrong is very easy and can cause fatal results.
Example: Fiero shipping/towing points (Standard sets of oblong holes in cars frame) are made to be used only w/ correct T hooks and correct pull angle range. Wrong hooks or bad pulling angle and that hole(s) will fail, often at worse time possible, then you have a 3000lb bullet.
Many Rental car trailers and others tie down the wheels because is safe and easy.

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Dr. Ian Malcolm: Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should.
(Jurassic Park)

The Ogre's Fiero Cave (It's also at the top and bottom of every forum page...)

Instead of a trailer maybe you would be better off using a tow dolly and tow it backwards. Lock down the steering wheel with some straps so there's no way it will move and tie down the tires on the dolly. Just put it in neutral and drive away. Good luck

Viewed from the back of the caliper....
88
D/S - clockwise
P/S - counterclockwise
Pre-88 is the opposite as the cables come from the back of the cradle.


With the caliper installed on the knuckle, loosen the nut holding the lever. Rotate the lever forward, remove the nut and lever, reposition the lever to the far back position and rotate forward again. Repeat until the pads contact the rotor and reinstall the lever in the far back position and tighten the nut. Install and adjust the cables. Don't forget the springs. Verify correct function. Have someone in the car to actuate the ebrake handle.

As stated above, wheel chocks would be easier, require less time and use less personnel.

[This message has been edited by olejoedad (edited 06-30-2015).]

I agree that the car needs to be tied down.

I also think the brakes need fluid for the e-brake to work simply because the piston is very hard to move without the lubrication provided by the brake fluid. Other people have had trouble moving the piston without fluid.

quote Originally posted by Adjustso3: Instead of a trailer maybe you would be better off using a tow dolly and tow it backwards. Lock down the steering wheel with some straps so there's no way it will move and tie down the tires on the dolly. Just put it in neutral and drive away. Good luck

Towing backward more than a few miles can be trouble w/ cops. Is illegal in many places. You can try that w/ added taillight but cops might still stop you... Made for towing, hook up as normal trailer light and magnets to attach to a car. You need metal piece(s) and straps etc because plastic body.
quick example: http://www.harborfreight.co...-kit-69925-9374.html

I guess I was a little vague. The car is being secured on the flatbed with actual cross harnesses around each wheel so the car won't go anywhere. The reason that I was asking about the parking brake is because the vehicle is in my garage but the trailer will be in my driveway which obviously is sloped. The trailer has tilt down fenders so I can load the car onto the trailer with the drivers side door open. Once the car hits the slope of the driveway and starts to gain momentum, I didn't want a runaway vehicle going through the back of my truck bed

I simply wanted to be able to stop the car's momentum using the parking brake and yes, wheel chocks just in case. So it looks like I just have to adjust the mechanism at the caliper.

You could always.."yabba dabba doo" it.

Thank you for all the replies. I will try to adjust the calipers over the next couple days. I will be picking up the trailer on Saturday so we'll see how it goes.