moodah Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 G'day Guys, My handbrake is having issues. On the rear left the lever (part the cable connects to) works fine. When i push the lever there is minimal slack, the piston inside is adjusted right and it seems to clamp the caliper as it should. On the rear right however, i can push the lever ALL the way till it bottoms out with my hand. It seems to hardly generate enough force for the caliper to grip the rotor. Ive been driving the car and the car still stops on a dime, however the pedal IS softer than what I remember. My questions are as follows: -What part in the Brake assembly is damaged / worn? -Am I correct in assuming the entire handbrake system is mechanical and doesn't use any hydraulics? -Does this mean my rear brakes should still be working as intended when using the pedal? Any help would be awesome. Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woldson Posted August 1, 2009 Share Posted August 1, 2009 The rear disk breaks and e-break on the zx really kinda SUCK! I've had them stick in the winter, stay loose in the summer, or drag after they adjust. They seem to never be adjusted the same. As far as the e-break holding the car, SUCKS, unless one is frozen in place. This really gives the zx a soft pedal, sometimes when the planets align all is good. It is a mechanical, screw type piston. The ability for the piston to rotate without getting stuck is rare. Some day I'm going to rebuild mine, see if I can do something to make them a little better, or just convert to 240sx, (if that is the swap I'm thinking of). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moodah Posted August 2, 2009 Author Share Posted August 2, 2009 The rear disk breaks and e-break on the zx really kinda SUCK! I've had them stick in the winter, stay loose in the summer, or drag after they adjust. They seem to never be adjusted the same. As far as the e-break holding the car, SUCKS, unless one is frozen in place. This really gives the zx a soft pedal, sometimes when the planets align all is good. It is a mechanical, screw type piston. The ability for the piston to rotate without getting stuck is rare. Some day I'm going to rebuild mine, see if I can do something to make them a little better, or just convert to 240sx, (if that is the swap I'm thinking of). =( From the image below, which part is supposed to rotate? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roger.svoboda Posted August 2, 2009 Share Posted August 2, 2009 the caliper is self adjusting. If it is stuck (and they do) you will get one not working as well as the other. I'd pull them both make sure the piston is free and easy. You can do this by screwing it in as you must when putting in new pads. Harbor Freight has a handy tool that fits the cross thingy that you can move the piston. you can do it with some needle nose but the tool is much easier way to go. I tried freeing one up on a 83zxt and finally gave up and got a reman. After you know both pistons are free and able to adjust themselves properly I would then check to be sure cabling is free and easy to move. In #31 on the diagram the big unmarked thing is the piston and the cross looking thing on the end is what they give you to turn it with. Daughter just moved down your way with boyfriend. Going to visit in a few months. You got a car club? I'm going to visit her and be nice to see what you guys do down there. email me krs@whidbey.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HowlerMonkey Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 If it's not stuck internally, you can usually move that lever a few times and it will adjust up. If it doesn't, check whether the cable is allowing the arm to release far enough. I've seen a few people adjust the cable tight enough that it did not allow the calipers to adjust up when working the parking brake handle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woldson Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 ^^ I can see why people might over adjust;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moodah Posted August 10, 2009 Author Share Posted August 10, 2009 As it stands now, I can fully rotate the piston in and out with a set of multigrips, so I know its not frozen. The lever at the back of the caliper that the cable pulls however, I can pull all the way back with my hand, which is not normal. It should be difficult since it has to push the piston out. Now if i'm correct this would mean there must be a cam inside of some kind (maybe part 13 in the pic above??) that pushes out the piston somehow. Could this cam perhaps be the problem? How difficult would it be pulling the brakes apart to make sure all is sound? Im a bit worried about damaging seals and possibly making them worse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woldson Posted August 10, 2009 Share Posted August 10, 2009 The front calipers on my zx were much simplier and the seal kit costs was, I think, 5 bucks. Go to your parts store and price a seal/rebuild kit and have them open it up for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HowlerMonkey Posted August 11, 2009 Share Posted August 11, 2009 I used to rebuild them at Z shop of miami. They are pretty wierd inside but you will hate it when you see that the pistons are pitted and could cause leakage at certain pad thicknesses and then hate it more when you price a new piston. The rebuild kits used to be cheap as hell but haven't bought one in years. If the car is already off the road, unscrew the piston and try to not kill the seals. I've done it a few times on my maxima but I had 4 from which to pick the best seal and piston. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moodah Posted August 15, 2009 Author Share Posted August 15, 2009 Thanks for the input guys - Ive pulled the piston out of the bore. I can see the piston on the inside has a threaded hole, which the threaded adjusting rod (inside the bore) screws into. Ive measured the amount the threaded rod is moving in and out when i bottom out the lever. It appears to be 2mm (80 thou) of travel. Can anyone please confirm if 2mm of travel is the correct distance the threaded pin should be moving in and out? (cant find this ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ measurement in the manual anywhere) >< Please help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moodah Posted August 18, 2009 Author Share Posted August 18, 2009 Solved.. I've found out that 2 mm is the correct travel the hard way. I put the caliper back together and had screwed the piston all the way in.. I didnt realise you actually have to adjust the piston by distance to the brakepad by using the pedal SLOWLY while the caliper is away from the disc. I have no idea why it doesnt adjust itself up to the brakepads normally while the caliper is on the damn wheel. Thanks for everyones input. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woldson Posted August 19, 2009 Share Posted August 19, 2009 I did not quite get what you did. Can you expand? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moodah Posted August 21, 2009 Author Share Posted August 21, 2009 (edited) I dont quite get it either... For some reason when the rear caliper was bolted on, pressing the brake pedal in was NOT adjusting the piston as close as possible to the brakepad.. When I pulled off of the caliper, I squeezed the brake pads together onto the rotor with my hand and got my father to step on the brake pedal until the the caliper and piston was sandwiching the pads onto the rotor nice and tight. When the pedal was released the piston then seemed to be aligned correctly. The wheel spun freely but not even a bee's dick could get through the gap between the piston and the brake pad. Before that however.. I had my father pump the brake pedal while it was free off the brake pads - this causes the piston to move out and not retract... The only way i could get it back in was by opening the brake bleed nipple and screwing in the piston (Whilst pushing the ♥♥♥♥ out of the piston). Does this make sense? O_o Edited August 21, 2009 by moodah Afterthought.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woldson Posted August 22, 2009 Share Posted August 22, 2009 Close enough, I think. When I do my brake job next, and rebuild the rears, I will keep this post in mind. Thankyou. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HowlerMonkey Posted December 25, 2009 Share Posted December 25, 2009 Adjustment is done by cycling the E-brake arm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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