Finishing up a parking brake adjustment on the '99 355 with the F1: Is there a torque spec used to determine the proper amount of drag when the shoes are set correctly? My Range Rover Sport has a similar shoe adjustment that has a torque range(can't remember the range, though) to determine the proper drag amount by the shoes. Basically set the adjuster until X amount of torque is needed to turn the wheel, then back off Y number of clicks. I see the manual states to lock the wheels, then back off to free them up. There seems to be a higher than normal amount of drag on the wheel, even with the adjustment backed off. Is there a bit of drag in these gearboxes? After an adjustment, the right side hub has been hotter than the left side - a torque range using a torque wrench on the hub nut would be useful. Oh, and I just installed new Porterfield R4S pads and after about 100 miles I'm hearing slight squeaking from the right rear when stopping - so I must not have something set correctly. Any other recommendations on the amount of drag?
You're overthinking it. There's no reason for the parking brake to drag. Set the individual wheel adjusters so the wheel turns with little-to-no drag. Adjust the cable adjuster so the handle can be pulled about half-way up to lock the wheels.
Hah - yeah, I have to turn off the engineering mind. The short/easy way you describe is how I set it. There's was a feeling of dragging brakes and a difference in hub temperature left/right so I thought maybe it wasn't right. I coasted to a stop and the right hub was still too hot to touch. Is that just general heat from this area heating things up? Or a possible dragging pad after the pad change?
Front shoe of the right parking brake is dragging. Looks like someone has been driving around with the brake on. I pulled the pads and while turning the disc(takes quite a bit of force) I can hear the shoes singing. Really can't see much, if any, meat on the shoes through the inspection holes. May be a quick/simple project to pull it all apart, clean, and replace shoes.
In case you haven't seen it... there's a great walkthrough on CS (for the 348, but ours are the same) on how to tear down and rebuild the e-brake drums/shoes. Was a massive help in determining issues with mine: 348 e-brake Rebuild
Many thanks. My hand brake is virtually worthless, and I have never even heard of Club Scuderia. It looks like a solid resource.
Mine wasnt working very well, and I was going to buy new brake shoes until I found out how much they cost. It was even pretty expensive to get them rebuilt. I opened it up, and took a wire wheel to the drum and the shoes, adjusted the shoes/cable, and it is working pretty good. Mine had a good glaze on the shoes and drum from being left on too many times.
Finally got to opening up the p-brake last night. Pretty amazing how bad the shoes are and the amount of dust - PO must have done a lot of driving with the brake on. Got to the shoes just in time and I can't get them to retract nicely. I'll strip it all down, clean it up, and put on some new shoes(yeah, pricey but needs to be done). Still amazed at how easy it is to get to all of this! Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Just to sort of close out this topic... After taking apart the mechanism and fully cleaning everything, I began a new shoe install. One thing I found is that the new shoes(and probably old) were binding on the shoe clips very tightly. The springs would not have enough force to bring them back in away from the drum. I slightly bent them out just enough to allow clearance, then sparingly lubed that section with ceramic brake grease. It was a little tricky at first getting the shoes on without the lower mechanism falling apart, but the trick is to: - Insert lower spring on rear shoe - Get shoe into place, but have front end of spring hanging out to catch front shoe. - Hook spring into front shoe(lower hole obviously!) - While holding rear in place, pull front shoe straight forward and into clip. Be sure both shoes are properly hooked on lower mechanism. Now both shoes are held in place. - Hook the upper spring on both shoes. - Pull front shoe forward and insert the adjuster. Be sure the adjuster doesn't hang up on the shoes. Insert from the top, not the side. - Be sure all parts are really in place properly: check lower mechanism, the shoes against the backing plate, the upper adjuster is centered on the shoes. Check that the shoes are centered on the backing plate so the rotor can slip on. - Install the rotor. I inserted all (5) lug screws before torquing the centering and regular rotor fixing bolts. Ensures the lug screws don't bind if the rotor is slightly twisted. - Adjust the brake as normal. I did find that the drag I mentioned in the first post is gone. The rear wheels spin pretty freely. This setup was really a mess before. I already feel a difference in driving, I don't smell the brakes, and the gas mileage will probably increase(oh yeah, that sure is important). All around a worthwhile project even with the cost of the new shoes!
Sorry to go OT, but there are some threads on Club Scud that are great reading. Here are a couple of 355 ones to start off with: 355 Engine Out Servicing 355 Engine Out Servicing Part 2 ...and a beautiful F40 LM resto: F40 LM Restoration Enjoy from a CS member!
