Help, wife drove with Emer. brake on (1 Viewer)

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Dallas, Texas
AAARRRGGGH....my wife drove about 60 miles today with the Emergency brake on. Questions:
1. The emergency brake is solely for the rear brakes correct??
2. I have the DBA slotted rotors in the rear...will I need to replace them...or just the pads? I just took off the wheel, the rear pads area gone!
airlaird
 
1. The emergency brake is solely for the rear brakes correct??

Correct.

2. I have the DBA slotted rotors in the rear...will I need to replace them...or just the pads? I just took off the wheel, the rear pads area gone!airlaird

I guess you could take the rotors to a shop and see if the heat did any damage. Or slap it back together and see what happens. Probably got pretty toasty though. Amazing she didn't notice...the one time I did this it bucked like a mule before I figured out WTF....
 
The emergency brakes on the 80 are drum style brakes on the the rear only. Your fancy rotors should be fine. IIRC, pull up and down on the handel a few times and see if it will still grab. If not, I'll bet you only need new emergency brake shoes.
I'm getting ready to replace a set myself that have been setting on the work bench for six months now.
:beer:
 
What Curran said. The e-brake doesn't engage the pads, only the shoes on the drums.

-Spike
 
when my e-brake seized it trashed the rotors. They built up enough heat that they warped and I could feel the pulsing in the brake pedal.

Holy smokes!
 
Wait, you took off the wheel or the rotor/hub? If you just removed the wheel and those pads are gone, that's not from the e-brake. The e-brake shoes are INSIDE the hub.

Jim, I only took off the tire...I had no idea there were "E'Brake shoes??
so, the rear pads would have been unaffected??
airlaird
 
Jim, I only took off the tire...I had no idea there were "E'Brake shoes??
so, the rear pads would have been unaffected??
airlaird

The emergency brake does not close the caliper, it pushes two small shoes outward against the inside of rear hub. The rotor/hub assembly has to come off to inspect.
 
My wife did the same thing. Like LT, the rotors were toasted and needed to be replaced. If by some freak of nature your rotors survived this ordeal, count yourself lucky.

I suspect your pads were already shot. Consider yourself double-lucky (and maybe you should thank the wife?...naah) that you noticed they were gone before you tore into the rotors...which you will probably be replacing anyway.... I'm confused. :confused::rolleyes:
 
I hate to make this sound worse than it already does but along with replacing the rotors and shoes if they indeed were worn down, I'd also repack the rear wheel bearings just in case all that heat toasted the grease. Sorry for the frustration.
 
Agree with turbo. If you have not repacked the rears recently, it makes sense to do it now if a bunch of heat was generated. The 80 actually has 6 brakes. Four disc brakes for driving around since discs shed heat better, and 2 rear drum brakes for parking since drums are self powering and hold the vehicle in place better than discs. Proper brakes for each function, I say.

So. You may or may not have issues, and the only way is to look. Happily, once the rear wheel is off, you can pull the rotor/drum off after removing the rear calipers - no need to tear the hub down to pull the rotors on the rear as is the case on the front. So, pull em off and have a look. Use a coat hanger to hang the calipers out of the way, and have a soft hammer on hand to tap/pound and help get it off - sometimes the brake shoes hang up on the drums if there's a lip from wear into the drum and tapping while pulling helps.

DougM
 
OK guys...if the E brake is internal and does close the caliper...WHY am I worried about the rotors? What am I missing here?. How will the rotor be affected??
airlaird
 
the e-brake is a set of shoes that press against the inside of the rotor, the part that slides over the hub. If they were left engaged they create a lot of heat and that will usually cause them to warp.

BTW, provided the rotors were installed correctly, you remove that small rubber plug while it's at the 6:00 o'clock position and using a regular screw driver turn the internal star wheel to collapse the shoes so you can remove the rotor easily.
 
Awesome Paint skillz, imagine the rear in cross section.
brake.JPG
 
I think over and above the need to work on your E brake you also need to ask yourself why your rear pads were gone. I suggest you think back to the last time you replaced them. I would normally use up 2 sets of front pads to one set of rear pads.

If your rear pads were recently replaced I think you need to look for the reason they were gone. Possibilities are poorly set rear pads or defective proportioning valve.

BTW, your E Brake may need re-adjustment as well as replacement shoes. The drum might have thinned out a bit but probably not to a critical degree. Still, where brakes are concerned, its better to be too safe than not enough.

Kalawang
 
Air,

The rear calipers are NOT engaged with the emergency brake lever. A separate set of brake shoes (name for what are called pads on a disc brake) activate in the drums - which are an extension of the rotors. Since the drum brake and disc brake are all one big metal part, heating it via the drums can also warp the rotor. Nice diagram, trunk - pretty much explains it.

DougM
 
Ahhh...got it guys. Thankyou and great diagram Trunk. I'll get it apart this week. Much appreciated guys!!
airlaird
 
If'n your e-brake shoes are toast I have a brand new set sitting on my desk that I'll give a discount on.
 
The rotor/hub assembly has to come off to inspect.

No it doesn't. If you pull off the rear tire, unbolt the caliper, and adjust in the ebrake shoes through the adjustment hole in the drum, the drum/rotor pulls right off. I just did this 2 weeks ago to a buddys 96.
 

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