When parking, it’s important to make sure your car is in park and the brake is engaged. If not, your car could roll away and get into an accident.
It can be tricky to know how to adjust the parking brake on a car with disc brakes. Do you pull up on the lever or push down? And how do you know when it’s adjusted correctly?
Follow our simple guide on how to adjust parking brake on disc brakes. We’ll show you where the lever is located and how to properly engage the brake.
Contents
The cables pull a second lever that applies pressure to the brake shoes, keeping the automobile stopped with drum brakes. With disc brakes, pressing the parking brake activates a corkscrew mechanism that pushes a piston into the brake pads and comes to a complete stop on vehicles.
If your car has disc brakes, then you may be wondering how to adjust the parking brake. The parking brake is an important safety feature on your car, and it is important that it is adjusted correctly.
What you’ll need:
– Jack
– Jack stands
– Medium sized standard screw driver
– Some good lighting (trouble light or powerful flashlight)
– Wheel chocks
– Creeper
Here are steps to adjust the parking brake on disc brakes:
Step 1: Park on a level surface, keeping the vehicle in gear and the parking brake unengaged.
Step 2: Chock the foremost wheels
Step 3: Jack up the rear of the vehicle, placing it on jack stands.
Step 4: Locate the rubber plug over the opening that leads to the disc brake caliper adapter and scoot underneath the vehicle. Remove them and store them someplace you won’t lose them. (They’re on the inside of the brake assembly, near the bottom.)
Step 5: Adjust the left (driver’s side) wheel as follows:
The star wheel is housed behind a black circle on top of the spring. Turn the star wheel down with the screwdriver until you notice some resistance when rotating it through the access hole.
When the rear tire is completely rotated, move it no more than 1 or 2 clicks away from the drum to allow for adjustment of backward rotation.
Reinstall rubber plug that is oval in shape.
Step 6: Adjust the right (passanger’s side) wheel as follows (slightly different than the left):
Step 7: With the wheels slightly off the ground (if you were using a full vehicle lift, which I obviously was not), lower the car.
Step 8: Engage the parking brake by pulling it up all the way and releasing it twice. Fully engage the parking brake once more and leave it on.
Step 9: Before continuing, make sure the parking brake is completely engaged. You can test this by trying to rotate each rear wheel by hand. There should be no movement if the parking brakes are engaging properly on each side.
Step 10: disengage the parking brake.
Step 11: Rotate each wheel by hand, checking for drag from the parking brake shoes.
Step 12: Remove the jack stands and wheel chocks.
Disc brakes are a great safety feature on your car, and they can help to keep you safe on the road. By taking the time to adjust the parking brake correctly, you can ensure that your car will be safe and secure when you need it to be.
To engage the brake shoes, firmly pull or step on the parking brake lever until it is halfway through its travel. If the lever goes all the way to the floor (or pulls up really high in case of a hand-actuated lever), you need to turn the cable adjuster nut more.
To engage the brakes, pull or step on the parking brake lever. The lever should be stopped firmly somewhere around halfway through its travel. If the cable adjuster nut is turned more, the lever goes all the way to the floor, or climbs up really high with a hand-actuated lever, you’ve gone too far.
The adjustment bolt for the parking brake lever is located on the ____. This bolt tightens the cable leading to the rear brakes. To check if it is working, pull up on the lever and feel for tightness.
You should use your parking brake every time you park. Whether you drive an automobile with a manual or automatic gearbox, on level ground or on a hill, whether the weather is nice or not, and so forth. You should use your emergency brake as often as needed.
Yes, you can drive with the parking brake on. It happens all of the time. When people park their cars, they typically just apply a little bit of pressure to the parking brake. And unless you really pull (or push) the parking brake until it almost won’t move any more, the engine will overcome it and move the wheels.
To avoid having a stuck parking brake, be sure to use it regularly and maintain the system with regular service.
The jarring will not harm your automobile if you pull it lightly. The mechanism is considerably more durable than you are. However, because you must pull a little up to release the locking mechanism, it might make releasing the lock part more difficult.
Replacing both rear parking brake cables in the average car costs anywhere from $320 to $480. If your vehicle has rust damage, you may need to replace even more parts. Always get the parking brake checked and tested after replacing the cables.
Although it may seem daunting at first, adjusting the parking brake on disc brakes is a relatively simple process that can be completed in just a few minutes. By following the steps amortips.com‘s team have outlined above, you should be able to get your car back up and running safely and securely in no time. Have you ever adjusted your parking brake before? If so, what was your experience like? Let us know in the comments below.
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