I just put new rotors & pads on my 1986 GT (with an automatic). The brakes seem to be fine. They don’t squeal, pull or pulse and the pedal effort seems good. I have checked the rotors and they have a nice, even, polished appearance where the pads contact the rotors. My concern is with the emergency brake. It works, but not very well. If I stop the car on a 15-degree incline while in neutral and set the brake it will not roll. If I release the brake and let it roll and then set the e-brake again it will not stop which means it will probably not do much good in an emergency. I also replaced the left and right e-brake cables (but not the main cable from the lever). If I adjust the e-brake according to Chiltons, the left (drivers side) rear e-brake lever on the caliper retracts off of the lever stop before the right. Based on the way the e-brake system is designed I don’t know if this matters or if this is normal. I still have a little adjustment left in the e-brake cable but not much. The other thing I noticed is that while all of the pads on the other brakes seem to be barely touching the rotors, the left rear inner pad has a couple of hundredths of space between the pad and the rotor. If I manually crank on the e-brake lever at the caliper I can get a pretty good bite, but because of the goofy e-brake cable design it won’t achieve the same pressure.

I have read through the archives and Ogres Cave regarding brakes and I am almost as confused now as I was when I started.

1. Is there a way to adjust just the left (drivers’ side) e-brake cable?

2. If I manually actuate the e-brake lever at the caliper enough times, will the space between the inner pad and rotor go away (I tried changing the position of the e-brake lever on the actuator at the caliper, it’s not that far out of adjustment)

3. Is there a relationship between the e-brake adjustment and front rear baking bias?

4. Since I have an automatic and the brakes seem to be working well do I really need to worry about the e-brake?

Thanks in advance for your help & suggestions

It sounds like to me that the rear brakes were not adjusted once the caliper was put on the car. What you need to do is remove the levers that the cables go to at each caliper. Use a wrench to tighten the nut/stud left when you pull the lever off. Get it as tight as possible and still be able to get the lever back on and align with the hex nut/stud. Then tighten the nut and you should have a great park brake. If not, you may have stretched cables. I have also noticed that once the rear pads reach about 1/2 wear that they tend to work poorly. Good luckk.

Phil

For me to get the E-brake to work the lever has to lock the rotor just after it comes off the stop..if its moving alot, 1/2" or more than you can't get it to lock with the cable adjuster and keep the lever on the stop when released...what I do is remove the lever, get an open end wrench, 5/8 I think, put it on the actuator screw, put the nut back on the screw, rotate the screw in to lock the rotor and then rotate the screw in the opposite direction 4 or 5 times then try the lever to see if it will go back on right next to the stop. May take some time to get the lever on just right but it works for me...
I think this rotates the inner piston enough to change the postion of the screw...if the screw won't rotate backwards then your inner pistons are froze up and you need new calipers or a rebuild kit...By the way this is on an 85

1. Is there a way to adjust just the left (drivers’ side) e-brake cable?
No.
2. If I manually actuate the e-brake lever at the caliper enough times, will the space between the inner pad and rotor go away? (I tried changing the position of the e-brake lever on the actuator at the caliper, it’s not that far out of adjustment)
No. GM says it will but it won’t.
3. Is there a relationship between the e-brake adjustment and front rear baking bias?
Yes.
4. Since I have an automatic and the brakes seem to be working well do I really need to worry about the e-brake?
Yes, but not according to GM. All models with manual transmission were recalled for e-brake fix but the ones with automatics were not.

From your description, the drivers’ side piston is retracting a “couple of hundredths” after pressure from the lever is released. It should only retract about thirty thousandths (barely noticeable).

Some people have suggested forcing the piston in the operated position with a screwdriver while releasing the lever. You can actually feel the lever trying to retract the piston and it will take a little pressure (not much) to free the lever. This seems to “unstick” the mechanism and the piston will stay further out.

Another way I’ve seen work is to attach locking pliers to the end of the lever and snap the lever back and forth a couple of times. It seems the quick motion works to free the piston and you can observe the reduction in piston motion. This is what the operation of the e-brake lever is supposed to do but it cannot be operated quickly enough to do the job.