Halcyon

yesterday, I drove somewhat spiritedly uphill some twisty deserted road. It was awesome! I pulled over and pulled the handbrake on, switched over to let my dad drove on the same road back the other way downhill. It was awesome!... until the giant exclamation mark light and the brake pad wear indicator light came on and I noticed he had been driving and using a lot of brakes for the last like 15minutes WITH the handbrake on.

there wasn't any light indicating the handbrake was on during that drive

How worried should I be right now?

I looked at some of the old threads and understand that once that brake pad wear indicator comes on, it is time for new pads. But did my dad do some damage on the handbrake system?

And how much are Big Red's brake pad these days anyway?

btw, can anyone recommend a shop in sf bay area for the fix? ( i've heard good things about Bob at RMG? )

EckFe1

The hand brake doesn't have a wear indicator but the big red warning light comes on as soon as you pull the handbrake, and ignition is on. It won't go off unless you confirm with the ! button in the center console. Take the rear tires off and turn the little hole in the rotor so you can see the pad wear and then decide if you have to pull the rotor too and change the pads. It's not a big deal but somewhat involved and time consuming.
It must have smelled quite bad in there. Hopefully the wheel bearings didn't get too hot and lost the seal or grease inside. With spirited driving downhill, things get really hot fast.
Anyway, that's what I would do.
Ed

Slow Guy

IIRC the ! indicating the hand brake is on is controlled by a microswitch in the handbrake assy in the center hump/console. Sounds like the microswitch needs adjusting.

Also, the handbrake uses brake "shoes" as in the old style drum brakes (it's actually a small drum brake assy although actuated by a cable rather than hydraulic brake lines) whereas the "primary" brakes are disk/pad brakes.

I would make sure the handbrake is fully released (down) and drive it, if the light does not come on you haven't worn the pads down to the wear indicator yet. I would then (with the car stopped) pull up on the hand brake slowly, one click at a time. The ! should come on by the 2nd (if not 1st) click of the handbrake. If not, adjust the microswitch so it does come on.

Also, you can visually check the brake pads w/out removing the wheels by using a flashlight and shop mirror.

Halcyon

it actually didn't smell at all,I guess thats a good thing

hmm, 4 clicks on still no light. I should get this fix.
And I guess I could wait on the pads since the indicator haven't came back on yet. I did get a quote for $800 for front and back pads with sensor and silencer for the big reds, with labor, does that sound right?

Slow Guy

I have no clue on pads for big reds. I would first want to know the condition/thickness of the rotors. You would hate to be expecting a $800 bill and them call you up saying you need $xxx for new rotors too.

I do my own work so labor is cheap, (and even then it's still not worth what I'm paying me....).
No clue what shop labor would be for the job.

You probably want to have the brake system bled while your at it unless you know it's been done in the last 18 mos.

Gunter

It is possible to see and feel condition of the rotors to some degree.
The surface should look and feel fairly smooth.

Thickness of rotors and pads can be checked by taking the wheels off and should be done to get an accurate estimate for total cost.

Like Bill says, replace brake fluid if last service is unknown. At the same time, flush the clutch slave cylinder since the reservoir is for both: brakes and clutch.

Halcyon

rotors look smooth enough o.O But I haven't removed the wheel yet. I did snap this pic and do notice that part of the caliper is quite close to touching the rotor though, and I would imagine that the pads are just between there and the rotor which means it should be quite thin ...

Gunter

The caliper is the actual red body and it never touches the rotor. The only part that touches the rotor is the lining on the pads when pressure is applied by the pedal.
Pads are basically a steel plate which has the lining attached to it.

I think the picture shows that there is enough lining left, however, to really assess the thickness of the lining for both sides you need to remove the wheel.

The rotor may look smooth but I can see some wear lines. Each rotor should be assessed when the wheels are off and someone with experience knows what to look for like stress cracks, minimum thickness, uneven wear etc.

I suggest you do one wheel/caliper/rotor, pad at a time with the help of someone with experience and take notes.

Chuck W.

Until I came to this forum I would have never attempted a brake job or brake fluid flush. If you do a search there is a ton of information on what and how to do it. And, it's pretty easy.

As far as your problem, I am guessing it is the micro switch at the back of the hand brake lever. This is a bit of a PITA, but nothing that can't be done with a little effort and patients. Once you get it apart you will see how it works and how to bent it to the right position for it works correctly.

Here is a great DIY link for our cars; http://p-car.com/diy/diy.html. Here is the link for removing your brake handle; http://p-car.com/diy/handbrake/.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Slow Guy

It's been a little bit since I adjusted the microswitch on the previous cab but I don't think you have to remove the handle to adjust the MS. I think if you loosen the switch a little bit it will slide to a point where you can move it to cause the switch to make contact (listen for the faint click sound). Then just tighten the switch back down.

MDamen

In the photo it looks like there is plenty of pad left> The friction material is thicker than the backing plate.

kjr914

I agree....I annotated OP's pic so anyone unfamiliar could see what we mean.


edit: Oh well....something happened to the pic size so its harder to see now...Thanks MS paint.

MarkD

Since there is talk of ebrake and brake pad wear in the same conversation, I thought I'd add this so others not intimately familiar with these cars that may be reading this aren't confused.

The ebrake is unrelated to the brake pads. There are two seperate things being discussed.

The ebrake is a brake shoe setup behind the rear rotors.

I know the posters above are aware of this...
Carry on!