RE: parking brake

["Jeff Greenfield" <alfaguy@domain.elided>]

I've repaired many Alfa's with the worn out parking brake mechanism over
the years. 

There is a very simple way to prevent this from happening ... when
pulling up the brake, push the button in, and release the button to set
the brake and lock the handle in place. This way you are disengaging the
ratchet when applying the brake, and preventing any wear.

Jeff Greenfield
JG Enterprises ... specializing in the preservation, maintenance and
repair of BMW, Alfa Romeo, and Ferrari
www.samnet.net/alfaguy
 


-----Original Message-----
From: owner-alfa@domain.elided [mailto:owner-alfa@domain.elided] On Behalf Of
Bill Sinclair
Sent: Saturday, March 09, 2002 2:42 AM
To: alfa-digest@domain.elided
Subject: re:parking brake

Pat, I just repaired the parking brake in my '67 Duetto yesterday so
this
one's actually still pretty fresh in my mind.  I'm assuming (perhaps
incorrectly) that the mechanism in your '79 is fairly similar.  In my
case,
part of the problem was that things were kind of gummed up and the pawl
was
not springing back to catch the ratchet tooth.  I disconnected the brake
cable
(under the car) and then removed the bolt that the handbrake lever
pivots on.
The lever could then be removed and taken to the workbench.  There were
two
screws that held the plastic grip on.  Removing the grip allowed the
button
actuator and three ball bearings to slide out of the handle.  The
remainder of
the assembly had to come out the other end so the pivot bushing had to
be
driven out (fortunately it slid right out with a little tap on an 8mm
socket).
Be careful because once the pivot bushing clears the hollow of the
lever, a
cap and spring may pop out and attempt to escape across your garage
floor!
The remaining assembly could then be removed (after chasing down the
aforementioned spring).  After cleaning, regreasing and reassembling
everything, the pawl would move up and down with the button like it was
supposed to and would catch on all the ratchet teeth except the one it
needed
to!  I tried filing that particular tooth but it still didn't catch
every time
(probably because the edge of the pawl was worn - as Jeffrey indicated
in his
response).  I then took the advice that Skip Patnode had given me the
week
before and adjusted the E-brake shoes.  There is a hole in the rear
rotor that
allows access to a star wheel for adjusting the brake shoe clearance.
That
did the trick! (thanks Skip!)  With the brake clearance properly
adjusted, I
didn't have to pull the lever quite so far and the pawl could rest on a
different ratchet tooth that held much better.  I hope this helps - good
luck!

Bill Sinclair
67 Duetto

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