73-87 Rear Disc Brake Conversion Problem

[Ricko1966]

I haven't seen the procedure laid out like that before either. I'd assume that they want you to do it that way, just because it seems more professional than manually ratcheting the lever a whole bunch of times. But that's just my assumption.

I've worked on calipers where you actually were setting how far the piston retracted via adjustment with a set screw,it was done so that the brakes didn't retract the piston two far,the set screw was a physical stop so the pads could never retract more than. .004 from the rotor,this adjustment was made while levering the caliper towards the inside so the inner pad was pressed firmly against the rotor. That was why I mentioned adjustment, Im assuming the Cadillac calipers have a similiar adjustment,other than just ratcheting the ebrake lever.

 

[bucket]

I've worked on calipers where you actually were setting how far the piston retracted via adjustment with a set screw,it was done so that the brakes didn't retract the piston two far,the set screw was a physical stop so the pads could never retract more than. .004 from the rotor,this adjustment was made while levering the caliper towards the inside so the inner pad was pressed firmly against the rotor. That was why I mentioned adjustment, Im assuming the Cadillac calipers have a similiar adjustment,other than just ratcheting the ebrake lever.

It's been many years since I messed with any. But I don't recall being instructed by the wise old timers that I worked with to remove the lever and do that procedure. The '82-'88 F-body had a very similar caliper, just a little smaller. They don't work very well there either.

 

[AuroraGirl]

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These are both supposedly used at around the same time, so does your calipers OP by chance look like either

 

[Ricko1966]

It's been many years since I messed with any. But I don't recall being instructed by the wise old timers that I worked with to remove the lever and do that procedure. The '82-'88 F-body had a very similar caliper, just a little smaller. They don't work very well there either.

Like

It's been many years since I messed with any. But I don't recall being instructed by the wise old timers that I worked with to remove the lever and do that procedure. The '82-'88 F-body had a very similar caliper, just a little smaller. They don't work very well there either.

This was a common problem with 914 rear calipers,people didn't realize you had to physically set the depth of the piston with a set screw,or the rear brakes worked like crap. So on initial setup you'd set the calipers to. 004 clearance,I'm wondering if the cadillac calipers are adjusted similarly,thats why they say to pull the arms and mess with that bolt.. The ebrake lever is below that adjuster in red. The original setting was .008 revised to .004 but no matter if you didn't set it the rear brakes were crap.

 

[Bennyt]

Sounds like a dumb question, but I have seen this happen.

The way you have them installed, are the bleeders on the top or the bottom of the caliper? Some rigs can actually allow the caliper to bolt on upside down.

Yes, they can be mounted upside down and I have done that purposely on my own truck. It allows you to run the p-brake cable over the axle so it doesn't snag off road. To bleed, I'd unbolt, turn bleeder side up, place a 2x4 or block in between the pads, and then reinstall.

Additionally, the parking brake doesn't work very well unless you install a ratcheting type lever or e-stopp as the existing pedal doesn't have enough travel.

 

[HOTFOOT]

Sounds like a dumb question, but I have seen this happen.

The way you have them installed, are the bleeders on the top or the bottom of the caliper? Some rigs can actually allow the caliper to bolt on upside down.

I want to know more about the pad being backward.