Rear brake calliper

[cbrown1469]

Hi all,

Can anyone offer some help on the following brake calliper issue in my 1980 2000fi

Havng stripped the rear calliper due to sticking piston I had no option but to remove the handbrake lever (where it pivots at the calliper end, not the handbrake lever in the car), pushrod and washer/springs. The manual says due to the spring pressure it is very difficult to reinstall the pivoting lever that receives the handrake cable, and should be left alone.

However, I had no option as I was convinced the seized piston was attributed to the handbrake lever pushrod behind the piston. Anyway, the spring in the pushrod that the manual refers to isn't actually a spring, it's a series of cupped washers that flex when the lever is pulled in order to push the piston out and thus the pads against the discs. Same principle as a clutch pressure plate when the clutch pedal is depressed.

Well, the manual is correct, it's an absolute nightmare to the pivoting lever back into the rear calliper body, and as the parking brakes are notoriously poor on spiders, I doubt I will be able to remove just one of the flexi washers/springs to make assemble easier as it prob won't hold the car.

Can any one offer any pics, manual diagrams or simply some empirical advice on the best way forward. In the meantime, the weather is terrible in Bonnie Scotland tonight, so I feel some Indian food and a beer or two will be the best course of action until one of you knights of the web can offer some help!

Thanks in advance guys, always appreciated.

Craig

Ps

I believe you guys call the handbrake an emergency brake!

[azruss]

Those spring washers are technically called Bellevue washers. They are nearly impossible to compress enough to get the lever arm and wedge into position. I built a home made tool out of 3/4" black iron pipe. this allowed me to compress the spring with a c-clamp. the slots in the tool allow access to the lever arm holes. Made assembly a piece of cake. Took me about 2 hours to build the tool.

[cbrown1469]

That fab fella, thanks. Sometimes a little reassurance is all that I need. A sanity check that I'm on the right track. Can I just ask, the pushrod, does the longer shoulder sit to the back or the front as you look down into the cavity of the calliper? Also how much des the piston move when you actuate the arm? Not much at all I'm hoping/guessing.

[cbrown1469]

That fab fella, thanks. Sometimes a little reassurance is all that I need. A sanity check that I'm on the right track. Can I just ask, the pushrod, does the longer shoulder sit to the back or the front as you look down into the cavity of the calliper? Also how much des the piston move when you actuate the arm? Not much at all I'm hoping/guessing.

That looks like the longer of the two shoulders facing me in that last pic?