94+ rear brake upgrade w/ 94+ ebrake assembly and new cables

[pwmin]

since GMw-body is going under, i wanted to save this post

 

I recently did this upgrade and would like to explain how i did it and maybe have it made as a sticky if its written well enough.

 

Here are the parts i used (any 94+ w-body should work, except for 94 lumina):

Used e-brake pedal assembly (again, 94+)

New front and rear ebrake cables from Advance (PN: C660173, C94727, C94728)

New ebrake cable clip (joins front and left rear cable ends together) from Advance (Help! PN: 21126) (old one broke)

Equalizer from my car

also used a couple spacers, a piece of 1/4" flat metal, new bolt for side bracket on assembly, and carriage bolt (see pix)

Used rear brake caliper and bracket (i forgot to get the bolts so i had to make my own, but i would recommend getting them off the donor car)

New rear brake rotors and pads and new brake pad clips (old ones were rusty)

New crush washers for brake lines and used or new banjo bolts

 

Here is how i did it (not necessarily in this order):

1) remove old assembly: To do this, loosen the 18mm bolt that holds the front cable onto the body underneath and unclip the cable end where it connects to the LR cable. Remove the door trim piece (and foot panels and pull the carpet up. Remove the 2 10mm bolts on the top of the old assembly along with the 2 10mm bolts on the side. The cable should just pull through from the bottom and the assembly should come out.

2) prepare new assembly for fit. i will have a link to the pictures of what i did later. im sure there is probably a better way to do it, but the way i did it worked out alright, but it needs to be revised since it doesnt always ratchet correctly (needs at least 1 more mounting point). i welded in a 1.5" spacer on the side w/ a different bolt. for the top mount, i removed the front top bracket, bent the rear bracket (youll have to figure it out; you can use my pix as a guide), and bolted in about a 2" piece of 1/4" flat bar onto the rear top mount along with an appx. .5" spacer on top (see pix). put the new front cable in the assembly (unless you got an assembly with the cable with it) and run it through the bottom of the chassis where the old cable went. put the cable into the clip.

3) remove old ebrake cables. i used needle nose vice grips to hold the spring back and use needle nose to pull the cable end off the calipers. the left side is very simple so im not going to explain. the right side, there are 2 10mm bolts you have to remove that hold the cable to the chassis. they are on either side of the gas tank (in front of it). also, remove the threaded cable end from the equalizer. also, unclip the left cable from the equalizer and set the equalizer aside. the ebrake cables should be completely removed now.

4) remove the old brake calipers and brackets (18mm bolts...and probably something else i cant think of). dont remove the hoses yet, just bungee the calipers up and out of the way for now.

5) prepare the new calipers and brackets. i painted mine off the car with spray paint so it would be easier than the brush-on caliper paint on the car. use the caliper tool and screw in the caliper so it will fit over the rotors and put the new pads in. also put the rotors on the car. now, you can bolt in the calipers and brackets. be sure to lube the sliders. unbolt the brake lines and use new crush washers on each side of the brake line end and bolt them into the new calipers. make sure the bleeder is up.

6) run the 94+ ebrake cables. i have pictures of how i ran mine. you can also get the bracket to hold the right ebrake cable up to the inner mounts for the lateral arm lins). reuse the old equalizer. it will need to go farther back than where it was on your older brakes. i had to weld a bracket to the rear subframe to clip the left cable into as well as remove the old one where the left cable ran through, but you may be able to use that to clip it into by drilling the small hole out a little bit. connect the front cable to the left cable

7) bleed your brakes as needed and make sure you pump them up before driving away. i would flush the old fluid now and possibly replace the cables w/ ss braided ones from goodridge or have a local hose shop make some for you (thanks tubes 'n hoses in loveland, co)

eight) adjust your ebrake. the pedal should get tight about 3/4 of the way down. you should not be able to pull away on an auto car, but may be able to on a manual since you can kill the motor by releasing the clutch quickly.

 

I hope i covered everything, but im sure i missed something. Please let me know if i have and i will edit this.

here are the pix: http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v476/pwmin/91%20Grand%20Prix/rear%20brake%20upgrade/