EDIT: Parking brake issue*********

Recently put new rotors/pads on all four. Hawk HPS + StopTech Sport slotted, nothing fancy. Bedded the pads per instruction, no issues there as far as I know (I will admit, these pads are a bit underwhelming; I think Duralast Golds might have more bite to them...). Anyways, I noticed this weekend that my parking brake has lost some of the grab it had before I changed the brakes. For example, my parking brake won't hold my car at the base of my driveway (car in neutral), however I'm nearly 100% positive it could before as I've had the car parked there idling while moving cars around many times. I can tell the parking brake is engaged, it just doesn't have enough bite, so the car will slowly squeak it's way down the driveway. For 95% of parking situations, the parking brake in its current state + parking in gear should be plenty of bite, but I'd like to find out if I did something wrong during install (not my first brake install and not my first one on this car, not sure where I went wrong).

One thing to note, after banging on the rotor for nearly 45 minutes before realizing I left my parking brake engaged (shut up), I went back in with the parking brake disengaged. HOWEVER I still had to screw out the rotors to get them off. And when I mean screw them out, I mean all the way out until they they literally fell off the wheel studs. There was never a "pop" where I knew they came loose and could just remove them by hand from there, they had to be screwed all the way out.

Did I damage something in the process? Does my parking brake have to be adjusted? If so, why? I've never adjusted a parking brake on this car or any car after changing the brakes. Also, there was definitely some corrosion going on between the hub/rotor, but I feel like they should have popped loose long before they did. Any reason why they might not have? Reinstallation was easy with no hiccups from what I can remember. If it matters, I use an actual caliper tool to push the pistons in.

 

The parking brake has a thread adjuster like any other drum brake assembly. IIRC you get to it through the hole in the rotor face that has the rubber plug in it. The parking brake cable is also adjustable.

 

Heres the service manual on the PB @ColeVo

 

Try the adjuster under the brake handle need to take console off worked for me after I did rear brakes

 

I know the plug you’re talking about. Would the rotor have had to be installed a specific way to give me access to the thread adjuster?


I was hoping to avoid this. Why would the parking brake need to be adjusted after a routine rotor/pad install?

 

The adjuster is at the bottom, so just rotate the assembly so the hole/plug is in the 6 o'clock position.