E-brake tightening on Cobalt Chevrolet

[mjoekingz28]

Hey, have an 06 here with 14Xk miles and want the hand brake to be tauter. It has rear drums and I recently did a two man brake bleed.

I guess the pads and shoes seemed fine when I inspected them and do not know if they have been touched before.


On the Saturn, I think, I just removed the brake lever cover then turned it with an extension and 8mm adjusting nut, from what I recall, it was very simple.


I am not too familiar with drums, (i have never replaced shoes in my lifetime), but I searched for a star or something when flushing the fluid.


Thanks in advance

 

[Johnny2Bad]

The rear drum or disk brake systems, and the operation and servicing of the emergency brake systems, vary enough that a general answer isn't going to be helpful.

You need to seek out a service manual for your vehicle or ask on a Chevy Cobalt forum (and they are out there and active, since this model has performance potential).

 

[Bluestream]

Remove the rear drums and tighten the adjusters. While your in there, clean and lube them

 

[eljefino]

Your shoes could just be glazed over with age. I bet you can get another set for $15 or so, advance auto silver or something from rockatuo.

If the shoes have the e-brake lever attached permanently, sometimes the hinge gets rusty and half-siezed.

Get new drums while you're at it and you can be assured the shoes and drums are "round together" again. With new drums you don't have to worry about an inside rust ridge catching on the shoes and you can adjust the shoes pleasantly tight.

Try lifting on the rubber console liner by the e-brake to see if there are hidden screws. Or look for your model on youtube.

 

[mjoekingz28]

It was just like the SC2, just different plastics to remove

 

[The Critic]

Pull the car outside, and rinse the off the drums and shoes with WATER (not brake cleaner). Afterwards, verify the proper service procedure for rear brake adjustment (alldatadiy or factory service manual), and confirm that the rear drum brakes are adjusted properly.

If that does not resolve your issue, go adjust the cable in accordance with the service procedure.

 

[Bluestream]

Originally Posted By: The Critic
Pull the car outside, and rinse the off the drums and shoes with WATER (not brake cleaner). Afterwards, verify the proper service procedure for rear brake adjustment (alldatadiy or factory service manual), and confirm that the rear drum brakes are adjusted properly.

If that does not resolve your issue, go adjust the cable in accordance with the service procedure.


There is no cable adjustment on those

 

[Silverado12]

You more than likely just need to manually adjust the rear drum brakes. That will also bring down the height you need to pull the parking brake lever to set the brakes. It's very important you adjust the rear brakes before you do any adjustments to the parking brake cables.

 

[mjoekingz28]

Uh, oh.


I got it quite tight with a small 1/4" ratchet and 10 or 8mm socket. It seems fine now, but it is easy enough to pop the plastic apart to readjust. As I said, I noticed NO spaces for adjustment on the drums/shoes. I did wash them with the garden hose and sprayed some kind of oil (WD-40, kerosene, or general purpose stuff).


I want to bleed the brakes again and make the rear do their share to help reduce dive.