I'm about to swap to a ZF trans and so must have a parking brake. I swapped to the chebby discs a few years ago.

I'm going with the 76-78 El Dorado calipers. I have worked with them quite a bit, rebuilt a few too. They do take a bit of understanding and work to rebuild and get to work properly. Attaching the cable is among the issues I will be dealing with.

I hope to go over all this in this thread.

First off, be aware there are two types from those years with the 7" spread mounting holes, shared with the chebby mount.

Both types have the same large piston. The two are distinguished by the location of the spring on the ebrake arm.

Both have springs to return the ebrake arm to its original location when releashed. But one type compresses the spring when the ebrake is engaged; the other pulls the spring when the ebrake is engaged.




The image above is the first I mentioned. This is okay if you want to mount it behind the axle, at about four o'clock, with the cable below the axle. I want mine mounted up behind the axle, but up at about 2-3 o'clock, with the cable out of the way and above the axle.

If that is what you want, then the other type, with the spring that pulls, is the model you need. Be aware: the ebrake arms and springs are hard to come by. Very hard. So take that into account if you're buying a rebuilt one w/o those items. I have found also, that the so called rebuilt ones have not had the inner workings rebuilt, not the inner seal. That inner seal does not come in the standard kits! The only place I've been able to find that inner seal was at ABS Brakes, in Orange, CA. They have a site.

Location:



I found the type in the above photo, where the spring sits on the contour of the caliper, and pulls the arm back, is the best type. It makes connecting the ebrake cable trouble free.

I will be posting more as I progress with the project. I'll get into the inner workings in the next post.



Note: I've read that some people hate this caliper and can't get it to work. I'll also read from mechanically minded people who have used it and loved it for 20 years. One guy said it would stall his truck, with 38" tires, when idling along in first gear. Oh, I hope it works. I will find out.

 

Nice write up, I'll be watching for further progress.

 

That would sure stop you good I bet, Is there a guard or anything available in case tire chains were put on to keep from tearing those lines and calipers up?

 

That raises a good point. No, there is not! Living, as I do, in S.Cal., it never crossed my mind. I've never put a set on my truck.

 

I was able to find 'kits' for this caliper on RockAuto, at a very good price. The total is about $30, for both calipers. I read where a guy paid $30 ea. via Napa.

The only issue with RA is they don't have an all inclusive kit, so you have to go through and each item indivigually--the seals, the pins, the anti-rattle clip, and the pads.

*Important note: The pads for the El Dorado rear are too thick to fit chebby rotor, so get the pads for a Seville of DeVille, of the same year, front. They are thinner pads and drop right in.

If you find these calipers on ebay, make sure you get the ebrake return spring, and the ebrake arm. Those are rare as unicorns. Nor do the come with rebuilts.

 

I know these calipers have a very bad reputation among auto enthusiasts. But, I've also read glowing reports from people. I plan on taking the time and doing a careful rebuild and install. I want to find out whether they are useless, or, as some say, a great parking brake caliper. Are they simply too complicated for those not willing to take the time to learn how they work?

I'll be mounting the calipers on the rear side of the axle so the ebrake cable is out of the way, and not visible. To do that, however, I have to switch them around--the one marked R goes on the left side; the one marked L is mounted on the right side.




The down side of that: It puts the bleeder fitting on the bottom, so they will have to be bled before placing them in their brackets.

TSM sells copies of these calipers, with the bleeder correctly placed, for $300 each.

On their site they explain how to adjust them, once bled and installed. This could be the reason a lot of guys hate these calipers: They have to be adjusted with the p.brake arm in order to get pedal. There is a one way screw in them that pushes the pads close to the rotor. Listen closely: Sometimes, you can adjust and adjust to no avail, because you have to apply pressure to the caliper piston. If you can't get pedal, you have to reach inside up and somehow apply pressure to the piston, pushing it into the caliper a bit, and THEN adjust the p.brake arm. It is sort of like the star adjustment on drum brakes.

Here is a pic. of the one way clutch inside the calipers.



I wanted to confirm that when using the Chevy 75 4x4 front rotor for the conversion, you have to use thinner pads than what came originally with these calipers. The pads for the el dorado FRONT calipers, or the front for the Seville, or Deville, are all the same, and work great. They are 1/8" thinner, each.

Note: Rock Auto is great for some stuff, but when buying things like pads, you have to consider weight. RA's shipping costs often double the price of certain parts.

**Take note: In that last photo, see that groove at my thumb? That o-ring on the table goes in that groove. And, it is absent in all the rebuild kits!! I take the mechanism to ABS Powerbrake, and pay $10 each for those seals. I hate to go to all the trouble to rebuild, clean, buy parts, paint, install, only to have the part fail b/c I cheaped out by not getting/replacing all the seals/parts. So, I bite the bullet and replace it.

 

I used to work for a Case IH dealer as a mechanic. Case used something very similar on their big Steiger farm tractors for a driveline brake.....service brakes and park brake combo........kinda confusing until you understand how they work.....worked great once you knew that.......Don't know why you will have any problems. Can't say I've ever seen calipers mounted rearward of the axle.....or at least none that I remember.......maybe I just wasn't paying attention......LOL

 

I think you are right, lol. Although I noticed that on some of the old Caddy's they had one in front, and one behind the axle. Hope it doesn't matter. I have the chebby calipers now, behind the axle, and they work fine, so ....

Changing to a manual trans, so, wanted e or p-brake.

 

So this has some great information. I can't wait to see it done

 

I want to make a bracket for the cable, and took this from another forum. This is ... okay, but I'd like it to look closer to oem, or just nicer, and have been tossing around a couple of ideas.

Does anyone have an idea? I am fully able to weld.