82-92 Camaro/Trans Am disc brake rear ends............who's running them?

[_Ogre]

do you have the ratchet arm and the lower bracket to attach the e-brake cable to?

to disengage the ratchet: there should be a plastic plug in the end of the piston, pull it out.
gm has a tool which i am sure snap-on would sell you for megabucks
all i did was measure the depth of the hole and cut a rod an 1/8'' longer to stick in there
use a big c-clamp to compress the rod into the hole and push the piston back
if the piston doesn't go back with moderated pressure try a longer rod or re-position the rod.
it is a terrible design, the 3rd gen forum has multiple conversion threads to better calipers, but they all involve changing everything from backing plates to calipers.

i'm not sure why the weight is on the arm, you'd think that the spring would handle the push back.
if you have the ratchet arm without the weight go with what you have to see if they'll work.
obviously from the picture and the wire tie, i don't have a e-brake
last time i had the back wheels off i manually ratcheted the arm a couple of times just for grins.
i haven't noticed any difference in the rear brakes before or after this effort.
i'm thinking the residual pressure valve is keeping the piston in close proximity to the rotor.

though i'm sure amorget will refute most of what i just typed again (since he owns 12 of these)

[Amorget]

Originally Posted by _Ogre

do you have the ratchet arm and the lower bracket to attach the e-brake cable to?

to disengage the ratchet: there should be a plastic plug in the end of the piston, pull it out.
gm has a tool which i am sure snap-on would sell you for megabucks
all i did was measure the depth of the hole and cut a rod an 1/8'' longer to stick in there
use a big c-clamp to compress the rod into the hole and push the piston back
if the piston doesn't go back with moderated pressure try a longer rod or re-position the rod.
it is a terrible design, the 3rd gen forum has multiple conversion threads to better calipers, but they all involve changing everything from backing plates to calipers.

i'm not sure why the weight is on the arm, you'd think that the spring would handle the push back.
if you have the ratchet arm without the weight go with what you have to see if they'll work.
obviously from the picture and the wire tie, i don't have a e-brake
last time i had the back wheels off i manually ratcheted the arm a couple of times just for grins.
i haven't noticed any difference in the rear brakes before or after this effort.
i'm thinking the residual pressure valve is keeping the piston in close proximity to the rotor.

though i'm sure amorget will refute most of what i just typed again (since he owns 12 of these)

Absolutely nothing to refute, just wanted to bold the statement about it being a terrible design because of how true that is.

[mknittle]

Originally Posted by mobileortho

I used a mid 70's Camaro 10 bolt (I believe it was from a '74) but upgraded it with '91 disc brakes.

was that an easy swap?

[kpdalton]

87 trans am rear end with disc brakes

[NW Task Force]

Originally Posted by _Ogre

do you have the ratchet arm and the lower bracket to attach the e-brake cable to?

to disengage the ratchet: there should be a plastic plug in the end of the piston, pull it out.
gm has a tool which i am sure snap-on would sell you for megabucks
all i did was measure the depth of the hole and cut a rod an 1/8'' longer to stick in there
use a big c-clamp to compress the rod into the hole and push the piston back
if the piston doesn't go back with moderated pressure try a longer rod or re-position the rod.
it is a terrible design, the 3rd gen forum has multiple conversion threads to better calipers, but they all involve changing everything from backing plates to calipers.

i'm not sure why the weight is on the arm, you'd think that the spring would handle the push back.
if you have the ratchet arm without the weight go with what you have to see if they'll work.
obviously from the picture and the wire tie, i don't have a e-brake
last time i had the back wheels off i manually ratcheted the arm a couple of times just for grins.
i haven't noticed any difference in the rear brakes before or after this effort.
i'm thinking the residual pressure valve is keeping the piston in close proximity to the rotor.

though i'm sure amorget will refute most of what i just typed again (since he owns 12 of these)

Wow!!!! Tons of info given. I appreciate it! You defintely cleared up some questions of mine. My calipers are not equipped with the "weights". I do have the ratchet arm and e-brake cable bracket attached to the caliper. Between them is the coil spring that pushes the two apart. I noticed that the middle of the piston face has a small blue plastic cover...... I assume this is the access hole to pushing back the piston with a rod. I will have to try this. This type of caliper seems real hokey in design and relies on constant adjust to work perfectly. I will post up some pics soon to show exactly what I have. Thanks again for the explaination!

[_Ogre]

i bought new cables from napa for the 86 trans am, i do need to make it work
if you still have your stock e-brake handle and linkage i'd think they would work together.
i tore all the stock stuff out and want to put a handle next to or in front of the seat

[_Ogre]

if your still on springs, i had a lot of pinion rotation under heavy acceleration to where the drive shaft would rub on the x-member
since the rear end had the torque bar on the trans am, i added it to the spring set up
i cut of the front of the torque bar and added a trailer shackle to the front under the front x-member.
it works well set up this way

[NW Task Force]

Ok, I took some photos earlier this evening to show my rear calipers. Note: ratchet arm does not have weights. Also, it appears that I have the little blue plastic caps on the piston faces for "unloading" the ratchet mechanism with a tool. I still need to look at doing this. Let me know if something looks to be missing or not right with my calipers. I do have the factory OEM brass banjo fittings that attach to the calipers. I hear these fittings are impossible to buy new.

[NW Task Force]

I ended up joining the thirdgen website to find out more about these early 80's Camaro/Firebird rear disc brakes. I was dissapointed to find out that these calipers were problematic and considered "junk" by most 3rd gen enthusiast. The calipers are called, Delco-Moraine (Cast Iron). The 89+ newer calipers are much more sought after and are called PBR's. These calipers are aluminum and also used on corvettes. Many people have successfully swapped the calipers for the later PBR ones. At this point in time, I just don't have the time/resources to gather up items for a conversion. I need to make the old Delco units work for a while. I am a bit confused on the "ratcheting" caliper piston. I read some folks stating that you must use a special square brake tool to key onto the piston face and turn it like a screw. Then, I have heard people say to just squeeze the piston in until it moves. ?????? Hhhmmm, which is it?

[mobileortho]

Originally Posted by mknittle

was that an easy swap?

Pretty much, everything bolted on.

[_Ogre]

my neighbor is a gm tech, he's the one that told me to stick a rod in there and compress it.
worked for me

[NW Task Force]

Originally Posted by _Ogre

my neighbor is a gm tech, he's the one that told me to stick a rod in there and compress it.
worked for me

That is what I will do! I recieved my 82-92 Camaro Chilton's manual today in the mail. There is some info/pictures on how these brakes are put together and serviced. I apologize for repeating my question asking, these calipers/brakes are new to me and at first glance seem intimidating to work on. Thanks again! I certainly appreciate all the insight.

[Amorget]

Doh, I didn't even think to look in there... I have the Haynes, Chiltons and 1983 Firebird assembly manual. I'll compared what's in the Hayes vs Chiltons and see if there is anything that might be of interest to you in there.