I realize that the parking brake has to separate from the rest of the braking system but is there anything that says you cannot use a hydraulic caliper type brake instead of a mechanical one?
My personal opinion is that it should be mechanical, that being said, if you were to use a hydraulic parking brake it would have to be a completely separate from the regular braking system including lines and master cylinder otherwise it would be worthless.
There are after market supplemental hydraulic braking systems out there that use the existing brake system but they are not intended to be used for non-attended parking. I just have to ask... specifically why are you asking the question? What exactly would you be using it for?
Just thinking about options.....haven't seen it in a while but there used to be a fitting that was put in line with the brake line and it was used to stop car thieves by keeping pressure in the line while the driver was away from the vehicle. The differential I have has disc brakes adapted to them but I have yet to come up with a parking brake setup. Basically......I just want to know if anyone knows if it is LEGAL or not.
not legal in b.c, man. they are the california of canada. highway traffic specs say that the parking brake must be a seperate system and mechanical. this is to provide a safe, backup brake that will hold in a hydraulic faliure scenario. as for the hydraulic parking brake, as posted, these are not for unattended parking due to yhe simple fact that they are hydraulic, and more prone to problems holding than a mechanical system. however, if you are planning on using this for purposes other than parking :mwink: , mico lock makes a hydraulic locking system you might find interesting. it is used mostly on larger medium duty trucks as a supplemental holding brake.
if you want to put a p. brake on add - on discs, look for calipers with a mechanical brake built in.
I put '70 Cadillac Eldorado rears on my Nova, (9' rear), they have the parking brake included and you can adapt your cables to pull 'em more than likely.
I just looked at the BC Motor Vehicle Act and it states "Emergency or parking brakes
5.03 (1) A motor vehicle, except a motorcycle, and a combination of vehicles shall be equipped with an emergency braking system or a parking brake which, when applied, will alone stop and hold stationary the motor vehicle or combination of vehicles." Guess I'm good to go if I decide to go that route. The rearend isn't a 9" Ford or such so it doesn't have the necessary bolts. I'm going to try to adapt some hydraulic calipers that have a built in mechanical emergency as suggested. Thanks all.
HEY BILLY JOE: I have a 1948 Chevy pickup and I have a "hydraulic Lock" installed in brake line after master cylinder that will keep pressure to wheel cylinders. I use it as a parking brake ONLY because truck emergency brake was rusted and beyond use. But it would not work if hydraulic pressure was gone.:nono: My only emergency brake is a concrete block on a rope tied to bumper, reaction time is about ...two miles up hill ...Think Safety...DAVE
I know the setup that Dave was talking about and it is not considered a parking brake at all. If I am correct it locks the rear system up within the existing brake system. The ones I have seen were called an anti theft device. A true e-brake system needs to be a completely separate system. I seemed to remember seeing at one time a small caliper that could be added to the rear for systems not having an e-brake, however it has been a long time.
Seems I've heard some newer cars use a hyd. parking brake set-up. (?) Leak down could be a problem. 8.8 Lincoln Mark VIII '84 up have rear discs with integral mechanical parking brake similar to Caddies. They are also posi. I'm putting one under my 46 Tudor sedan. Gotta cut off the moumts to put on parallel leaf set-up tho.
Stick with a mech. P-brake, several after market kits are available.
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