The service manual states the brakes should be set firm with hand lever in vertical position. This is also the neutral position for the transmission. When I got the '24 the previous owner had fabricated the clevis with a slot which allows more freedom in adjusting the brakes and gives a neutral without the brakes set. Anyone else doing this?
Not really necessary.
The stock clevis is threaded which allows you to adjust it so you can get neutral in the vertical position without engaging the parking brake.
The owners manual says the lever should be vertical position (neutral) when the car is reversed.
Apparently the service manual directions for adjustment conflicts with the owners manual.
Also -
I prefer to have no slop in the clevis and pin - keeps brake rod rattles and noise to a minimum.
If you have a long slot in the clevis instead of a tight hole, those brake rods are really going to rattle when you are going over bumps.
Gary,
I think the norm is to adjust the E brake so that they are firmly set (wheels locked) when the handle is in the back position and free to coast in the vertical position. Yes, other have used slots in the clevis and it makes sense to me.
Jim
Gary, i slotted mine because it wouldn't allow neutral without locking the brakes, i think the new linings and rods that are a little short cause the problem.
Rick
You should not have a slot in the clevis for your parking brake. That is the parking brake which came with the car from the factory, or it's aftermarket replacement. The brake is adjusted so that you get a neutral as you pull back on the lever. This neutral is when the lever is approximately straight up. Then when you pull it back a few more notches, you will lock the brake. That way you can put the high speed clutch in neutral while still having the low and reverse operate with the pedals. You could also roll the car in neutral with the brake in that position, but when you pull the lever back as far as it will go, the parking brake will lock and the transmission will still remain in neutral for cranking or idling the engine.
If you have Rocky Mountain brakes, the equalizer hangs from the parking brake equalizer, and in that case, when you pull on the parking brake lever it locks both the parking brake and the Rocky Mountain brake. I like to adjust the Rocky Mountain brake so that it is locked just after the parking brake locks. That way the parking brake will hold the car from rolling backward and the Rocky brake will assist the parking brake. To do this, you adjust the parking brake first, and then pull back one more notch on the parking brake lever and the Rock Mtn brake is tight.
Here is where the long slotted clevis is used. It is used on the rod between the transmission brake pedal and the Rocky Mountain Brake equalizer. The reason for this slot is so that when you pull on the parking brake it will not move the transmission brake pedal, but when you push on the transmission brake pedal it will apply the Rock Mountain Brake. The reason for this is that whenever the foot pedal is pushed if you have a stop light, it will operate the stop light, and if you park with the parking brake on, it would turn on the stop light and run the battery dead. So the clevis keeps the brake pedal from moving when the parking brake is on, but it still operates the Rocky Mountain brakes by both the parking brake lever and the foot brake, but the parking brake will not turn on the stop light.
Norm