ebrake

[QSHIPQ at aol.com]

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In a message dated 5/2/2003 12:05:03 PM Central Daylight Time,
pjrose at frontiernet.net writes:

>Scott, you know a heck of lot more than I do about Audis and ebrakes,
>but you don't always state things in a way that conveys the precise
>meaning you intend. Your previous, _absolutely_ phrased statement (to
>which I responded) failed to account for a situation in which ebrake
>cable adjustment on "old" cables can be justified.
OK

And now you say:

>Cables stretch Phil,

>>Well, sheeyit!  There you've made an exception to your absolute
>>statement about cables "never" needing adjustment except when
>>installing new. Since not every installer necessarily takes stretch
>>into account,  the ebrake action might end up becoming too loose over
>>time, right?
>>But more likely, there's opposite error whereby the
>>installer disregards the fact that the new cable allows 4 or 5
>>lever-clicks before grabbing. That would be wat too much movement
>>IMHO and it ain't gonna get better over time, is it? So, if the PO
>>doesn't get it done right in the beginning, a new owner of that car
>>might be justified in having the cable adjusted. That's all I was
>>trying to point out.

My point is you have no idea what the previous owner did.  It could have been
done right in the beginning.  IME/O, if adjusted properly in the beginning,
it rarely (if ever) is the case where a further "adjustment" is needed.  More
likely the case is bad cables and/or calipers.

>when there is a problem noticed by a owner, it's always related to
>either bad cables or bad rear calipers (or one causing the other).

>>Here I'll assume you mean a problem that's "noticed" to develop
>>gradually over some period of time.  Yes, we _do_ agree that a car
>>whose ebrake movement is observed ****over time*** to become way too
>>tight (or loose), is  not likely to be correctable by mere cable
>>adjustment. Most of us have endured the
>>weak-spring/loose-ebrake-cable situation long enough to have at least
>>one good reason to be wary of doing cable (re)adjustment.

Not sure I understand at all the point of contention Phil.  Audi rear caliper
design sucks wind.  Audi ebrake cable design sucks wind.  The "rule" is to ck
the rear calipers and the brake cables.  Adjustment IME, is a install only
procedure in these pups.  Once done, the next time adjustment might be in
order, you are pretty much guaranteed that the adjustment isn't the problem.
A point CJM brought up, and I tried to confirm.

Put another way, I've never seen a post install cable adjustment do a damn
thing to make the ebrakes work better.  YMMV

SJ