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Rear Disc E-brake


sprucegoose

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I've had one nagging prob. I've been meaning to get to fixing, and have decided to get to it... The drivers side caliper is sticking if I apply the Ebrake. The pedal releases when you start the car and put it in drive, as it is supposed to, but only the pass. side caliper releases. :angry:

I can take the wheel off, and by pushing the lever that the cable connects to forward with a screwdriver it will release... This is not something I want to do every time the parking brake gets applied! :blink: Such as when you have a young student driver, who is told by her instructor to apply the parking brake when you leave the car! :o

So... I take this apart and the cable seems to move freely, but the lever requires quite a bit of force to pull it back into the retracted position. I ordered a new spring from my dealer, as it was pretty rusty compared to the other side which was still covered with the green colored paint. Figured for $12 I'd try that first.

Anything else I can do, short of pulling the whole caliper apart and rebuilding/replacing that? Anyone else have this happen, and if so what did you do about it? :unsure:

'09 Cadillac CTS-4 3.6 direct injection, 128 K mi.
'15 Chevy Tahoe LTZ, 5.3i V8, 125 K mi
'70 Firebird Formula 400, Bored+.04, RAIII heads, M21 4spd., in-process restoration!

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I had the problem on my right rear caliper. The parking brake return lever was very sticky. I thought that the return spring was "weak", it turned out it wasn't.

I rebuilt the caliper, but the rebuild kit didn't contain the parts for the parking brake mechanism. I cleaned and lubricated the parking brake mechanism (used penetrating oil and brake fluid cleaner). The parking brake worked for a couple of weeks before it started sticking again, and overheating the whole caliper/rotor (ever touch the wheel after it's stuck? Watch out it's hot!) The overheated brakes will also heat up the brake fluid, and likely would have also damaged the piston gaskets.

In the end, I replaced the caliper with a new remanufactured one (FENCO). As a bonus, the parking brake mechanism was also 'rebuilt' on the new caliper.

It works wonderfully now. The parking brake pedal also "pops" up very forcefully now as you put the shifter into gear.

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My driver side rear caliper was doing the same thing. I recommend just replacing the caliper - you'll be money ahead in the long run. I bought my rebuilt (A1 Cardone) calipers from RockAuto for about $50 (rear) plus core - the cheapest place I found.

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So guys, were those calipers "loaded"... with pads and other hardware? I'm talking about those little rubber boots that cover the pins, return spring, shims, etc.?

I priced the caliper kit through www.gmpartsdirect.com and it was $124 loaded (including shipping). I'm not sure if I'm gonna do this, just checking. What sucks is that otherwise the brakes work great. I think I'll just try the spring I ordered first, then make a decision after I see how that goes.

I did notice when I took that lever off and just worked it back and forth manully with a 12mm wrench, it did seem like it was getting a little more free. I'm sure the thing is just gunked up from lack of use like most vehicles with auto transmissions. I try to use mine at least a couple times a month to keep them free. ;)

'09 Cadillac CTS-4 3.6 direct injection, 128 K mi.
'15 Chevy Tahoe LTZ, 5.3i V8, 125 K mi
'70 Firebird Formula 400, Bored+.04, RAIII heads, M21 4spd., in-process restoration!

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So guys, were those calipers "loaded"... with pads and other hardware? I'm talking about those little rubber boots that cover the pins, return spring, shims, etc.?

...

I did notice when I took that lever off and just worked it back and forth manully with a 12mm wrench, it did seem like it was getting a little more free. I'm sure the thing is just gunked up from lack of use like most vehicles with auto transmissions. I try to use mine at least a couple times a month to keep them free. ;)

The calipers that I bought were from the local autoshop. FENCO is the prominent brand for re-mans, here in Canada. They cost about C$90 with core exchange.

They did not come with new pads or guide pins, but all of the rubber seals/boots and gaskets where new. The parking mechanism was totally renewed with new seals. The lever spring looked new too. As nitrous1 mentioned, I think it'll be cheaper to purchase a re-man caliper, rather that spending the "time" to rebuild your own, esp. if the kit doesn't come with parts to rebuild the parking brake mechanism.

P.S. I use my parking brakes everytime I park. I believe it's recommended to do so because it allows the rear brakes to adjust properly, and give you better pedal feel.

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P.S. I use my parking brakes everytime I park. I believe it's recommended to do so because it allows the rear brakes to adjust properly, and give you better pedal feel.

Please tell me what exactly is being "adjusted" by applying the brakes mechanically as opposed to hydraulically.

Jim

Drive your car.

Use your cell phone.

CHOOSE ONE !

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P.S.  I use my parking brakes everytime I park.  I believe it's recommended to do so because it allows the rear brakes to adjust properly, and give you better pedal feel.

Please tell me what exactly is being "adjusted" by applying the brakes mechanically as opposed to hydraulically.

The parking brake mechanism contained in the rear caliper is knurled. As you apply the parking brake, it twists and compensates for rear brake pad wear. ie. the "play" distance between the pad and the rotor.

If you don't frequently use the parking brakes, the "play" distance between the pad and rotor increases - resulting is poor pedal feel.

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P.S.  I use my parking brakes everytime I park.  I believe it's recommended to do so because it allows the rear brakes to adjust properly, and give you better pedal feel.

Please tell me what exactly is being "adjusted" by applying the brakes mechanically as opposed to hydraulically.

Attached is a more detailed explanation of why you should use the parking brakes:

"If you are using Cadillac ElDorado rear calipers there are some important things you should know. One of the biggest advantages of a disc brake system is the fool proof self adjuster. Not so with this rear GM system. The rear calipers adjust off the parking brake. The parking brake is incorporated into the caliper. You must set the parking brake every time you park the car.The rear caliper pitons utilize a one way clutch inside the caliper piston. When the parking brake is applied the clutch senses when there is .030" or more clearence between the friction material and the rotor on the inboard side. When there is more than .030" the clutch turns inside the piston adjusting it out keeping the rear brakes adjusted. If you do not set your parking brake every time you will start to lose brake pedal (low and spongy) and the adjuster mechanism will not work any longer. "

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"If you are using Cadillac ElDorado rear calipers there are some important things you should know. One of the biggest advantages of a disc brake system is the fool proof self adjuster. Not so with this rear GM system. The rear calipers adjust off the parking brake. The parking brake is incorporated into the caliper. You must set the parking brake every time you park the car.The rear caliper pitons utilize a one way clutch inside the caliper piston. When the parking brake is applied the clutch senses when there is .030" or more clearence between the friction material and the rotor on the inboard side. When there is more than .030" the clutch turns inside the piston adjusting it out keeping the rear brakes adjusted. If you do not set your parking brake every time you will start to lose brake pedal (low and spongy) and the adjuster mechanism will not work any longer. "

this is a very important observation. I did some rear brake job recently and noticed how tricky it was...

The saddest thing in life is wasted talent

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Thanks, guys. Hardly a day passes without an opportunity to learn something.

I am one of those that rarely if ever set the parking brake (don't care for the noise when shifting out of Park). Ten minutes after reading the replies and my brake pedal is now at the top!!!

Took a short drive through the 'hood and made several stops using the parking brake pedal only.

Jim

Drive your car.

Use your cell phone.

CHOOSE ONE !

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Well, I finally recieved my return spring yesterday. Dealer had to special order it out of Lansing I guess! Put it on last night, and parking brake seems to be working fine now. :)

I did notice that the old spring seemed to be less stiff, probably due to both fatigue and rust... This new one was significantly more difficult to install over the mechanism. At first it still hung up on my trial E-brake set/release, so I took the spring back off. I put my 17mm socket over that nut and worked that lever back and forth for several minutes, hoping to blow the cobwebs out of a never-used mechanism! Put the new spring back on and it never failed again after that. :D

I took it out for some testing with the wheel back on and yes, I think I did feel some difference in the feel of the brake pedal itself too. Thanks for pointing that out gc_caddy, I would have never known that about self adjusting on rear discs as this is the first car I have ever owned or worked on with them. All that much more of a reason to make a habit of using the parking brake.

Eventually I'm sure I will go over this whole brake system if I keep this car to the 250-300K mi. range that I expect to. Just passed 179K yesterday! B)

'09 Cadillac CTS-4 3.6 direct injection, 128 K mi.
'15 Chevy Tahoe LTZ, 5.3i V8, 125 K mi
'70 Firebird Formula 400, Bored+.04, RAIII heads, M21 4spd., in-process restoration!

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Well, I finally recieved my return spring yesterday. Dealer had to special order it out of Lansing I guess!  Put it on last night, and parking brake seems to be working fine now.  :)

I did notice that the old spring seemed to be less stiff, probably due to both fatigue and rust... This new one was significantly more difficult to install over the mechanism.  At first it still hung up on my trial E-brake set/release, so I took the spring back off.  I put my 17mm socket over that nut and worked that lever back and forth for several minutes, hoping to blow the cobwebs out of a never-used mechanism!  Put the new spring back on and it never failed again after that.  :D

I took it out for some testing with the wheel back on and yes, I think I did feel some difference in the feel of the brake pedal itself too.  Thanks for pointing that out gc_caddy, I would have never known that about self adjusting on rear discs as this is the first car I have ever owned or worked on with them.  All that much more of a reason to make a habit of using the parking brake.

Eventually I'm sure I will go over this whole brake system if I keep this car to the 250-300K mi. range that I expect to.  Just passed 179K yesterday!  B)

Unfortunately, while the other guys posts are no doubt trying to be helpful...its totally false that you have to use the park brake everytime on a rear disc

brake equipped Caddy in order to have the rear brakes adjust properly. The fact of the matter is that the rear brakes will adjust quite fine "on their own" if the adjusting mechanism is working properly. What would often happen on the older systems is that the ratcheting mechanism built right into the piston assembly

would get stiff or stop working all together. This would cause things like rear disc brakes not adjusting properly, or the park brake holding the disc brakes in the

engaged position instead of releasing properly.

While putting the park brake on everytime might appear to be helping the problem, the disk brakes are designed to adjust themselves without the park brake ever being used. All that people are seeing is a system that fails quite early in the vehicles life and causes all sorts of problems. Replacing the caliper is often

the only way to fix the problem once it's gotten bad enough.

Ian

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