Chris_Austria Posted June 28, 2010 Report Share Posted June 28, 2010 Hi! Can anyone tell me, how the parking brake works on my 99' Seville STS? When i push the parking break pedal there is a response, but it doesn't break at all. When I put in a gear it makes a noise and releases the break pedal. A mechanic told me, that I might have to change the whole break caliper at the rear... is the parking brake integrated into the caliper and not possible to repair? Will I really have to change the whole caliper if i need a working parking break? Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimD Posted June 28, 2010 Report Share Posted June 28, 2010 Hi! Can anyone tell me, how the parking brake works on my 99' Seville STS? When i push the parking break pedal there is a response, but it doesn't break at all. There is a mechanical connection (cable) between the park brake pedal and both rear calipers. I have no idea why you are not getting a braking effort when the park brake pedal is pressed, but cable and one or both calipers are certainly possibilities. When I put in a gear it makes a noise and releases the break pedal. The noise you hear is a solenoid releasing the brake pedal latching mechanism and the park brake pedal being moved to the OFF position by a spring. If this was my car I would try the following. Place the car in R or D. Press down on the park brake pedal 5 or more times to see how much pedal movement is normal. The park brake pedal will not be locked down the car is in gear. Drive around slowly and press the park brake pedal to test for any feel of braking action. Repeat the above several times and see if you notice any improvement. Jim Drive your car. Use your cell phone. CHOOSE ONE ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris_Austria Posted June 28, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2010 okay thank you, i'll try that tomorrow! does the parking brake cable push the "normal" breaking pads (disc break pads) to the disc or are there some other pads that will lock the wheel? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimD Posted June 28, 2010 Report Share Posted June 28, 2010 Pretty close. The park brake cable moves an arm that forces the entire caliper outboard to cause the inboard pads to contact the rotor. That is one of the reasons why it is very important to be sure the caliper slide pins are dry and free of corrosion. All the calipers must be "free-floating" which means they are free to move laterally (side to side). And the park brake design is the reason why the rear caliper pistons must be turned in to retract when installing new pads. One more point. If you are unable to feel some braking action applying the park brake while driving, it is possible your rear brakes are doing very little if any any of the braking under normal driving. Go about this testing in a systematic way and you should be able to identify the problem with your rear brakes. I doubt very much if caliper replacement will be necessary. Good luck.... Jim Drive your car. Use your cell phone. CHOOSE ONE ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris_Austria Posted June 28, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2010 i've had the break system tested after installing new pads and rotors, they worked fine at the rear! i think it was 12/2009 when they were tested.. first i will check if i can feel any breaking after pressing down the pedal several times in "D" and if nothing happens, i'll take the car to a service station to re-check the rear breaks if the work at all i don't use the parking brake very often and it wouldn't be that worse if it don't work, but in austria we must check the car every year and if something with the breaks doesn't work, i officially will not be allowed to drive the car until i repair it, even if i don't use the parking brake at all... i can remember that the parking brake on my 78 camaro was stuck because of corrosion (they told me because i didn't use it for several months...) maybe i have a similar problem now with my seville and have to get rid of the corrosion?! i'll know more on wednesday (hopefully you are right and i don't need new calipers) thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris_Austria Posted June 29, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 29, 2010 I think the spring with the rust may be the problem? The parking break cable goes to this spring and by pulling it, the caliper should be pulled to the inside so that the brake pads on the inner side will hold the rotor? Is that how the parking break works? And what can I do to repair it? I've sprayed some WD-40 to the spring and knocked with a hammer on the mechanism carefully.. but no success Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimD Posted June 29, 2010 Report Share Posted June 29, 2010 Looks like you have found at least some of the problem. Is the spring on the opposite side caliper in the same condition? There are much more effective products than WD-40. If you can avoid driving the car for a few days, I would apply a heavy duty penetrating fluid every four to six hours along with a wire brush and compressed air. There is a chance you can restore normal operation. Good luck.... Jim Drive your car. Use your cell phone. CHOOSE ONE ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris_Austria Posted June 29, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 29, 2010 I think I'll take it to a service station and show them the problem, maybe they can make it work again. I didn't look at the other side, but I think it will look the same. I tried with a screwdriver to "open" the spring, worked perfect and with not very much pressure... but maybe it is stuck somewhere else in this mechanism? Unless I don't want to damage it, a mechanic should take a look and in the best case repair it I've seen that on a new caliper the spring is included... but only this part of the caliper is not listed at rockauto... Is only the spring and maybe a whole new cable available somewhere else? The calipers wouldn't be too expensive, but I won't send the old ones back, because the shipping is almost as expensive as what I would get for the old ones from rockauto... so I have to pay the core as well. ( 60 dollar caliper, 50 dollar core and 40 dollar shipping each.. all in all I'd prefer to repair the old ones:) ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul S Posted August 17, 2011 Report Share Posted August 17, 2011 Pretty close. The park brake cable moves an arm that forces the entire caliper outboard to cause the inboard pads to contact the rotor. That is one of the reasons why it is very important to be sure the caliper slide pins are dry and free of corrosion. All the calipers must be "free-floating" which means they are free to move laterally (side to side). And the park brake design is the reason why the rear caliper pistons must be turned in to retract when installing new pads. One more point. If you are unable to feel some braking action applying the park brake while driving, it is possible your rear brakes are doing very little if any any of the braking under normal driving. Go about this testing in a systematic way and you should be able to identify the problem with your rear brakes. I doubt very much if caliper replacement will be necessary. Good luck.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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