Did a dumb thing.

Just got my VX back from the front end rebuild. Filled up with fuel at the local Farm Service place. (7 cents a gallon off from 7pm to 7am for 70 days) slipped onto the scale to see what we weighed full of fuel. 4280 lbs is what the scale said. May have had 60 lbs of take off parts in the back so the 4220 I got a few weeks ago is still good. If I get out and stand off the scale we are right at two tons.

Anyway, now for the dumb part. I NEVER use the emergency brake. Why I grabbed it instead of putting the car in park I DON"T know. But I did. Today I was doing some errands getting ready for a trip to Missouri on Monday and something just doesn't feel right. come to a stop let my foot off the brake to coast a bit and it feels like I am still on the brake and the car comes to a complete stop without my foot touching the pedal. I have an emergency brake hanging up on the passenger side. I have tried playing with the handle, shifting into reverse and backing up and it still seems to hang up. Taking it out to my shop late this afternoon or sometime tomorrow to pull the wheel and disc off and see what's up. Comments, suggestions and ideas welcome, especially before I tear into it.

Rod

probably overheated something and needs replaced or lubed - good thing is brakes aren't the most expensive thing to fix and i dont see this doing any permanant damage

ive seen this warp rotors before and they can usually be honed or worst case replaced - if the brakes are stuck on partially its prob the caliper sticking

Nothing dumb here bud, don't feel bad. And like Cutter said, brakes aren't the most spendy bits anyway.

I thought I was about to read that the e-brake didn't hold and your VX rolled herself into a something... unforgiving.

-V

FYI...

Once in a while my hand brake takes TWO button press and release attempts ..
...to fully disengage.

Ya probably tried this..but thought I'd mention it.

jo

That isn't dumb at all, my ebrake pads are shot from doing stuff like that on the trails, and then forgetting about it. Silver lining, if you managed to damage the rotor, you can upgrade to cross drilled rotors:)

You might just have a brake piston hanging because of the usage of the parking brake. It will happen on my car if I use the parking brake too, but since my car is also an automatic, I've rarely had a need to use it's parking brake. (And after learning that my brakes are prone to hanging IF I use the parking brake, I've never used it since).

First step would be to determine which piston is hanging. You can do this by getting that wheel off the ground and spinning it to see if the brake on that corner is the one that's hanging. (Or you can simply drive fora bout a block, then get out and feel whether any of your rims are hotter than the others). Once you get that determined, there are sometimes manual adjusting screws on the back of the caliper that allow you to back the piston/pads away from the rotor. (The one on my car has an internal allen wrench head I have to gain access to by removing a regular hex head bolt on the back of the caliper). Back the piston away from the rotor far enough to free up the wheel, then adjust in back and forth a few times until it's JUST out of contact with the rotor.

Once you get it set this way, DON'T USE THE PARKING BRAKE AGAIN UNLESS YOU ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO or you'll find yourself having to repeat the same process at some point on the side of the road.

I don't know why some calipers hang and some don't, but some obviously do when the mechanical aspect of the parking brake is brought into play but simply don't if relying only on the hydraulic action of the brake fluid.

Of course all that is based on the assumption that the brake calipers on our VX's have a similar adjusting screw. I've never looked, so I can't say for sure, but if they do it would most likely be located on the back of the caliper and centered directly behind the brake piston cylinder itself. I can't look right now but maybe someone can verify in the meantime if we also have these adjustment capabilities.

I would never tell someone to NOT use their parking brake. The park pawl in the transmission isnt very big. A light tap from another vehicle can break it then you are looking at big money to open the transmission to replace it.

I am pretty sure that the ebrake has its own pads and does nnot involve the calipers. It is a mechanically actuated tiny brake pads. Pulling the handle actuates a lever that engages the pads. At least that is the way on the trooper, I assume the same on vx. There is an adjusting port on there, some allen size, and the adjustment is as u described.

Thanks for all the comments. I will be tearing into it tomorrow afternoon. The E brake is similar to drum brakes inside the disc rotor. I have had them on many vehicles. Usually not too bad to fix. I know it's the passenger side from the heat generated and the slight odor of a hot brake. Thanks again.

Rod

Oops...double posted

Regular brakes and ebrake are seperate functions. The ebrake is a cable operated drum brake that resides in the drum in the center of the rotor. The pads are about $70, are available at local parts stores and are not overly difficult to do. No special tools are required...only a lot of patience in getting everything lined up and the spring/retainer in place.
Of course it may just need adjusted. On the lower back side there is a small rubber cover. Remove it and use a screwdriver to turn the adjuster barrel until the pads rub lightly.

Yup, like Billy said, e-brake is a drum brake inside the the rotor hat that is cable actuated. Get underneath and whack the backing plate on both sides with a BFH and that should release the shoes...best-o-luck!

Here's a tip from The Old Dude - on EVERY vehicle you own, use the E-Brake EVERY time and ALWAYS! I learned this the HARD way back in the day on the '77 Cadillac Seville I owned. Once that mechanism freezes/rusts up, on some vehicles it can be BIG $ to re-do...Use 'em or LOSE 'em!

Indeed Ganz, words to live by...:smack:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Gizmo42

I would never tell someone to NOT use their parking brake. The park pawl in the transmission isnt very big. A light tap from another vehicle can break it then you are looking at big money to open the transmission to replace it.

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Seeing as how the OP had already said he never used it anyway...

Some e-brakes on some vehicles are separate functions that don't incorporate the main caliper, some aren't. And no one said absolutely never use the e-brake anyway.

I would always use the parking brake with a manual transmission but never with an Automatic. Just wasn't raised that way, I guess.

It was the passenger side rear that was dragging. took the caliper off, pulled off the disc/drum and everything looked good. Backed the auto adjuster out as far as it would go and put everything back together. Could push the car around the shop just like before. Did an oil and filter change while I had it on the lift. Retorqued all the lug bolts (new tires a few weeks ago) Washed it and got ready to go home. Stopped at a Auto Show in town (wished I'd known about it earlier and would have participated), had lunch and then finally headed for home. Backed into the garage and smelled a bit of brake heat. Sure enough the passenger side rear is hot to touch again. Drivers side has hardly any heat and both fronts seem a bit warm but not hot. Wish I had my infrared thermometer, but it's 180 miles away (round trip) Will bring it next week if I don't take the car on Tuesday.

As far as anyone ever breaking a parking pawl, never heard of it. If someone hit's my car that hard I would hope it would move.

Rod

Sounds like its the caliper hanging up and not the e-brake if it started doing it again while driving and you didnt touch it. Also, if the parking brake was tight enough to be over heating then you wouldnt have been able to get the rotor/drum off without backing off the adjuster first.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Gizmo42

Sounds like its the caliper hanging up and not the e-brake if it started doing it again while driving and you didnt touch it. Also, if the parking brake was tight enough to be over heating then you wouldnt have been able to get the rotor/drum off without backing off the adjuster first.

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I'm thinking that too. The wheel would not turn very easily when I ran the car up on the lift. Took off the tire and started to remove the caliper. It was a bit tight, but came off with just a bit of prying it open. The rotor/drum did come off fairly easy, just a bit of wiggling.

The car did just have the front end rebuilt and the calipers would have been taken off. Do I need to do a brake bleed to equalize the system? Or do I have a problem with the ABS? At slow speed I do have a pulsing sensation and just now remembered the photo of a damaged ABS sensor on someone else posted during their DYI repair.

Really want to take a trip Monday with the car but don't want to do any additional damage. It will be around 700 miles. Guess today I will head out on the 4 lane and bring it up to road speed for several miles slow down without touching the brakes and check the rotors. Hope I can find someone with an infrared thermometer.

Rod

Rod,

Put her back on the lift again & remove the caliper from the disc. Compress the piston all the way & then pump it back out a little with the brake pedal (not too far). Compress it again. All OK???

Now make sure the caliper is traveling along the guides OK. Clean up the entire caliper as best you can with a wire brush & compressed air. Lube the guides (even put a little grease down in the holes where the guides go. Slide the calipers in & out a few times to make sure the travel is still smooth.

Put her all back together & take her for a test drive. Let us know how it all works out.

My rear calipers are starting to stick from time to time too. It may be time for replacement but for now I'm nursing them along as long as I can.

Tom

Got a call from my brother telling me that the caliper arrived. His lift is busy and I have a 10am appointment. hopefully at noon he will send everyone off for lunch and I can sneak in for a few minutes to put it in . Will then have to wait for the guys to get back so I can bleed the new caliper.

Rod

Finners crossed that caliper fixes problem (I'm 90% confident that it will).

Save your old caliper. A thorough cleaning/lube may make it a good spare part later.

New rebuilt caliper fixed the issue. 300 mile on it since replacing and all is well. Gave them the core back. $35. charge. new one wasn't painted red but all else the same. Just got it back from the Power Steering hose replacements. No more dots in the garage I hope now.

Rod