hey guys, emergency brake stopped working for me for some reason. pulled the pads and they are still good. anyone know why it stopped working and how to fix it? thanks
Bryan

 

welcome to the club. The new chevy's have a problem with this. You may be able to adjust the ebrake cable. Look along the frame rail on the driver's side. There will be a cable that has a threaded stud connect to two other cables. Just tightened the nut a little bit. Mine is tightened all the way and it still doesn't hold for crap.

 

I just dropped over $500 to have my brakes fixed with roughly the same issue. I too could not get it fixed on my own. I gave up and crawled back to the dealer to fix.

 

On my '01, adjusting the cable on the frame rail did not help! But, this is something you can fix. Our ebrake is a C shaped brake shoe that uses the inside of the rear disk rotor's "hat" as a drum. That may not be very clear . . . but, if you unbolt your caliper bracket and remove the rear disc rotors, you'll see the ebrake shoe that I'm talking about.

How to fix the problem: With the disc rotor removed, you can see a small adjuster wheel (that you can turn with a screwdriver) on the mechanical piston that sits in the opening on the C shaped ebrake shoe. If the ebrake shoe isn't worn out, you can just use this adjuster, otherwise, you'll have to replace the shoe. GM sells a special tool that you can use to set the ebrake correctly (a really big caliper would work, I bet), or you can use the trial and error method (I did--it takes a while, but it does work).

Oh, and you'd better get good at this, because you'll have to adjust it every so often . . . I've had to do mine about every 30-40 thousand miles to keep a nice strong ebrake.

 

^^^^I understand what you are saying. i actually went out and bought the brake pads and then looked at the ebrake and realized it was ok. i figured the adjuster wheel would work but i just wanted to make sure that something had not broken. thanks

 

I think the problem is finding a way to keep the shoe in the correct position. The clip that holds the top of the shoe doesnt do the job because the first ti,=me you use the E-brake, the shoe moves and if you notice that the only part of the shoes that wear are the one corner that contacts the drum.

 

I believe GM has an upgraded clip because of that exact issue.

I wonder if the new Recall they are doing will cover this issue, as I know there is one coming out for an emergency brake problem on the 99-02's, mailings from GM go out next week.

 

The little retainer clip fails alot and if your a lucky one LIKE ME then it chews up BOTH ROTORS and BOTH SHOES on the recall I doubt it they will probably put a new clip on there and as you drive away. I did buy all my parts at oriely's (sp) with the new clips. So there are other options than the Stealers Also rumor has it thats why they went back to drums but thats a rumor

 

there has to be a fix for this. the guy i got my truck from is a parts manager for a dealorship so it was maintained to the gills. my truck is at 32,000 and my e-brake will hold my truck with a 1000 pound trailer on a steep driveway only pushing the pedal about 1/4 of the way. the e-brake on my last truck gave out at 20,000 and i hardly ever used it. then again, maybe im just one of the lucky ones.

 

Yep Mine goes all the way to the floor too, wish GM would recall it, makes my truck feel crummy, cuz its sumthing I use everytime I get in the truck.